The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Deltona Elementary School
Deltona Elementary sits on Deltona Boulevard in Spring Hill, a large, low-density residential community in Hernando County on Florida's Nature Coast. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Hernando County district. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this among schools serving higher concentrations of economic need. The student body is racially mixed, with white students forming the largest group, followed by a sizable Hispanic population, and smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and other students. Data on English learner rates and students with individualized education programs were not available in the records we reviewed.
On Florida's statewide assessments, Deltona's proficiency results across grades three through five fall below what a parent would want to see. In reading and language arts, roughly half of tested students reached proficiency in the third and fourth grades, with a slight dip by fifth grade. Math results follow a downward arc across the grades, with third graders performing better than fourth and fifth graders, where fewer than half reached proficiency. Fifth-grade science results were in a similar range. These figures place the school below where many families would hope, and a parent whose child is working toward grade-level mastery in math or literacy may want to ask the school directly about how it identifies and supports students who are not yet proficient, and what targeted interventions are available. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this record whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline.
The enrollment is sizable for a PreK-5 building, spread fairly evenly across grade levels. PreK adds a meaningful early-childhood dimension, which can matter to families with younger children who want continuity in a single building before kindergarten.
On the district side, Hernando County voters approved a one-mill property tax in 2020 and, publicly reported, faced a renewal vote in late 2024. The millage is directed at teacher pay and retention, school safety, mental health services, and academic and career-technical programs. Separately, a half-cent sales tax renewal was also on the same 2024 ballot, with a new provision allowing those funds to be used to build or expand schools as the county's population grows. Both measures directly affect what families pay in taxes and what the district can offer in classrooms and facilities. These referendums reflect a district using local tax tools to supplement state funding, which is worth understanding for any family weighing long-term investment in the area.
Spring Hill itself is a car-dependent, suburban community built almost entirely of detached single-family homes, most constructed in the early 1990s. It has no traditional downtown core. Civic life revolves around county parks, a library branch, and outdoor recreation along the Gulf edge, including trail networks and nature preserves nearby. The largest private employer in Hernando County is a major regional hospital, with public schools, retail, and water management also prominent in the local economy. The community is on a steady growth path as a Tampa-area suburb, with residential development continuing to expand through new subdivisions and infill.
Housing near the school carries a median home value meaningfully below the Florida statewide median, and below the national median as well, with values having dipped modestly year over year. Rents in the area have held roughly flat. For a buyer, the estimated monthly mortgage at current rates is somewhat more than renting, though the gap is not extreme. This makes the area relatively accessible in the Florida housing market, though affordability still depends heavily on individual circumstances.
Program details for Deltona Elementary were not available in the records reviewed, so specific enrichment offerings, support structures, or specialty programs cannot be characterized here. Families should ask the school directly about what is available beyond core instruction.
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