Horizon Charter School of Tampa, Tampa FL

Original Research by School Decision on Horizon Charter School of Tampa

Horizon Charter School of Tampa is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school on West Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa's west side. It sits within the Hillsborough County public school system and draws from a city that is actively growing, with housing costs that have climbed sharply in recent years and are now running roughly in line with the Florida statewide median, though they have softened slightly year over year.

The school is small relative to most K-8 schools, serving a student body spread fairly evenly across nine grade levels. The demographic makeup is predominantly Hispanic, with white and Asian students composing most of the remaining enrollment. Very few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which means the school is serving a relatively low-poverty population. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in what we reviewed, so families with those needs may want to ask the school directly about its support structures.

Academically, the picture is genuinely strong in the upper grades and more mixed in the lower ones. In reading, the middle school grades stand out: sixth- and seventh-grade ELA proficiency is near universal, and the eighth grade posted full proficiency on the state's FAST ELA assessment. In math, sixth and seventh grades similarly show very high proficiency. Science results at both the fifth-grade and eighth-grade tested checkpoints are excellent, with eighth-grade science also posting full proficiency. These are real strengths worth naming plainly.

The early and upper elementary grades tell a different story. Third-grade math proficiency sits below the majority, and fourth and fifth grade run at moderate levels in both math and ELA. The pattern suggests a school where academic performance builds substantially as students move through the grades, with the middle school cohort performing at a notably higher level than the elementary cohort. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who arrive in third through fifth grade and what explains the sharp upward trajectory into sixth grade, since understanding that inflection point matters for families considering the full K-8 arc.

No multi-year trend data was available in what we reviewed, so it is not possible to say whether these patterns are improving, stable, or have shifted. The school does not serve high school grades, so graduation rate does not apply here.

No comparison data was available positioning this school against peers, because the county's comparison set contained only a single district, making a relative ranking meaningless. Program details were not provided in the data we reviewed, so it is not possible to say whether the school offers specific arts, STEM, language, or enrichment programming beyond the core curriculum.

The surrounding area is part of a Tampa metro that is in a distinct growth phase. Publicly reported development activity has been concentrated downtown and in adjacent districts, with Water Street Tampa and the emerging Gasworx neighborhood continuing to reshape the city's core. The broader residential market near the school carries housing costs that have been flat to slightly declining year over year, while rents have ticked up modestly. Hillsborough County voters approved a property tax levy in late 2024 to fund teacher pay increases, and under state law charter schools receive a share of that funding, which may have some bearing on staffing at Horizon. Separately, the district undertook a significant boundary rezoning for the 2024-25 school year affecting many district schools; charter enrollment is generally not boundary-driven, but families comparing options with zoned district schools should be aware that assigned schools may have changed.

For a family seeking a small, low-poverty charter setting with strong middle school academic outcomes and a predominantly Hispanic peer community in west Tampa, this school fits a clear profile. The elementary performance gap is the one area worth probing further before enrolling younger children.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 58% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 59% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 54% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 697%

School 97% · District 54% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 793%

School 93% · District 36% · ▲ 57 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 56 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 53% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 53% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 53% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 697%

School 97% · District 55% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 797%

School 97% · District 55% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 8100%

School 100% · District 52% · ▲ 48 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Science

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 50% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

Grade 8100%

School 100% · District 48% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

This schoolHILLSBOROUGH, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income100%50 pp gap