The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Math. The lowest is 65% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School
Annie Lucy Williams Elementary sits on Fort Hamer Road in Parrish, a fast-growing unincorporated community in northwestern Manatee County where former cattle land is being converted into master-planned subdivisions at a pace that keeps the school district in a near-constant state of expansion. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within Manatee County Schools. Its enrollment is on the larger side for a Florida elementary school.
The academic picture from the most recent FAST assessments is generally strong. Math proficiency across the tested elementary grades runs in a range that places the school solidly above what most Florida elementary schools would consider average, with third and fifth grade performing particularly well and fourth grade tracking somewhat lower. Reading proficiency follows a similar arc: third grade sits in the mid-range, and the numbers improve through fourth and fifth grade, where the school reaches a level that compares well statewide. Fifth-grade science proficiency is in the mid-to-upper range for Florida. The sixth-grade math result in the data reflects a very small group of students tested at that level and should be read cautiously rather than as a school-wide indicator. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or a recent shift.
About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which puts the school in a middle range economically rather than at either extreme. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up a meaningful share, and smaller representations of Black students and those of two or more races. Data on English learner and special education populations was not reported, so families of children who may need those services should ask the school directly about what is available and how it is staffed.
The community the school draws from is defined by growth. Parrish is publicly reported as one of Manatee County's fastest-growing communities, with multiple large residential developments bringing thousands of new households to an area that was recently rural. New infrastructure is arriving alongside that growth: a BayCare hospital planned as the first north of the Manatee River, a State College of Florida campus in development, and new and expanded school campuses including a middle school under construction within the North River Ranch community. The Manatee district has already redrawn elementary and middle school attendance zones to manage enrollment increases, and high school rezoning is expected to follow in a couple of years. Families choosing a home partly on the basis of school assignments should verify current zone maps, as boundaries in this part of the county have been in active flux.
Housing near the school reflects the broader Parrish market: typical home values are above both the Florida and national medians, though prices have dipped year-over-year from recent peaks. Estimated mortgage costs are meaningfully higher than rents in the same zip code, and the price-to-income ratio indicates a market where housing costs are a real budget consideration. Rents have held relatively flat. The area is car-dependent; everyday errands and commutes require driving, though some of the newer planned communities internally market trails and walkable amenity areas.
Manatee County voters renewed the district's supplemental property tax in November 2024, which publicly reported accounts say supports additional instructional time each school day, teacher salary supplements, STEM, career and technical programs, early literacy, arts, athletics, and school safety. For Annie Lucy Williams, the early literacy and elementary STEM elements of that referendum are the most directly relevant.
No program-specific data was provided for this school, so details about any enrichment, gifted, or specialty programming would need to come from the school itself. Civil rights outcome data was also not available in the data provided. For the comparison against Manatee County districts, the available set contained only one district, so no meaningful peer comparison can be drawn from it.
What the data suggests is a school performing at or above typical Florida elementary benchmarks in a community growing rapidly around it, serving a mixed-income student body in a suburb that is still building out its civic and commercial infrastructure.
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