The reported proficiency rate for Science is 56%.
Original Research by School Decision on Jule F Sumner High School
Jule F. Sumner High School sits on County Road 672 in Riverview, a fast-growing unincorporated community southeast of Tampa. Riverview is organized around master-planned subdivisions like Panther Trace and FishHawk Ranch, with commercial life strung along highway corridors and a designed walkable node at Winthrop Town Centre. The area draws families relocating from the Northeast and Midwest looking for newer housing and relative affordability compared with Tampa proper, and the community retains a suburban, family-oriented character despite rapid population growth. Infrastructure is catching up to that growth, with road widening projects underway and new retail emerging along key corridors.
Sumner is a large school. Its enrollment spans all four high school grades, with students distributed fairly evenly across them, making it one of the bigger high schools in Hillsborough County's portfolio. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse: Hispanic students make up the largest group, followed by Black students, then white students, with smaller Asian and multiracial populations. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places a substantial share of families in lower-income brackets by federal thresholds. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available in what we received.
Academic performance data in this payload is limited. The only state assessment result present is the eighth-grade science exam, which Sumner administered because it serves students who arrive in ninth grade having been tested earlier, though this particular result appears tied to incoming students tested before high school. No high school subject proficiency figures, no ELA results, and no math results were included in the data we received. The neighbor comparison framework found only one district in Hillsborough County's comparison set, which made a meaningful ranking impossible, so that positioning was not reported. A graduation rate was not available in this data. Parents who want a full academic picture should ask the school directly for its most recent Florida School Grades report and graduation data, since what we received does not support a complete characterization of student outcomes.
The housing market around Sumner carries home values currently above the Florida state median and above the national median, with prices having declined modestly over the past year. Rents remain elevated relative to income. Monthly mortgage costs at current rates are substantial, and the rent-to-income ratio suggests affordability is a real consideration for families moving into the area. Homeowners in Hillsborough County are now subject to an additional one-mill property tax levy, approved by voters in late 2024 and running through mid-2029, that funds salary supplements for teachers and support staff. The levy adds a meaningful annual cost for homeowners and represents a structural change to how the district compensates educators.
Families should also be aware that Hillsborough County Schools completed a major district-wide rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, affecting dozens of schools and potentially redirecting a large number of students to different buildings. Anyone buying or renting in Riverview should confirm their address's current zoning assignment, since attendance boundaries have recently shifted.
Program details for Sumner were not available in the data we received. No information on AP course offerings, dual enrollment, career and technical education pathways, extracurriculars, or other programs was included, so we left that section out rather than guess. A call to the school or a visit to its district profile page would be the right way to assess the academic pathway options available to students.
What the data does show is a large, diverse high school inside one of Florida's most actively growing suburban communities. The surrounding area is car-dependent outside a few walkable pockets, employment is heavily tied to the broader Tampa metro, and civic life centers on the Alafia River, county parks, and a well-equipped public library. Whether Sumner's size and mix suit a family depends on what they are looking for in a high school environment, and the academic data gaps here are real enough that a direct conversation with the school is worth prioritizing before making a decision.
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