The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math. The lowest is 44% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pinetta Elementary School
Pinetta Elementary School sits in a small, rural, unincorporated community in Madison County, tucked among live oaks, farms, and nurseries in Florida's panhandle. The school served prekindergarten through sixth grade, and by the data available here it enrolled a small number of students, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. White students make up the largest share of enrollment, followed by Black students and a smaller Hispanic population. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the payload.
Before going further, there is something every family in Pinetta needs to know: the school is closed. The Madison County School Board voted in 2024 to close Pinetta Elementary, along with two other outlying elementary schools, and consolidate all traditional public PreK through sixth-grade students into Madison County Central School beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Publicly reported accounts describe the decision as driven by declining enrollment and a board vote that was not unanimous. The district has since moved to sell the Pinetta property, which, as publicly reported, signals the closure is permanent rather than a pause. Families in Pinetta whose children would have attended this school will now be making a commute to the consolidated campus in the Madison area.
The academic data in this profile reflects the school's last reported year of operation. On Florida's FAST Math assessment, students in the earlier tested grades performed solidly, with proficiency rates well above half. The sixth-grade math results were meaningfully weaker, falling below half of students reaching proficiency, and that gap is worth noting even as context. On FAST ELA, performance was more uneven: fourth grade was the strongest point, third and sixth grade sat at or just below half, and fifth grade was the lowest reading result across the tested grades. On the state science assessment administered in fifth grade, fewer than half of students reached proficiency. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether results were improving, holding, or declining in the school's final years. The comparison framework found only one district in Madison County, so no meaningful peer comparison could be produced.
The Pinetta community itself is quiet and deeply rural. The Four Freedoms Trail, a paved multi-use rail trail built on a former railroad corridor, runs through the area and connects to the county seat of Madison to the south and the Withlacoochee River at the Florida-Georgia border to the north. Outside of the trail, a small park, and a village store, Pinetta has no commercial district to speak of. Madison, roughly a short drive to the south-southwest, is where county services, employers, North Florida College, and the remaining schools are concentrated.
The housing market near Pinetta has seen modest appreciation recently, with typical home values coming in well below the Florida state average and also below the national benchmark. That relative affordability reflects the area's rural, slow-growth character. Madison County's population has edged downward in recent years, and the county's housing stock leans heavily toward single-family homes and mobile homes with little new construction. The county's major employment base includes agriculture, food processing, and a medical cannabis operator, with healthcare and educational services rounding out the larger sectors.
For families weighing where to settle in this part of Madison County, the practical school question now centers on Madison County Central School, where Pinetta's former students are enrolled. Pinetta Elementary as a neighborhood institution is gone, and the property is for sale. Parents who want to understand what the consolidated school looks like academically, what the commute means for young children, and what support services are available there would be best served by contacting the Madison County School District directly.
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