Located in WINTER HAVEN, FL. Serving grades PK through 05.
Chain of Lakes Elementary sits on State Highway 653 in the southeastern part of Winter Haven, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within the Polk County public school system. It is a conventional public elementary school, not a charter or magnet program.
The school is large for an elementary. Enrollment spans across every grade from pre-K through fifth, with the student body reflecting genuine demographic diversity. Hispanic and white students together make up the largest portions of enrollment, with Black and Asian students also well represented alongside smaller multiracial and other groups. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this squarely in the middle range of economic diversity rather than at either extreme. Data on English learner and special education rates were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the most recent results show a mixed picture across grades. In reading and language arts, third and fifth graders scored in the mid-fifties range on proficiency, while fourth grade came in noticeably higher, approaching seventy percent. Math results follow a similar arc: third and fourth grade proficiency sits in the upper fifties to low sixties, while fifth grade drops to just under half of students reaching proficiency. Fifth grade science results also show roughly half of students meeting the proficiency bar. Across the board, the school posts results that are neither dramatically above nor below what one might expect statewide, but the fifth-grade dip in both math and science is worth a conversation with the school about what supports are in place as students move toward the middle grades transition. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether these figures represent improvement or decline over time.
The comparison data available covers only two districts in Polk County, which is too small a cohort to produce a reliable relative ranking. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate comparisons do not apply here, as this is an elementary school.
The housing market around the school reflects conditions typical of the broader Winter Haven zip code. Home values are moderately below the Florida statewide median and have edged down slightly year over year. Rents are moving in the opposite direction, ticking up modestly. The rent-to-income ratio sits at a level that, by national reference points, remains within a broadly manageable range, though the gap between renting and owning is real. This is a more accessible housing market than much of coastal Florida, which draws families relocating from higher-cost areas.
Winter Haven's economy, as publicly reported, draws on a range of sectors. Publix Super Markets, Legoland Florida, Winter Haven Hospital, and a regional banking presence provide a spread of employment types across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and financial services. The broader Polk County economy leans on manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture as well. For families considering a long-term move, this is a metro area with economic footing across multiple industries rather than dependence on a single sector.
No information about specific programs, enrichment offerings, staffing ratios, or attendance patterns at Chain of Lakes was available in the data provided. Families interested in those specifics would want to contact the school directly or consult the Polk County district. District-level strategic priorities and recent changes were not surfaced in research, so that context is absent here rather than assumed.
Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.
Officially reported figures, 2024-25.
All reported measures, by topic.