Dreamers Academy, Sarasota FL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dreamers Academy

Dreamers Academy is a public charter school in Sarasota, Florida, serving kindergarten through fourth grade on South Tuttle Avenue. Its enrollment places it at the mid-to-large end of what you would expect for an elementary charter school, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with White students making up the next largest share and smaller populations across other groups. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals a community with meaningful economic need. Data on English learner rates and students with individualized education programs was not available, so a parent curious about those specific support structures would want to ask the school directly.

On state assessments, the picture is uneven. Third-grade math results are a genuine strength, with most students testing proficient on Florida's FAST exam. Fifth-grade math also shows the majority of students reaching proficiency, which is encouraging across the grade band. Reading is a different story. ELA proficiency in both fourth and fifth grade came in well below the majority, and third-grade ELA sat only near the halfway mark. Fifth-grade science proficiency, measured on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, also fell below the majority. These are gaps a parent would reasonably want to discuss with the school, asking what interventions are in place for literacy and what trajectory the school expects as its upper grades mature. Because the school's grade band does not yet include middle or high school, there is no graduation rate to report and the school does not participate in AP or dual-enrollment pathways, which is simply a function of its grade configuration rather than a program limitation.

The neighbor comparison framework for Sarasota County involves only one district, so no meaningful peer ranking can be produced, and the data explicitly reflects that constraint.

The school sits within the Sarasota County Schools system, which recently renewed a property tax referendum through 2030 that funds teacher recruitment, arts programs, and extended instruction time, with charter schools now receiving a proportionate share of those dollars. That is a concrete funding fact relevant to any family weighing a Sarasota charter. The district is also mid-way through a broader structural realignment, publicly reported as the Future Focused Strategic Initiative, which converts several traditional elementary schools into K-8 campuses with new STEAM and magnet programming starting in 2026. Dreamers Academy, as a charter, sits apart from that specific reorganization, but the reshaping of the surrounding district landscape is context worth tracking.

The neighborhood around the school reflects Sarasota's broader housing market. Home values in the zip code have softened over the past year, falling noticeably from their recent peak, and now sit below both the state and national medians. Rents have also declined modestly year-over-year. The rent-to-income ratio for the area runs above a third of income, which by standard affordability measures is a stretch for many households. Sarasota itself is a Gulf Coast city with a compact, walkable downtown anchored by bayfront parks, cultural institutions, and a lively arts and dining district. Outside those pockets, the city is more car-dependent. The broader economy is built around health care, the school district, tourism, and manufacturing, with Sarasota Memorial Health Care System the county's largest private employer.

Trend data for Dreamers Academy across years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether proficiency results are improving, holding steady, or declining. That is a question worth putting directly to the school.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 73% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 72% · ▼ 44 pts below district

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

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 66% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 67% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 67% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 62% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 67% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

This schoolSARASOTA, 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-income39%Higher-income77%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income56%30 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income86%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income33%7 pp gap