The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Math. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on William D. Moseley Elementary School
William D. Moseley Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Palatka, the St. Johns River county seat of Putnam County. The school sits in a small city with a historic downtown core, a riverfront park, and a local economy anchored by manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Home prices here are well below Florida and national medians, and rents are comparatively modest, making the area financially accessible to families who might be priced out of Jacksonville or the coast. The housing market has been appreciating, driven partly by Palatka's affordability and its position between several larger metros.
The student body is racially mixed, with Black students forming the largest group, followed by white and Hispanic students, and multiracial students making up a smaller share. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing Moseley among the higher-poverty elementary schools by that measure. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
State assessment results from the most recent FAST testing show that proficiency rates in both math and ELA across the tested grades are low to moderate. In the earlier elementary grades, roughly a third of students scored at the proficient level in reading and math. Sixth grade showed noticeably stronger results in both subjects, approaching or exceeding half of students proficient, though the reasons for that pattern are not explained by the data. Fifth-grade science proficiency was quite low. These figures are worth asking the school about directly, including what interventions are in place and how individual students are tracked and supported.
The most immediate practical fact for any family considering Moseley is this: the school is scheduled to close by the 2027-28 school year. Putnam County passed a major bond referendum in 2022 to rebuild its aging school infrastructure, which was publicly reported to be among the oldest in Florida. As part of that plan, the district is restructuring Palatka's elementary schools into separate primary campuses for kindergarten through second grade and intermediate campuses for grades three through six. Moseley, along with James A. Long Elementary, is slated to close when those new campuses open. Families enrolling a child at Moseley today should expect a school transition within the next few years, and it is worth confirming current reassignment timelines directly with Putnam County School District.
The bond program also carries a financial dimension for homeowners. Millage rates have risen to cover debt service, and residents have publicly raised concerns about the tax burden falling on property owners. That is a real consideration for anyone buying a home in Palatka's market.
Downtown Palatka offers a walkable historic core, a riverfront park with trails, kayak access, and community events, and civic institutions including a library system, arts center, and transit connections through the Union Depot. Outside that core the area is car-dependent. Major employers include a Georgia-Pacific paper mill, Seminole Electric, and HCA Florida Putnam Hospital, which collectively shape the working-age population and the community context around the school.
No program offerings were listed for Moseley in the available data. Comparison proficiency metrics relative to other districts in Putnam County were not applicable because Putnam is the sole district in the county. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether results have been improving or declining.
For a family weighing Moseley now, the clearest picture is a school in a low-cost, historically rooted river community, serving a high-needs student population, with test scores that leave room for growth, and a firm closure date already set. The replacement campus, once open, will be a newer building with a reorganized grade structure. Parents who want to understand the full arc of their child's elementary experience in Palatka should be asking the district both about support services at Moseley in the near term and about transition plans for the new campuses when they open.
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