The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Rosenwald Elementary School
Rosenwald Elementary sits on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Bay, a small agricultural city on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County's Glades region. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Palm Beach district.
South Bay itself is a place shaped by sugar cane farming and, more recently, by the presence of a large private correctional facility as the city's dominant employer. Publicly reported accounts describe it as having almost no commercial district to speak of, surrounded by plowland and canals, with a sparse, generational feel tied to agricultural work. Most residents own their homes. The library, named for a longtime former mayor and housed in the city's municipal complex, offers free computer access and lending laptops. The housing market here is considerably more accessible than the Florida state average, and home values have seen only modest movement in the past year, sitting well below both state and national benchmarks.
The school is small for an elementary serving its grade band. The student population is predominantly Black, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a very small number of white and other students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty enrollment context. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learner status was not available in the records reviewed.
On the most recent Florida state assessments, the math picture is the stronger one. Third graders tested at a solid proficiency rate, among the more encouraging results at the school. Fifth grade math also comes in at a level worth noting. Fourth grade math is more moderate. These results place the school with some real competence in early and upper elementary numeracy.
Reading and language arts results tell a different story. Across third, fourth, and fifth grades, ELA proficiency rates are low, with fifth grade the weakest of the three tested cohorts. This is a meaningful gap, and parents of students who may need additional reading support would be well-served asking the school directly about its literacy intervention programs and how it identifies and addresses students who are behind grade level. Science proficiency at fifth grade comes in at a middling level, neither a clear strength nor a serious concern.
Taken together, the overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places Rosenwald in the bottom quartile relative to the other districts in Palm Beach County. That comparison is a useful reference point, though it is worth keeping in mind that the student population here carries substantial economic disadvantage, which research consistently associates with lower average test outcomes. The data does not allow a trend analysis because multi-year comparability information was not available.
No information on program offerings, chronic absenteeism, or discipline was included in the available records. The district brief returned no confirmed parent-relevant changes, so district-level context on strategic priorities or recent initiatives was left out rather than guessed at.
For a family in South Bay, Rosenwald is the neighborhood public elementary. The community it serves is tight-knit and agricultural in character, and the school reflects that setting. The math results, particularly in the earliest grades, offer a real anchor. The reading results are an area a parent would want to probe further with school staff before drawing conclusions about what supports are in place.
See more original research from School Decision →