The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Blanton Elementary School
Blanton Elementary sits on the north side of St. Petersburg, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Pinellas County district. The school draws a genuinely diverse student body: white, Hispanic, Black, and Asian students each make up a meaningful share of enrollment, and multiracial students add further variety. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Blanton among the higher-need schools in its district context. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available in the materials we reviewed, so those dimensions are worth asking about directly.
On state assessments, Blanton's picture is mixed in a way that bears closer attention. Reading proficiency in third grade sits at a low level by Florida standards, and the upper elementary grades do not climb much higher in ELA, staying in a range that falls below the midpoint of what Florida considers proficient. Math results are stronger, particularly in fourth and fifth grade, where the school reaches the lower-to-mid range of what would be typical for Florida schools at those grade levels. The fifth-grade science assessment is the school's clearest strength in the testing data, with proficiency at a level that would be respectable statewide. Trend data across prior years was not available in the materials, so it is not possible to say whether scores are improving or holding flat. A parent focused on early reading would want to ask the school directly about intervention supports, given where third-grade ELA proficiency currently stands.
The district context matters here. Pinellas County Schools publicly reported earning an "A" grade from the Florida Department of Education for the first time in district history in 2024, tied to a custom ELA curriculum built around the science of reading and aligned to Florida's B.E.S.T. standards. The curriculum rollout began in the early grades and extended a structured literacy approach into grades three through five. That curricular direction is relevant for any family thinking about how a higher-need school like Blanton fits within a district that is actively investing in early reading. In late 2024, voters also renewed and expanded a local-option school property tax that funds teacher and support-staff compensation as well as reading, music, art, and technology programs. For a family buying a home near the school, that levy is a real ongoing cost, and for families choosing Blanton, it is a concrete signal of community investment in programming.
St. Petersburg itself is a city in a sustained growth phase. The area around Blanton, on the north side of the city, sits away from the downtown core where most of the high-profile development and cultural activity is concentrated. Locally reported home values in the zip code where the school sits are well below the Florida statewide median and have moved slightly downward year over year, making this part of the city meaningfully more accessible to buyers than coastal or downtown-adjacent neighborhoods. Rents in the area are modestly below what the city's higher-profile zip codes command, though they have ticked upward recently. For a family priced out of St. Petersburg's more prominent neighborhoods, the north side of the city carries a real affordability advantage.
The city as a whole offers a dense civic fabric: a waterfront park network, a seven-branch public library system with a recently renovated main branch, and bus rapid transit on the SunRunner corridor. Major employers include Raymond James, Jabil, and health systems like Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, alongside federal science and research agencies near the USF campus downtown. Blanton families would access these resources citywide rather than within immediate walking distance of the school's location.
The graduation rate does not apply to Blanton, which serves only pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Program offerings data was not available in the materials we reviewed, so specific enrichment, arts, or intervention programs at the school level would require a direct inquiry. The comparison data for Pinellas County produced a cohort too small for a meaningful proficiency index comparison, so positioning against neighboring districts is not available here.
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