Original Research by School Decision on Encore
ENCORE is a public prekindergarten program located on Ray Charles Boulevard in Tampa, part of the Hillsborough County school district. It serves only prekindergarten, which means the full range of measures that typically appear in a school profile simply do not apply here. State assessment results are not reported for this grade, so there are no academic proficiency figures to review. Graduation rates, chronic absenteeism comparisons, and course-access data are similarly absent because the school does not serve grades where those metrics are collected. Enrollment data reported in the source showed no students at the time of the record, and demographic breakdowns were not available. A parent wanting to understand current enrollment or capacity would want to contact the school or the district directly.
What can be said is that ENCORE sits in a rapidly changing part of Tampa. Ray Charles Boulevard is within or near the downtown core, in an area that has seen substantial new development over the past several years. Water Street Tampa, a large mixed-use development backed by private investors, has added residences, offices, hotels, and retail to the nearby downtown waterfront. The Gasworx district, connecting Ybor City with downtown and Channelside, is expected to add a residential building and office tower in the near term, with a marketplace to follow. This context matters for families considering the school: the surrounding neighborhood is actively being rebuilt, with new residential towers and ongoing construction that will likely continue reshaping the area through the late 2020s.
The broader Tampa housing market around this zip code shows home values that sit meaningfully above the Florida state average, with values pulling back modestly over the past year. Rents have also softened slightly but remain elevated relative to income for many households. Families buying in this part of Tampa are entering one of the city's more expensive submarkets, even as prices have cooled from their recent peaks.
At the district level, Hillsborough County voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024 that adds a supplemental levy on assessed home value, running from mid-2025 through mid-2029. The proceeds are directed toward teacher and support staff pay. This is a direct cost for homeowners and a structural change to how schools in the district are funded during that period. Separately, the district carried out a significant boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, shifting attendance zones for a large number of schools across the county. Families should verify current attendance boundaries and school assignments directly with the district, as those lines may have moved.
Program details specific to ENCORE, including its curriculum model, schedule, and eligibility criteria, were not available in the data reviewed here. For a prekindergarten program, those details, along with the application process and any income or eligibility requirements, are the practical questions a parent would need to take up with the school itself.
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