Frank Hartsfield Elementary School, Tallahassee FL

Original Research by School Decision on Frank Hartsfield Elementary School

Frank Hartsfield Elementary is a PreK-through-fifth-grade public school in Tallahassee, Florida, sitting within the Leon County school district. It serves a small enrollment for its grade band, with a large majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which places it among the more economically disadvantaged campuses in its setting. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of white, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what we received.

On Florida's FAST assessments, the academic picture is one parents should look at carefully. Math proficiency is strongest in third grade and weaker in fourth, with fifth grade in between. ELA proficiency is low across all three tested grades, with third grade the most concerning. Fifth-grade science proficiency sits below the midpoint. Compared to other districts in Leon County, Hartsfield's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether scores are improving, holding steady, or declining. A parent would want to ask the school directly what interventions are in place and how student progress is tracked year over year.

No program offerings data was provided, and the district brief found no confirmed parent-relevant policy or curriculum changes to report. Title I status was not listed in the data we received, which is worth asking about when contacting the school, since that designation often connects to additional federal support resources.

The school sits on Chowkeebin Nene in Tallahassee's 32301 zip code, which covers part of the city's urban core south and southeast of downtown. Home values in the zip code run well below both the Florida statewide median and the national median, making this one of the more affordable parts of Tallahassee's housing market. Values have dipped slightly over the past year while rents have edged upward, though rent-to-income ratios here remain manageable compared to many Florida metros.

Tallahassee itself is a mid-sized state capital shaped by three institutions: state government, higher education anchored by Florida State University and Florida A&M University, and healthcare centered on Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. Most of the city requires a car for daily errands, though downtown and Midtown have real walkability. The city's bus system, StarMetro, runs cross-town routes from its downtown hub and includes university-area service; a new transit center on the southside broke ground recently, which could matter for families in this part of town. Parks, a county library system with a main branch downtown, and a modest but ongoing pace of residential development round out daily life. Population growth in the metro has been slow and steady, with planners pushing for denser housing to meet projected demand.

For families weighing Hartsfield, the central question the data raises is academic support. Proficiency rates in both math and ELA are low relative to other schools in Leon County, and reading performance especially warrants a direct conversation with school staff about what supplemental instruction looks like at each grade level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 63% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 61% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 56% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 57% · ▼ 35 pts below district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 55% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 54% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 51% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

This schoolLEON, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income22%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income40%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income33%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income51%Higher-income52%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income47%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income39%5 pp gap