The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Edward W Bok Academy North
Edward W. Bok Academy North is a public charter middle school in Lake Wales, Florida, serving grades six through eight. It sits near the center of town on North Fourth Street, close to the historic downtown core, and is part of the Lake Wales Charter Schools network, which publicly reported is headquartered a short distance away on East Central Avenue. The school is classified as a regular public school operating under charter status, meaning it follows Florida public school requirements while operating independently of the Polk County school district.
The student body is a sizable one for a middle school. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school in a higher economic-need context. The racial and ethnic composition is mixed: white students make up the largest single group, followed by Hispanic students, then Black students, with smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.
On Florida's state assessments, the picture varies by grade and subject. ELA proficiency rates are stronger in sixth and seventh grade than in eighth, where they drop noticeably. Math tells a similar story: sixth-grade math proficiency sits around the midpoint, seventh grade is somewhat lower, and eighth grade is the weakest point across all tested subjects. The eighth-grade science assessment follows the same pattern, with fewer than a third of students reaching proficiency. Across all three subjects, performance tends to decline as students move through the grades, which is a pattern worth exploring with the school directly. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether results are improving or holding steady. A comparison against other county districts is not available because the comparison set in Polk County did not meet the minimum size threshold for a reliable index.
Because this is a middle school, graduation rate data does not apply here. That measure belongs to the high school level.
Lake Wales itself is changing rapidly. Publicly reported figures show the city is in a pronounced growth phase, with building permits rising sharply in recent years and a large number of new residential units already approved across dozens of projects, particularly in the southern and eastern sections following major annexations. Large mixed-use developments are taking shape along the US 27 corridor, and national retail chains have been locating there as well. That growth is expected to bring a substantial wave of new residents over the coming years, which has direct implications for school capacity and enrollment trajectories.
The downtown area, where Bok Academy North is located, has its own character: a compact historic core designed in part around an early twentieth-century Olmsted firm plan, with palm- and oak-lined streets, a pedestrian-oriented small business district, and a Saturday farmers market. The city has received federal transportation funding to remake several downtown streets as complete streets with wider sidewalks, cycle tracks, and shade trees. Housing values in the area run well below the Florida state median, and rents are comparatively modest, making the Lake Wales market more accessible than much of the state. Home values have edged slightly downward year over year, roughly in line with statewide trends.
Florida's Natural Growers, the large citrus cooperative headquartered on US 27, is publicly reported as the city's signature private employer. Warner University, Bok Tower Gardens, and the charter school network itself are also cited among the area's notable employers.
For families considering Bok Academy North, the school's charter governance, its location near Lake Wales's historic downtown, and its mixed demographic makeup are straightforward characteristics. The academic performance data, particularly the declining proficiency rates in the upper grades and the lower eighth-grade math and science numbers, are areas where a parent would reasonably want to have a direct conversation with the school about supports in place and what the trajectory looks like.
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