Calvin A. Hunsinger School, Clearwater FL

Original Research by School Decision on Calvin A. Hunsinger School

Calvin A. Hunsinger School sits on North Betty Lane in Clearwater, a mid-sized Pinellas County city currently in the middle of a significant downtown redevelopment push. The school is a district-run alternative school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade within Pinellas County Schools, though its actual enrollment is concentrated heavily in the upper middle and high school grades, with only a handful of students in the elementary years and very few in the earliest grades at all.

The enrollment is small. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a student body with substantial economic need. The racial and ethnic composition is roughly split among Black students, white students, and a mix of Hispanic and multiracial students, with almost no representation from other groups. Data on students with IEPs or English learners was not available in the records we drew from.

Understanding this school's state assessment results requires context. As an alternative school, Hunsinger draws students who have not thrived or cannot be served in a traditional setting, and the population is not comparable to a conventional neighborhood school. That said, the FAST assessment results that were reported for the middle grades show very low proficiency rates in math, reading, and science. For grades where results were reported, only a small fraction of students tested as proficient in any subject. Several grade-level results were suppressed, likely due to small group sizes, which is common at schools with very thin enrollment at particular grades. A parent reviewing these numbers should understand they reflect where students are when they arrive at Hunsinger, not necessarily what the school is accomplishing with them, but the data available does not include growth or value-added measures that would speak to that question directly. Families who want to understand academic progress here would be well served by asking the school directly about how it tracks and supports student advancement.

A graduation rate was not available in the data we received. Given that the school serves students through grade twelve and carries the characteristics of a re-engagement or continuation setting, this is a gap worth asking the school about, particularly for families whose child is approaching that finish line.

No information on specific program offerings, course access, staffing levels, or attendance data was included in the records for Hunsinger. The district's broader curriculum work, including Pinellas County Schools' publicly reported rollout of a science-of-reading-aligned ELA curriculum and its receipt of a top state grade in recent years, applies to the district as a whole; how that work reaches an alternative school setting is something to ask about specifically.

The Clearwater housing market near the school has seen home values edge downward over the past year, though they remain above both state and national medians. Rents have also softened modestly. Publicly reported, downtown Clearwater is undergoing a substantial redevelopment wave, with a new amphitheater at Coachman Park, a new city hall under construction, and a large mixed-use residential tower that began rising in early 2026. The area around North Betty Lane is part of the city's more residential and mixed-use fabric, a short distance from the civic core. Transit access through the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is available, with a new downtown Clearwater Station expected to open in 2027.

Pinellas County voters in late 2024 approved renewing and expanding the local school property tax, which funds teacher and support staff bonuses and sustains programs in reading, music, art, and technology. This is a direct cost consideration for homebuyers in the district and a signal of community investment in public schools generally.

Calvin A. Hunsinger is a school built for students who need a different kind of structure or support than a traditional school provides. The academic data that exists is low, and growth data is absent. Families considering it should have direct, honest conversations with the school about how it serves its specific population, what progress looks like student by student, and what pathways exist to graduation and beyond.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

Not publicly reportedCohort of 5 students · Class of 2021

The federal source does not publish a graduation rate for cohorts this small. The cohort size is shown for context.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

867 schools plotted. 183 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 65%

School 5% · District 63% · ▼ 58 pts below district

▼ 57 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 33% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 64% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 61% · ▼ 47 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 49 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 59% · ▼ 46 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 46 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 59% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Science

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 58% · ▼ 49 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

This schoolPINELLAS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income15%Higher-income0%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income8%Higher-income0%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income25%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income30%0 pp gap