The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Math. The lowest is 52% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cimino Elementary School
Cimino Elementary sits on Culbreath Road in Valrico, an unincorporated community in eastern Hillsborough County that developed as a bedroom suburb east of Brandon and southeast of Tampa. Valrico grew rapidly over recent decades as families sought housing at a distance from the urban core, and the result is a place organized around deed-restricted subdivisions, tree-lined streets, and wetland conservation corridors rather than any walkable center. Commercial life runs along State Road 60 in strip plazas, and most daily errands require a car. The Bloomingdale Regional Public Library serves as a civic anchor for the area, and recreation options include county parks and nearby conservation lands to the east and south.
Cimino is a regular public elementary serving prekindergarten through fifth grade and sits within Hillsborough County Public Schools. Enrollment is on the larger end for an elementary school of its grade band. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with white students forming a plurality, Hispanic students making up roughly a third, and smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and Asian students. A bit over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning economic need is present but not the dominant characteristic of the school. Data on English learner shares and individualized education program rates were not available in the data provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, Cimino's math results are a clear strength. Proficiency rates in math across the tested grades run well above what most Florida elementary schools report, with third graders performing the strongest and scores remaining solid through fifth grade. ELA results tell a more mixed story. Third- and fourth-grade reading proficiency rates fall in a reasonable range relative to state norms, but fifth-grade ELA proficiency slips noticeably lower and sits closer to the midpoint of statewide results. Science, tested in fifth grade through the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, comes in just above half of students reaching proficiency, which is roughly in line with statewide typical performance but worth watching as students approach middle school. Parents who want to understand what drives the fifth-grade dip in ELA and science would do well to ask the school directly about how those students are supported and what the trajectory looks like heading into sixth grade. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible from this data to say whether performance is rising or holding steady.
Prekindergarten and kindergarten serve meaningful numbers of children, which means the school functions as an entry point for very young students as well as those progressing through the elementary years. Program-specific offerings such as gifted services, arts, or enrichment programs were not in the data, so families interested in those dimensions should contact the school.
Housing in the Valrico ZIP code carries a price well above both the Florida statewide median and the national median, and the market has shown a modest year-over-year softening. Rents are also elevated. The estimated monthly cost of owning carries a price-to-income ratio that is higher than the national norm, meaning buyers should run the numbers carefully. Homeowners will also factor in a property tax change now in effect: Hillsborough County voters approved a one-mill school district levy in late 2024, running through mid-2029, directed at raising teacher and staff pay. The referendum passed and takes effect beginning in mid-2025, adding a real annual cost for property owners.
One structural issue worth knowing: Hillsborough County Public Schools completed a major district-wide boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, shifting large numbers of students to different schools across the county. Families should confirm their current address still falls within Cimino's attendance zone, as boundaries that applied a few years ago may have changed.
The comparison framework for this school has only one district in Hillsborough County, so a formal peer comparison against neighboring districts is not available from this data set.
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