The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 40% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dunbar Elementary Magnet School
Dunbar Elementary Magnet School sits on West Union Street in Tampa, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Hillsborough County Public Schools. Enrollment is small for an elementary school, and the community it draws from is economically diverse in the aggregate but tilted heavily toward economic need: a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially, the school is predominantly Black, with Hispanic students making up a meaningful share and smaller numbers of white, multiracial, and Asian students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the material we reviewed, so families with children in those populations may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
Academic performance on Florida's FAST assessments tells a mixed story. In ELA, proficiency rates across the tested grades fall roughly in the middle range, with third grade performing better than fourth and fifth performing comparably to third. Math results are more uneven: fifth grade stands out with strong proficiency, while fourth grade lags well behind the other grades. The one sixth-grade math result in the data shows universal proficiency, though that represents a very small group and should be read with caution. Fifth-grade science proficiency came in below where many families would hope to see it. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining. Parents who care deeply about year-over-year academic momentum may want to ask the school what trajectory looks like internally.
The school carries a magnet designation in its name, though the data provided does not specify the magnet theme or focus area. Families considering the school specifically because of a specialized program should verify the current magnet offering directly with the school or the Hillsborough district, since this shapes whether the school is the right academic pathway for a particular child.
The surrounding neighborhood is part of Tampa's broader urban fabric, west of the Hillsborough River and not far from downtown. Home values in the zip code are near the Florida statewide median and have ticked down slightly year over year, and rents in the area have also softened modestly. Affordability remains a real constraint: estimated monthly ownership costs run high relative to typical household budgets, and rents consume a meaningful share of income at market rates. The city is in an active development phase, with major mixed-use projects downtown and in adjacent districts, a HART bus network with more than thirty routes, and a free streetcar connecting downtown to Ybor City.
Two district-level changes are worth knowing. Hillsborough voters approved a one-mill property tax levy in late 2024, running through mid-2029, that will raise teacher and support staff pay. For homeowners, this is a real annual cost increase; for families who have watched teacher retention be a problem in urban elementary schools, it is also a structural investment in staffing stability. Separately, the district passed a major boundary rezoning for the current school year, affecting a large number of schools and potentially displacing thousands of students from their previous assignments. Families new to the district or evaluating school choices should confirm current attendance boundaries carefully before relying on any prior information.
A comparison of Dunbar's proficiency against other districts in Hillsborough County was not computed because only one district operates in the county for comparison purposes. No graduation rate applies here, as the school ends at fifth grade.
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