The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Labelle Elementary School
LaBelle Elementary sits on Cowboy Way in LaBelle, the county seat of Hendry County in southwest Florida's agricultural interior, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is a conventional public elementary with no charter or magnet designation.
The student body is a majority-Hispanic community, with white students making up most of the remainder and smaller populations of Black, Asian, and multiracial children. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school squarely in a high-need economic context. Data on English learner rates and special education enrollment were not available in what was provided.
Florida's FAST assessment results, reported for the most recent school year, show a mixed picture across grades and subjects. In math, third and fourth graders tested at strong proficiency levels, well above what one might expect given the school's economic context. Fifth-grade math proficiency, however, drops steeply and is low in absolute terms. A parent would be reasonable to ask the school directly about what accounts for that gap, whether it reflects a particular cohort, a transition in curriculum, or something else. Reading and ELA proficiency across third, fourth, and fifth grades lands in the low-to-mid range, with fourth grade performing the best of the three. Fifth-grade science proficiency is below the midpoint. Trend data across years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining.
No program offerings data was provided. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing was also absent. Hendry County is the only district in the county, so the comparison framework for placing this school among its neighbors does not apply in a meaningful way; there are no other local districts to position it against.
For families thinking about where to live, housing in the LaBelle area sits below Florida's statewide home value benchmark and below national medians, making it relatively accessible compared to much of the state. Home values have edged slightly downward over the past year in the zip code. Rents are running at a level where a household at the national median income would be spending a meaningful share of take-home pay. Families planning to build a new home in Hendry County should be aware that the school board publicly approved impact fees on new residential construction in early 2024, a direct response to enrollment growth that has made the county one of the faster-growing in Florida by student generation rate.
The bigger picture for the district is a facilities story that matters for anyone with children who will eventually reach high school. Publicly reported coverage confirms that Hendry County broke ground in 2026 on a new LaBelle High School, the first new school built in the county in roughly three decades. The current campus dates to the 1970s and has relied on portable classrooms to absorb growth. The replacement building, planned on a large parcel, is designed to include career and technical education space, a substantial performing arts auditorium, and upgraded athletics. The district is targeting an opening for the graduating class of 2027. For a family relocating with elementary-aged children today, this means their child would likely enter the new facility by middle or high school, which is a meaningful consideration.
At the elementary level itself, the academic results call for a closer conversation with the school, particularly around fifth-grade math and reading-level proficiency across all three tested grades. The economic context of the school's population is real, and families should weigh what support structures are in place to help students who enter behind grade level catch up before the transition to middle school.
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