The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Math. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ponce De Leon Elementary School
Ponce de Leon Elementary sits on Ammons Road in the small rural town of Ponce de Leon, Florida, in the northwestern Panhandle. The elementary school and the combined middle-high school share the same campus stretch along that road, placing the entire K-12 experience in one compact rural setting away from any town center. The town itself is organized along U.S. Route 90, with Interstate 10 nearby, and the everyday character is agricultural: pine farms, poultry, and cattle operations define the local economy. Publicly reported sources describe a dispersed, car-dependent community where most residents own homes on larger acreage rather than in subdivisions. The main outdoor draw is Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, a natural spring within town limits that residents use for swimming and hiking. There is no in-town library branch and no public transit serving the area.
The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade, making it the first stop in the Holmes County district's academic pipeline. Enrollment is small for a traditional elementary school. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to an economically modest community, and this aligns with the broader context: Holmes County as a whole qualifies for federal underserved-community designation. The student body is predominantly white, with small Hispanic and multiracial populations. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, math proficiency in the third and fourth grades lands at the midpoint, while fifth grade math falls somewhat below that. ELA results show more variation: fourth grade is the strongest result across all tested subjects, but third grade ELA is below the midpoint and fifth grade ELA is noticeably weaker, the softest number in the dataset. Fifth grade science sits just under the midpoint. Across the board, the pattern suggests roughly half or fewer students are reaching the proficiency bar the state sets, with fifth grade being the year where results dip most. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these numbers are improving, holding, or declining. A parent wanting to understand the trajectory would want to ask the school directly. No comparison against other schools in Holmes County or statewide was possible for the school level; the county has only one district, making a meaningful relative ranking unavailable.
Because the school serves only prekindergarten through fifth grade, graduation rate data does not apply here. That measure belongs to the high school on the same campus.
One parent-relevant change worth knowing: in early 2025, Holmes County schools expanded free, on-campus telehealth to every school in the district through a partnership with PanCare of Florida. Students can now consult a licensed provider during the school day at no cost to the family, whether or not they have insurance, covering diagnosis, treatment, lab work, and prescriptions with parental consent. In a rural county where healthcare access is limited, this is a practical difference in day-to-day family life.
Housing in the area is meaningfully more affordable than the Florida statewide median, with local home values running well below the state average and also below national norms. The price-to-income ratio is more favorable here than in most of the country. The market is composed largely of single-family homes on multi-acre rural parcels rather than planned subdivisions, and publicly reported data shows modest year-over-year appreciation. Population in Ponce de Leon has been roughly flat, with a slight uptick in recent estimates after a small decline in the 2020 census. Growth is slow, and the town's civic focus appears to be rehabilitating existing housing rather than building new.
Program offerings and course access data for the school were not available in what was provided. Discipline and attendance data were also absent. A parent interested in specific enrichment programs, support services, or extracurricular options would need to contact the school or visit the Holmes District School Board website directly.
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