The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 19% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on G D Rogers Garden- Bullock Elementary
G D Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary sits on 13th Avenue West in Bradenton, a PreK-through-5 public school in the Manatee County School District. Its neighborhood sits close to the heart of Bradenton, within walking distance of the Manatee River corridor and the historically layered downtown that includes the Village of the Arts district and the Riverwalk. The surrounding area reflects Bradenton's older residential character, with the broader commercial geography of Manatee Avenue and U.S. 41 nearby.
The school draws a predominantly Hispanic and Black student population, with those two groups making up the large majority of enrollment. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this squarely among the higher-poverty elementary schools in the area. Specific data on English learner rates and students receiving special education services were not reported in the available data.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the school's proficiency results are low. In math, about a third of third graders and fifth graders tested at grade-level proficiency, with a somewhat stronger showing from fourth graders, still well below the midpoint. In ELA, the results are more concerning: only a small fraction of third graders reached proficiency on FAST ELA, and fourth and fifth graders were in roughly the low-to-mid twenties. Science proficiency in fifth grade came in at a similar level. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether the school is improving, holding, or declining. A parent who wants to understand the trajectory here would want to ask the school directly about its reading intervention programs and how it supports students who are behind grade level.
The comparison framework available for Manatee County was limited to a single district, so a formal county-level comparison against peer schools was not possible. What can be said plainly is that these proficiency rates are well below Florida state norms, and a family weighing this school should ask the district what targeted supports are in place, particularly for early literacy.
The Manatee district itself has been active on several fronts that directly affect families. Voters renewed a voter-approved property tax measure in late 2024 that, publicly reported, funds teacher salary supplements, an extended school day, STEM and career-technical programs, early literacy work, athletics, and school safety. That funding stream is relevant here because early literacy is one of the priorities it covers, and the school's ELA numbers suggest that investment is needed. The district has also recently redrawn elementary attendance zones in response to rapid enrollment growth across Manatee County, meaning a family's assigned school could change depending on where they live. Parents should confirm current zoning directly with the district.
On the housing side, the zip code around the school shows home values that are meaningfully below both the Florida state median and the national median, and have declined modestly year over year. Rents have also softened slightly. For a family looking to rent rather than buy, the rent-to-income burden in this area is real, and monthly mortgage costs on a typical home here would consume a meaningful portion of household income at current rates.
Bradenton as a place offers more civic and cultural infrastructure than its size might suggest: the Riverwalk, a county library system with a central branch downtown, the Bishop Museum, and a transit network that covers much of the city, with fixed-route buses currently running fare-free under a publicly reported county pilot. The downtown market, arts district, and riverfront are accessible from this part of the city. The broader metro is in active growth, with new apartment supply coming online and new development pushing outward, though the neighborhood immediately around the school is established rather than newly built.
For a family evaluating this school, the academic proficiency data warrants a direct conversation with the school about what reading intervention looks like in practice, how students are tracked against grade-level benchmarks across the early grades, and what progress looks like for children who enter behind.
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