The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Math. The lowest is 65% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ketterlinus Elementary School
Ketterlinus Elementary sits on Orange Street in the heart of St. Augustine's historic district, a pre-K through fifth grade public school in the St. Johns County School District. Its location alone tells you something about the peer environment: students walk to school through one of the oldest urban neighborhoods in the country, past Flagler College's campus and the city's colonial street grid, in a city where pedestrian street life is genuinely part of daily experience rather than a design aspiration.
The school is on the smaller side for a district elementary. Enrollment spans pre-K through fifth grade, with a student body that is majority white and reflects the neighborhood's demographic composition. Roughly four in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places economic diversity in the middle range. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed, so a parent with those specific questions would want to ask the school directly.
On Florida's FAST assessments, Ketterlinus posts results that are genuinely strong in the early grades and ease off somewhat by fifth grade. Third grade math and reading proficiency rates land well above the state average picture that many urban schools show, and fourth grade results remain solid. By fifth grade, both math and ELA proficiency rates come down to the mid-sixties range, and the statewide science assessment at fifth grade matches that. Whether that pattern reflects a cohort effect, instructional continuity, or something else worth probing is a fair question for a prospective family to raise with the school. The data does not tell us the answer. Across all tested grades and subjects, Ketterlinus sits above the midpoint relative to districts in St. Johns County, which is itself a high-performing county district by Florida standards. Multi-year trend data was not available, so we cannot say whether results are moving up or down.
No program offerings data was included in what we reviewed, so specific enrichment, arts, or specialty tracks cannot be characterized here.
St. Johns County voters in November 2024 approved a new one-mill property tax dedicated to school operations, publicly reported as passing with strong support. The levy is directed toward teacher and support staff compensation, school safety, nurses, mental health counselors, and programs including science, art, music, and athletics. Voters also renewed the district's half-cent capital sales surtax for a further term, generating ongoing funding for school construction and maintenance in a county that is among the fastest-growing in the country. Both measures matter for families evaluating whether the district can staff and build schools to meet enrollment pressure, and for homebuyers, the property tax increase is a real ongoing cost to weigh.
The St. Augustine housing market around the school is priced above the Florida state median, though it has dipped modestly year-over-year. Renting runs a bit below the estimated monthly cost of buying, and the rent-to-income ratio suggests housing is a meaningful budget consideration for many families in the area. The city itself is growing, with new multifamily development underway and a downtown King Street redesign approved in 2024.
What makes the Ketterlinus setting distinctive is the urban, walkable character of its immediate surroundings. The school sits inside a city with a serious pedestrian culture, a public library system with multiple branches, and a downtown that functions as an actual civic center rather than a tourist abstraction. The major employers nearby run from Northrop Grumman's aircraft services operation to Flagler Health, Flagler College, and the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. The city's economy combines tourism, healthcare, manufacturing, and education in a way that gives it more economic texture than a resort town.
For a family weighing an elementary school choice in St. Augustine, Ketterlinus offers strong early-grade academic results, a genuinely urban and walkable neighborhood, and the backing of a well-funded county district. The fifth-grade performance gap relative to earlier grades is worth a direct conversation with school leadership.
See more original research from School Decision →