The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 72% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hilliard Elementary School
Hilliard Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small town of Hilliard, in the far northwest corner of Nassau County near the Florida-Georgia line. It is a regular public school within the Nassau County School District, drawing from a community that sits at the rural, affordable end of a county that also includes the Jacksonville-adjacent suburbs closer to the coast.
The school's state assessment results, reported on Florida's FAST and Statewide Science assessments, are quite strong. Math proficiency across the tested grades runs solidly above the midpoint, with third and fourth graders posting especially high results and fifth grade not far behind. Reading proficiency is positive across all three tested grades as well, with results ranging from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies depending on grade. Fifth-grade science, tested once at that level, rounds out a picture of a school that is generally performing well on Florida's assessments. Trend data was not available for comparison across years, so whether these results represent improvement, stability, or a shift from prior performance is something a parent may want to ask the school directly.
A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this in the range of a moderately high-need population by national standards. The school's strong assessment results alongside that economic context is worth noting. Race and ethnicity data shows the school is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Data on students with IEPs or English learner status was not reported in the available data, so a parent with a child who has special education needs or who is learning English may want to contact the school directly about those supports.
The town itself is genuinely rural. Publicly reported sources describe Hilliard as a railroad and timber town that retains a country feel, with acreage lots, well and septic common on rural properties, and an economy anchored by the timber industry, an FAA air traffic control center, agriculture, and construction trades. There is no meaningful walkable downtown; civic life clusters along a county road corridor where Town Hall and the public library branch sit near each other, while the school sits on a separate campus on Ohio Street. Driving is the only practical way to get around, and commutes to Jacksonville along US-1 are the longest in the county. Families considering a move here should weigh that car dependence.
The housing market in Hilliard is the most affordable in Nassau County, publicly reported sources note, running below the Florida statewide median. That gap has been widening as broader county prices have climbed. New-home development is actively underway, with multiple subdivisions in the pipeline, though residents have publicly raised concerns that roads, sidewalks, and drainage infrastructure need to catch up before large additions of housing. Buyers drawn by relative affordability should factor in the rural infrastructure reality.
At the district level, Nassau County voters approved an ongoing property tax increase a few years ago, with proceeds directed toward teacher and staff salaries, arts, athletics, and school safety programs. That millage increase is part of the tax burden any homeowner in the district carries. The district also settled a federal lawsuit in 2024 over the removal of library books, agreeing to return all titles challenged and removed in 2023, including works by Toni Morrison and Khaled Hosseini. That episode and its resolution reflect a recent, active debate over library materials in Nassau County schools that families with views on either side may want to consider.
Because Nassau County has only one public school district, comparisons against neighboring districts in the county were not possible with enough peers to be meaningful. A fuller picture of how Hilliard Elementary sits relative to schools in adjacent counties was not available in the data.
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