The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Science. The lowest is 62% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on William S Maxey Elementary
William S. Maxey Elementary sits on East Story Road in Winter Garden, a former citrus town in west Orange County that has become one of Central Florida's fastest-growing communities. The school serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of Orange County Public Schools.
The student body is racially diverse, with Black and Hispanic students together making up roughly four in five enrolled children. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Maxey among the higher-need elementary schools in its district context. Data on English learner counts and students with individualized education programs was not reported in what we reviewed, so a parent with questions about those services would want to ask the school directly.
On the most recent Florida state assessments, Maxey's results are mixed across grades. In reading, third graders perform at a rate roughly on par with the statewide average, while fourth and fifth grade results are modestly above it. Math tells a more varied story: fourth graders perform well above the statewide average, a real strength, but third and fifth grade math results land closer to the middle of the state distribution. Science, tested only in fifth grade, comes in notably higher than the statewide midpoint. When the school's overall proficiency index is placed against the districts in Orange County, Maxey lands in the top quartile, which is a meaningful position given the size and competitiveness of that county. Trend data across years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether results have been climbing, steady, or shifting.
No program offerings were listed in the data we reviewed, so we could not describe enrichment, arts, or intervention programs. A parent interested in what the school provides beyond core instruction would benefit from a direct conversation with the front office.
The housing market around the school reflects Winter Garden's transformation. Home values in the zip code are well above the Florida statewide median and have edged slightly downward year over year. Rents are also above statewide norms and have moved modestly upward. Monthly ownership costs in this area are meaningful relative to national income benchmarks, and the rent-to-income ratio suggests tight affordability for many families. The area is actively growing, with Horizon West master-planned communities expanding south of the main highway corridor and new construction from a range of national homebuilders. At least some of that growth has strained school capacity, prompting Orange County Public Schools to open additional campuses in the southern parts of the Winter Garden area.
Day-to-day life in Winter Garden centers on the Plant Street historic core, a walkable brick-lined district with the West Orange Trail running directly through it, a year-round Saturday farmers market, the Garden Theatre, and a concentration of restaurants and local businesses. Beyond that downtown strip, the city is car-dependent. Major employers in the area include healthcare systems like AdventHealth and Orlando Health, along with retail and service industries, with Walt Disney World and broader Orlando employment centers drawing much of the local workforce.
The district brief search did not turn up confirmed parent-relevant policy or program changes at the district level, so we left that out rather than speculate.
For a family considering Maxey, the picture is a diverse, higher-need elementary with science and fourth-grade math as clear strengths, a reading profile that is solid in the upper grades, and some unevenness in third grade across both subjects. The school places well among its county peers overall. The community around it is growing quickly, which brings energy and new infrastructure but also the pressures that come with rapid residential development. Families wanting to understand special education services, enrichment options, or classroom supports should reach out to the school, since those details were not in the data available here.
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