The top reported proficiency rate is 86% in Math. The lowest is 71% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Berkley Elementary School
Berkley Elementary sits on Berkley Road in Auburndale, a small Central Florida city in Polk County tucked between Lakeland and Winter Haven. It is a charter school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, and its enrollment is substantial for an elementary charter, with students spread fairly evenly across kindergarten through fifth grade. Roughly two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts it in a middle range for economic need. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students and smaller populations of other groups. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the materials we reviewed, so parents with those specific interests will want to ask the school directly.
On academics, Berkley's results from Florida's FAST assessments are strong, particularly in the earlier grades. Third-grade math proficiency is exceptionally high, among the strongest outcomes one typically sees in a Florida elementary school, and third-grade ELA is also well above the midpoint. Fourth grade holds solid ground in both subjects. By fifth grade, math stays respectable, while ELA and the fifth-grade science assessment each come in somewhat lower, though still at or above what many elementary schools post. The general pattern, where proficiency narrows as grade levels rise, is worth watching, and parents may want to ask the school what it sees in that progression. Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether scores are climbing, holding, or dipping.
The comparison data for Polk County was not usable for positioning this school against its neighbors; the county's district pool was too small to produce a meaningful comparison index, so that frame is simply absent here.
Berkley operates as a charter, which means families choose it rather than being assigned. The specific instructional model, any themed curriculum, or what distinguishes the school's approach was not described in the materials provided. A parent considering enrollment will want to ask what the charter's founding model is and whether the school has a waitlist.
Auburndale itself is growing at a pace that stands out even within Central Florida. Publicly reported sources describe it as one of the faster-growing communities in the country, with multiple large master-planned residential projects under construction, a newly completed civic center on Lake Ariana, and an adopted master plan for a northern "Lakes District" emphasizing walkability and trails. The city's economy draws on logistics and manufacturing anchors, including a healthcare distribution company and a major third-party logistics operation, along with legacy citrus industry ties. Downtown Auburndale is compact and historic, with brick streets, a city park, and a bandstand, though walkability is mostly concentrated in that core rather than spread citywide.
The housing market near the school, measured at the zip-code level, sits well below both the Florida statewide median and the national median, making it one of the more affordable entry points in the region. Home values have edged slightly downward over the past year while rents have risen modestly. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical area home runs noticeably below what renters pay for a comparable unit, which is somewhat unusual and may be worth factoring into a housing decision. Polk County's broader district context, including any recent strategic or budget changes from the POLK district, was not available; the search turned up nothing confirmable, so we left it out rather than guess.
For a family drawn to a high-performing elementary charter in a community that is actively adding housing, parks, and infrastructure, Berkley Elementary offers real academic strength in the primary grades and a growth-stage town with good affordability relative to the rest of Florida. The fifth-grade reading trajectory is the one area worth a closer conversation with the school before enrolling.
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