Original Research by School Decision on La Amistad
La Amistad is a small special education school in Maitland, Florida, serving students from kindergarten through grade twelve under the Orange County school system. In practice, the enrolled population is concentrated in the middle and high school grades, with the elementary grades showing no students. The school is quite small, placing it among the most intimate settings a family will encounter anywhere in Orange County.
Because La Amistad is classified as a special education school, standard state proficiency testing results do not reflect its program in the usual way. Florida's FAST assessment data for math, ELA, and science across the tested grade levels were suppressed rather than reported, which is typical for schools serving students whose disability profiles may place them outside standard tested cohorts or where enrollment in any given grade is too small to report without risking student identification. A parent should not read the absence of published proficiency figures as a performance signal in either direction. The school's purpose, population, and outcomes are best understood by speaking directly with the school about its instructional model, transition planning, and post-secondary pathways for students with disabilities.
The racial and ethnic composition of the enrolled group is predominantly white, with small numbers of Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and multiracial students. Economic need data, IEP rates, and English learner rates were not available in the data provided. A graduation rate comparison was not applicable here given the school's special-education designation and the way its outcomes are structured. Comparisons relative to districts in Orange County on proficiency, graduation, and chronic absenteeism were all inapplicable for the same reason.
Program details were not available in the data, so specifics about curriculum, therapeutic support, life skills instruction, or vocational pathways are gaps a family would want to fill by contacting the school directly.
The school sits on North Park Avenue in Maitland, a suburban city in Orange County a short drive north of Orlando. Maitland has a walkable downtown core along Independence Lane, anchored by restaurants, shops, a weekly farmers market, and regular community events around Lake Lily Park. The Maitland SunRail commuter rail station connects the city to the broader regional transit network. The community is publicly reported as one of the older incorporated cities in Central Florida, with a strong residential character, a concentration of small lakes, and a professional services economy supported by proximity to I-4. A new public library building broke ground in spring 2026 and is expected to be completed within roughly a year and a half. The area is growing, with recent multifamily development near the SunRail station and in the downtown district, driven partly by conversions of older office sites to residential use.
Housing costs in the zip code are above both the Florida statewide median and the national median, with home values that have edged slightly downward year over year while rents have moved modestly upward. The estimated monthly carrying cost of a home here runs noticeably above a typical mortgage payment in most of Florida, which matters to families weighing a move to be near this school.
For a family with a child whose needs place them in a specialized setting, La Amistad's small size and dedicated classification as a special education school are the defining features. The school is worth a direct conversation about how it structures learning, what related services it provides, and what outcomes it supports for students across the wide age range it serves.
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