The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 47% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pinewood Elementary
Pinewood Elementary sits on North Apopka Vineland Road in the northwest Orlando area, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Orange County. The school draws from a neighborhood that is largely residential and removed from both the downtown core and the tourist corridors that define Orlando's more recognizable geography. This part of the city is car-dependent and quieter than the urban and commercial zones closer to the center.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic population and small numbers of other groups. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school among those serving communities with substantial economic need. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed, so a parent with specific questions about language support or special education services would want to ask the school directly.
On Florida's FAST assessments, Pinewood's results across tested grades and subjects land below the midpoint among districts in Orange County, based on the comparison data available. In math, third and fourth graders performed at roughly half-proficient or a bit above, while fifth grade fell just under half. ELA proficiency tracked similarly, with third grade performing around half-proficient, fourth grade somewhat below that, and fifth grade weaker still. Science scores for fifth graders came in just under half-proficient. These are not strong results, and families whose children need grade-level or above-grade-level academic preparation should ask the school specifically what supports, interventions, or enrichment are in place, because the data alone does not tell you how the school addresses the gap between current performance and grade-level expectations.
Trend data was not available, so there is no way from this information to say whether performance has been moving in any direction. Program offerings for Pinewood were not included in the data we reviewed, so we cannot describe enrichment, arts, dual-language, or intervention programming. The district brief for Orange County yielded little on strategic priorities or recent policy changes, so we left that out rather than speculate.
The housing market around the school's zip code shows home values modestly below the Florida state average and roughly in line with the national figure, with a slight year-over-year decline. Rents have also edged down slightly over the past year. The estimated monthly cost of carrying a mortgage on a typical area home runs well above what would be considered affordable relative to national median income, which is a pattern seen across much of Orlando and reflects how much the region's housing costs have shifted in recent years. Renting comes out somewhat less expensive month to month than buying in this market.
Orlando broadly is in an active growth phase. New development is concentrated downtown and in tourism corridors, and the city's economy, publicly reported as maturing beyond its tourism base, is drawing investment in healthcare, higher education, aerospace, and mixed-use development. None of that investment appears particularly close to Pinewood's immediate neighborhood, but the countywide job market and the presence of major employers like the hospital systems, the university, and the airport make Orange County a reasonably stable employment environment for families.
Graduation rate data does not apply to Pinewood, which ends at fifth grade. For families thinking about the longer academic arc, the pathway from Pinewood feeds into Orange County Public Schools for middle and high school, and understanding those options would require looking separately at the middle schools in this area's attendance zone.
What this picture adds up to: Pinewood is a neighborhood elementary school with a high-need student population and test results that currently sit below the county midpoint. The school warrants direct conversation with administrators about what academic supports exist, how the school monitors and responds to individual student progress, and what the experience of families already enrolled looks like day to day.
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