The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in Math. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Oak Park Elementary School
Oak Park Elementary sits on Tampa's east side, in the 33605 zip code, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Hillsborough County public school system. It is a small neighborhood school by the standards of its grade band, drawing a student body that is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population as well. The great majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts Oak Park among the higher-need schools in any honest accounting of its context. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs were not available in what we reviewed.
The academic picture, as measured by Florida's FAST assessments in the most recent year reported, shows room for growth. In math, fewer than half of students tested in each of the three tested grades reached proficiency, with fifth grade performing modestly better than the others. In ELA the picture is weaker, particularly in third grade, where only about one in six students scored proficient. Fifth grade science results, from the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, were similarly low. These are not numbers that describe a school punching above what you might expect from its demographic context, and they represent a real gap from the statewide midpoint. A parent who wants to understand how the school plans to address these outcomes, and what specific reading and math supports are in place, should ask that question directly of school leadership. Trend data across prior years was not available in what we reviewed, so it is not possible to say whether scores are moving in either direction.
Because Oak Park serves only pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, graduation rate data does not apply. Program offerings were not included in the data available, so we have no information about enrichment, arts, dual language, or after-school programs to characterize.
The housing market in the zip code surrounding the school shows home values sitting below the state average and well below the national median, and those values have declined modestly over the past year, according to Zillow data. Rents in the area have ticked up slightly over the same period. The rent-to-income ratio in this zip suggests that renting here consumes a meaningful share of household income. For families considering homeownership near the school, the entry point is relatively accessible compared to much of the Tampa metro, though carrying costs at current mortgage rates represent a real constraint.
Tampa broadly is in an active development phase. Water Street Tampa, the large mixed-use district backed by Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment, is operating downtown and adding phases through the late 2020s, publicly reported. The Gasworx district linking Ybor City with downtown and Channelside has residential and office completions expected in 2026, with a marketplace planned for early 2027. That kind of investment is concentrated in downtown and adjacent neighborhoods rather than the east-side corridor where Oak Park sits, though it shapes the city's economic trajectory for residents across Tampa.
At the district level, Hillsborough County voters approved a one-mill property tax referendum in November 2024, publicly reported. Running from July 2025 through June 2029, it adds to the annual tax bill for homeowners and directs those funds toward teacher and support staff pay supplements, aimed at addressing the district's chronic staffing shortages. Separately, the district executed a significant boundary rezoning for the 2024-25 school year, affecting dozens of schools and potentially shifting thousands of students to different assignments, publicly reported. Families new to the district should verify their current boundary assignments rather than assuming historical placements hold.
Chronic absenteeism and discipline data for Oak Park were not available in what we reviewed. Those figures often tell a different story about school climate than test scores alone, and a parent would be well served to ask the school for those numbers directly.
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