The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 34% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on St. Lucie Elementary School
St. Lucie Elementary School sits on South 13th Street in Fort Pierce, the county seat of St. Lucie County, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is a regular public school in the St. Lucie district, not a charter or magnet program.
The student body is notably diverse, drawn predominantly from Black and Hispanic families, with White and multiracial students making up a smaller share. A very large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school among those serving communities with concentrated economic need. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the picture is mixed and worth examining carefully. In math, third graders posted results that cleared the majority mark, but by fifth grade the share of students reaching proficiency had dropped considerably, sitting well below half. ELA proficiency runs lower across all three tested grades, with third through fifth grade results each falling in the low-to-mid thirties range. Fifth-grade science came in at roughly half of students reaching proficiency. These are below the levels most families would want to see, and a parent with questions about how the school is working to close those gaps would be well served by asking directly. Multi-year trend data was not available, so whether these results represent improvement, decline, or a plateau cannot be determined from what was reported. Comparative data against other schools within St. Lucie County was not calculable because the county has only one district, making a meaningful peer comparison unavailable from this dataset.
Pre-K and kindergarten grades are not subject to state testing, so no results are reported for those years, which is standard for any school serving these grade bands.
No program offerings, course access detail, attendance or discipline data, or staffing information was included in the data provided.
Fort Pierce itself has a distinct character among Florida communities. It is a working waterfront city with an Old Florida fishing-village feel, a walkable historic downtown along the Indian River Lagoon, an arts and gallery presence, and locally owned restaurants and shops. The county library's most-visited branch sits on the downtown waterfront, and civic amenities include parks, a farmers market at Marina Square, and a fare-free public bus system with routes serving Fort Pierce and surrounding areas on weekdays and Saturdays. Major area employers include St. Lucie Public Schools, Indian River State College, and Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, alongside manufacturing, healthcare, and county government.
The housing market near this school has seen home values fall noticeably over the past year, pulling well below the state median, and rents have also softened slightly. Rental costs here represent a substantial share of a typical household's income by national standards, which reflects the economic pressures many families in this area face. Buyers considering the neighborhood would find pricing meaningfully below Florida's broader average, though mortgage costs relative to income are still real.
At the district level, St. Lucie voters have shown willingness to fund schools directly. A one-mill operating property tax renewed in 2022 funds teacher pay, a school resource officer on every campus, and mental health services, with a further renewal expected before voters in 2026. A separate half-percent sales tax for capital projects was extended in 2024 to fund new construction, school buses, and safety upgrades. The district's growth is concentrated in the Port St. Lucie and Tradition areas to the south, where a new high school opened in 2025 and a new K-8 is planned for 2026. Fort Pierce is the older, more established part of the county, and the rezoning effects of that growth are more relevant for families in the southwestern corridor than for those near St. Lucie Elementary.
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