Oak Creek Charter School of Bonita Springs, Bonita Springs FL

Original Research by School Decision on Oak Creek Charter School of Bonita Springs

Oak Creek Charter School of Bonita Springs serves kindergarten through eighth grade on Performance Lane in a part of Bonita Springs that sits east of the downtown corridor. As a charter school within Lee County's public system, it draws from a city that is itself in a sustained period of growth, with residential and commercial expansion pushing steadily east of I-75 and population estimates climbing year over year.

The school's student body is predominantly Hispanic, reflecting the demographics of the broader Bonita Springs community, which has a large Latino population alongside a smaller share of white and Black students. Just over half of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning economic need is present across a substantial portion of the school. Enrollment is moderately sized for a K-8 school. Data on English learner designation and students with IEPs was not reported in what we received, so families with children in those categories will want to ask the school directly about support services.

State assessment results from Florida's FAST exams are where parents will want to look carefully. Proficiency rates in both math and ELA are low across most grade levels tested. In the earlier elementary grades, only a small fraction of students tested at grade-level proficiency in reading and math, and fifth grade results in both subjects and in science were particularly low. There is a notable uptick in the middle school years: sixth and seventh graders showed markedly better results in ELA, and seventh grade math proficiency was the strongest result the school posted across any subject or grade. Eighth grade results dropped again in both subjects. Science scores at the tested grades were modest. This is an uneven pattern, and it warrants a direct conversation with school leadership about what is driving the variation between grades and what academic support systems are in place. Trend data was not available in the records we reviewed, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or a plateau.

Because this is a K-8 school, graduation rate data does not apply here.

On the district side, Lee County has made several changes that affect charter and traditional public school families alike. The district overhauled student assignment through a proximity-based plan, reducing choice options and tying transportation eligibility to attendance zones; families considering Oak Creek should confirm how the charter school's enrollment and transportation policies interact with these district rules. Lee County also shifted to an elected, partisan superintendent beginning with the most recent election cycle, a governance change that alters how district leadership is chosen and held accountable. A voter-approved sales tax has funded capital improvements and safety upgrades across the county, including weapons detection technology and new school construction, though its scheduled expiration is a question the district has acknowledged.

Housing in the Bonita Springs zip code around the school sits notably above both the state median and the national median for home values, and rents run high enough that renters are spending a substantial share of income on housing. Values have softened modestly over the past year while rents have held roughly flat. For families weighing a move, the area is not inexpensive, and the price-to-income ratio is elevated relative to national norms.

Bonita Springs itself is a city with a clear physical divide between the walkable, revitalized historic downtown along Old 41 Road and the more car-dependent commercial corridors and residential subdivisions that spread outward. Healthcare, senior living, and regional employers anchor the local economy. The city's population skews older and seasonally swells with winter residents, though the east-of-the-interstate development boom is bringing in a younger mix. Civic life concentrates downtown around Riverside Park, the county library branch, and a farmers market and festival calendar that runs year-round.

For a family weighing Oak Creek, the honest picture is a charter school in a growing, relatively expensive community, with a demographically cohesive student body and real questions about academic outcomes that the state assessment data raises. A parent would do well to visit, ask the school what its instructional model is, and ask specifically what the school attributes the grade-to-grade variation to and what it is doing about it.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 56% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 57% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 48% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 54% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 31% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 60% · ▼ 52 pts below district

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 48% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 50% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 44% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 54% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 50% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 49% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 45% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 43% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolLEE, 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.