The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Fort Myers Middle Academy
Fort Myers Middle Academy is a sixth-through-eighth-grade public school in the River District area of downtown Fort Myers, sitting just off Central Avenue in the heart of Lee County's main city. It draws from a diverse student body in which Black and Hispanic students together make up a very large majority of enrollment, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty population by national standards. English learner and special education rates were not available in the data provided.
On the Florida FAST and state science assessments, proficiency rates across all three grades and all tested subjects land well below the Florida statewide norm. Math results are particularly low in seventh grade, and eighth-grade science proficiency is thin. ELA results follow a similar pattern across all three grade years. These are real gaps, and a parent considering the school should ask directly about what academic intervention and acceleration pathways the school offers, and how students are tracked and supported over the three middle school years. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible from this data alone to say whether results are improving, holding steady, or declining.
The neighbor comparison framework flagged that Lee County has only one district in the county dataset, so no meaningful peer-district proficiency comparison could be generated. The graduation rate measure does not apply to a middle school by definition.
Program data is limited but the school does field a range of sports, including basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball, which is a reasonable roster for a school of this size and grade band. No course access or career pathway information was available in the data.
The district context matters here. Lee County recently shifted from a longstanding open School Choice assignment system to a Proximity Plan, implemented at the middle school level starting in the 2024-2025 school year. This means families can no longer count on open enrollment across the district, and busing is now tied to proximity zones rather than guaranteed districtwide. Anyone relocating should verify Fort Myers Middle Academy's current boundary and transportation eligibility before making housing decisions. The district is also in the middle of a governance transition: voters approved shifting the superintendent position to a partisan elected office, with the first election held in 2024. A voter-approved sales tax running through 2028 has funded safety upgrades and new construction across the county, including weapons detection systems and access control; its renewal is an open question district leaders have flagged publicly.
Fort Myers itself is a city in active growth, with downtown experiencing a wave of residential construction and the broader metro among the faster-growing in the country. Housing near the school reflects that pressure: the local zip code shows home values that have declined over the past year and now sit meaningfully below the Florida state median, and rents have also softened recently. Even so, rent-to-income ratios in this part of the city run high relative to the national benchmark, meaning affordability remains a real constraint for many families. The downtown core, where the school is located, is the most walkable part of an otherwise car-dependent region, with public transit through LeeTran and a connected trail corridor.
For families with a middle schooler, the academic performance picture at Fort Myers Middle Academy warrants a closer conversation with the school about what supports are in place for students who arrive below grade level and what pathways exist for those who are on or above grade level. The school's position in a high-poverty, racially diverse urban community means its challenges and its student population are specific, and the fit depends heavily on what a family is looking for in those middle school years.
See more original research from School Decision →