The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 54% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hickory Tree Elementary School
Hickory Tree Elementary sits on Old Hickory Tree Road in Saint Cloud, a city in eastern Osceola County that has been growing at a striking pace. The school serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within the Osceola district.
Saint Cloud itself is worth understanding before looking at the school, because the community context shapes so much of what families will experience. The city has roughly doubled its population in recent years and is actively updating land-use maps, annexing surrounding land, and absorbing master-planned communities. A major mixed-use project near City Hall reflects where the city is headed. That growth brings conveniences, including a walkable historic downtown on East Lake Tohopekaliga with locally owned shops, restaurants, and Lakefront Park's beach and marina, but residents also publicly cite traffic and strained infrastructure as ongoing concerns. Employers anchor in healthcare, retail, and municipal work. Transit is limited to a single bus line connecting to the Kissimmee Intermodal Station, so most families here depend on cars.
On academic performance, Hickory Tree reports state assessment results for grades three through five on the Florida FAST. In math, third graders score above the midpoint of the proficiency scale statewide, and fourth graders are close behind, while fifth-grade math proficiency dips to just over half of students. Reading follows a similar arc: third grade comes in above the majority threshold, then fourth and fifth grades fall to just over half. Fifth-grade science also sits just above half of students reaching proficiency. The overall picture is that the school's strongest academic results appear in the earlier tested grades, with some softening by fifth grade across subjects. Parents of upper-elementary children may want to ask the school about how it supports students as the content demands increase.
Multi-year trend data was not available in the provided information, so it is not possible to say whether these results reflect improvement, stability, or a decline from prior years.
The school enrolls a substantial number of students across its grade levels, making it a sizeable elementary for its type. The student body is roughly split between Hispanic and white students, with smaller shares of Black students and students identifying as two or more races. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful portion of families with lower incomes. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not reported, so the scale of those support needs cannot be characterized here.
The school holds no charter or magnet designation. Title I status was not reported in the data provided.
Housing near the school reflects the broader Saint Cloud market. Home values in the zip code are running somewhat above the Florida state median and modestly above national medians, though they have edged down slightly year over year. Rents have moved in the opposite direction, ticking up recently. Estimated monthly ownership costs put the market in moderately stretched territory relative to national income benchmarks, and rent claims a substantial share of a typical household's income. For families weighing a move to this part of Saint Cloud, the housing picture is not inexpensive, and the rental burden is worth factoring carefully.
The Osceola district brief search did not surface confirmed parent-relevant changes or strategic priorities before the research budget was exhausted, so district-level context beyond what the school data provides is not available here.
In short, Hickory Tree Elementary is a mid-to-large neighborhood school in one of Florida's fastest-growing communities, with academic results that are solid in the early tested grades and somewhat softer by fifth grade. Families choosing the area for its affordability relative to the Orlando metro, its lakefront character, and its proximity to major employers will find a school that reflects the demographic breadth of a rapidly changing city.
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