Jefferson Schools K-12, Monticello FL

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Schools K-12

Jefferson Schools K-12 is the sole public school in Jefferson County, Florida, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade on a consolidated campus at 50 David Road, about four miles south of downtown Monticello in a distant rural setting. This is not a typical arrangement — the school houses every grade level under one roof, meaning a kindergartner and a senior share the same building and grounds. That consolidation reflects the county's scale: Jefferson is one of Florida's most rural counties, and this single school is the entire public system.

The campus sits away from the small historic downtown of Monticello, which retains a 19th-century commercial core, antebellum and Victorian homes shaded by live oaks, and civic anchors like the Jefferson County Courthouse and the R.J. Bailar Public Library. The town is the county seat and sits roughly a half-hour east of Tallahassee, functioning partly as a bedroom community for the capital. Local employment leans on agriculture, forestry, government, and schools, with Trulieve's cultivation operations and an industrial park with rail access representing newer economic threads. Growth is slow and gradual off a small base.

The student body is predominantly Black, with Hispanic and white students each making up roughly a fifth of enrollment. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school among higher-need populations by Florida standards. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in the data provided.

On state assessments, the picture is one of real challenge across grade levels and subjects. In early elementary math, proficiency rates are in the majority range for third grade, then step down meaningfully by fifth grade. Middle school math results sit in the low-to-mid range throughout, with fifth grade producing the weakest result. English language arts results follow a similar pattern: third and fourth graders test in the mid-range for ELA, but fifth and sixth grade results drop noticeably, with some recovery in seventh and eighth grade. Science results are the most pressing: the fifth-grade statewide science assessment shows only a small fraction of students reaching proficiency, and eighth-grade science, while higher, still leaves the majority of students below the bar. These are honest numbers, and a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly about what interventions and supports are in place as students move through the elementary grades into middle school, where the drop appears sharpest.

Because Jefferson County has only one district, the comparison data provided cannot be placed against neighboring county districts in a meaningful way — the county comparison set contains only this one entity. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data were not available in what was provided, which are gaps worth exploring directly with the school, particularly given the academic patterns above.

Program and course access details were not available in the data. For a school serving this grade band in a rural county, the breadth of AP offerings, dual enrollment, and career pathways matters a great deal to families with college-bound students, and those specifics are worth asking about directly. The district brief search did not surface confirmed recent changes or strategic priorities, so that context was left out.

Housing in the Monticello area runs meaningfully below the Florida state median, and prices have been trending upward in recent years, though the market remains far more accessible than most of the state. Rentals data were not available. For families considering a move to Jefferson County, the housing market offers relative affordability within commuting range of Tallahassee, but the single-school structure means there is no public school choice within the county — Jefferson Schools K-12 is the option, from the first day of pre-K through graduation.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 52%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 32% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 33 pts below state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 38% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 47% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 31 pts below state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 43% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 15% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 37 pts below state median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 29% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median

This schoolJEFFERSON, 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.