The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in Math. The lowest is 44% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Edith I. Starke Elementary School
Edith I. Starke Elementary sits on South Parsons Avenue in DeLand, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Volusia County Schools district. The school is small, even by elementary school standards, with enrollment spread thinly across seven grade levels. The community it draws from is economically stressed: the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the more economically concentrated schools you might encounter in a county seat setting. The racial and ethnic composition is majority Hispanic and Black, with white students making up roughly a fifth of enrollment. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.
State assessment results from Florida's FAST system give a mixed picture. Third-grade math stands out as a relative bright spot, with well over half of students testing proficient, and fourth-grade math is stronger still. Fifth-grade math, though, drops sharply, with fewer than a third of students reaching proficiency. Reading results tell a more consistent but lower story across grades three through five, with proficiency rates in the forties and low fifties. Fifth-grade science, assessed separately through Florida's statewide science exam, lands just below half proficient. These figures sit below what many families might hope for, and the pattern across grades and subjects is worth a direct conversation with the school about how they track and respond to individual student progress. Trend data was not available, so whether these results reflect improvement, decline, or stability over time cannot be determined from what we have.
Program-specific information was not part of the data we received, so details on enrichment, intervention supports, extracurriculars, or any specialty programming at Starke could not be confirmed. A parent should ask the school directly about reading intervention resources, given that the ELA proficiency picture warrants attention.
The school sits in DeLand, which is the county seat of Volusia County and a place with considerably more texture than a typical Florida suburb. Downtown, centered on Woodland Boulevard, is genuinely walkable, with brick streets, locally owned shops and cafes, and a farmers market and arts calendar that keep the core lively. Stetson University, Florida's oldest private college, sits within walking distance of downtown and gives the city some of its distinct character. AdventHealth DeLand and county government round out the major employers. The surrounding residential neighborhoods near the historic district have an established, maintained feel rather than a speculative one.
Housing around the school's zip code is priced meaningfully below the Florida state benchmark, and below national median home values as well, though values have dipped slightly year over year. Rents have edged up modestly. By income-adjusted measures, the area is somewhat more accessible than the state as a whole, though mortgage costs at current rates still represent a real commitment for working families. DeLand itself is growing quickly, with new construction concentrated in the Victoria Park master-planned community and downtown apartment projects, and the opening of a SunRail commuter rail station in 2024 adds a transit link toward the Orlando metro.
For a family weighing Starke specifically, the school serves a neighborhood with real economic need, and the academic results in their current form suggest that some students are reaching grade-level benchmarks while others are not, with fifth grade being the point of sharpest concern. The school's small size could mean tighter teacher-to-student relationships or could reflect capacity and resource constraints, and that distinction is worth exploring with the school directly. District-level context on recent strategic priorities or changes at Starke was not available, as our search did not surface confirmed recent initiatives.
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