The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Math. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Legacy Preparatory Academy
Legacy Preparatory Academy is a small charter school on East Linebaugh Avenue in Tampa, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. With an enrollment that fits comfortably in a single corridor, this is an intimate setting where students are unlikely to get lost in the crowd. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the school serves a population facing real economic pressure. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with very few white or Asian students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available, so families with those considerations should ask the school directly about its support structures.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the picture is uneven and warrants honest attention. In third grade, math proficiency is low, and ELA is somewhat higher but still modest. Results for grades four through six were suppressed, likely because the grade-level enrollment in those cohorts is small enough to trigger state privacy rules. By seventh grade, math and ELA proficiency each reach about the halfway mark, which represents a meaningful uptick. Eighth grade math is the school's clearest strength in the data, with proficiency climbing noticeably above the school's lower-grade results. Eighth grade ELA is below the seventh-grade reading result. Eighth grade science proficiency is below the midpoint. Trend data across years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether results are improving, and a parent would be well-served by asking the school how academic growth is tracked and supported from year to year.
The school offers no AP courses, dual enrollment, or career and technical programs, which is consistent with its grade band. It does not serve high school grades, so graduation rate is not applicable here. Program details beyond the basic K-8 structure were not provided, so families curious about extracurriculars, arts, STEM emphases, or enrichment should ask directly.
Because Legacy Prep is a charter that falls within Hillsborough County's school landscape, two district-level developments are worth knowing. Voters approved a property tax millage in late 2024 to fund teacher and staff compensation increases running through 2029, and publicly reported information indicates charter schools receive a share of those funds under state law. Separately, Hillsborough County Schools completed a major boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year affecting dozens of schools and potentially tens of thousands of students. Families considering neighborhood public schools alongside this charter option should verify current boundary assignments.
The school sits in Tampa's north-central residential band, some distance from the downtown core and the high-profile development activity concentrated along the Hillsborough River and Water Street. The immediate neighborhood around Linebaugh Avenue is a working residential area. Housing near the school is priced well below both the state and national medians, and rents in the zip code are at a level where, by income ratio, affordability is still a real concern for many households. Home values in the area have dipped slightly year over year.
For a family choosing this school, the draw is likely the small, community-rooted environment in a majority-Black and Hispanic setting, with a full K-8 pathway that keeps students in one building from kindergarten through middle school. The academic data shows real gains in the upper grades, particularly in math, but lower-grade proficiency is a soft spot that a parent should explore with the school. What supports exist for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks in reading and math in the elementary years is the clearest open question the data raises.
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