The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gulfside Elementary School
Gulfside Elementary sits on Anclote Boulevard in Holiday, Florida, a western Pasco County community that functions as a residential bedroom suburb rather than an incorporated city. It has no formal municipal government, and daily life runs along the US Highway 19 commercial corridor rather than any traditional downtown. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and draws from a neighborhood that mixes modest subdivisions, a sizable retiree population, and waterfront enclaves near the Gulf. Nearby, Anclote Gulf Park provides green space, and a branch of the Pasco County Libraries system serves the surrounding area. The school's campus sits within a cluster of public schools in western Holiday, close to where Paul R. Smith Middle School and Anclote High School are located.
The student body is modest in size for an elementary school. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this among higher-poverty schools in the state. The student population is racially and ethnically mixed, with white, Hispanic, and Black students each representing meaningful portions of enrollment alongside students of two or more races. Data on English learner counts and students with individualized education programs were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments for the most recent school year, proficiency rates across reading, math, and science are low across all tested grades. In ELA, fourth grade showed the strongest result among the three grades tested, while third and fifth grade results were considerably lower. Math proficiency declined from third grade through fifth grade, and the fifth-grade science assessment result was also well below what most families would hope to see. These results sit in the lower range relative to state expectations, and a parent would be well served to ask the school directly about how it is addressing these gaps, what supports are available for students who are behind grade level, and what the school's improvement trajectory looks like. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible from what was provided to say whether performance has been improving or declining.
The Pasco County School District, which operates Gulfside, has been active on funding in recent years. Voters approved a millage referendum in 2022 that directed money to teacher and staff salaries, and publicly reported accounts indicate teacher vacancies dropped substantially as a result. A renewal of that referendum is headed to voters in late 2026. The county also renewed its Penny for Pasco sales tax, with the school district receiving a share for construction, renovations, safety work, and technology. These are real property-tax and sales-tax costs for families buying or renting in Holiday, worth factoring into housing decisions. Rapid enrollment growth in eastern Pasco County is prompting new school construction and boundary adjustments in Wesley Chapel, though Holiday itself is on the western side of the county and families here are less likely to face imminent rezoning.
The Holiday housing market is considerably more affordable than the Florida state median, and home values in the surrounding zip code have edged down modestly over the past year. Rents have risen slightly. Monthly ownership costs are meaningfully lower here than in much of coastal Florida, and rent-to-income ratios run below the level that typically signals housing stress. That affordability is one of the community's consistently cited draws, particularly for buyers priced out of Tampa or Pinellas County.
Holiday is car-dependent. The US 19 corridor has a documented history of pedestrian danger, and while infrastructure improvements are underway, families with children should be aware that getting around without a car remains difficult. The school's immediate area near Anclote Boulevard is more residential in character than the commercial strip.
Program-level information for Gulfside Elementary was not available in what was provided, so it is not possible to characterize any enrichment, arts, STEM, or intervention offerings the school may have. Families would want to contact the school directly to understand what is available.
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