The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Vernon Elementary School
Vernon Elementary sits on Roche Avenue in Vernon, a small town in Washington County in Florida's rural panhandle. It serves children from pre-K through fifth grade, though families considering it for fifth grade should know that arrangement is actively changing. The school board voted in spring 2026 to relocate fifth graders to Vernon Middle School beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, publicly citing space constraints from growing enrollment and expanded programs including pre-K, special education services, and mental health supports. District officials noted that students would transition with their current teachers and gain earlier access to middle school extracurriculars. Parents of incoming fifth graders should factor this in, since the school as described here will soon be a pre-K through fourth grade campus.
The school draws a moderately large enrollment for its grade band, with pre-K through fifth grade running in fairly even cohorts. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a community that runs well below state and national household income norms. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and Hispanic students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments in the most recent school year, math proficiency in the tested grades told a mixed story. Third and fourth graders scored solidly above half, with fourth grade performing best of the three tested levels. Fifth grade math came in below half, a soft spot worth noting. Reading and ELA results were weaker across the board. Third grade ELA proficiency came in just above half, while fourth and fifth grade both fell below that mark, with fourth grade showing the lowest reading rate of any tested grade. Fifth grade science, measured on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, also came in below half. These are the full results the state has reported; trend data were not available to place them in a before-and-after context, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about trajectory and what supports are in place, particularly in literacy.
The district is in the middle of a district-wide English Language Arts curriculum adoption covering all K-12 grades, replacing a five-year materials cycle that ran through 2026. That means Vernon Elementary students will be receiving new reading and writing instructional materials in the near term, which could affect how the current proficiency numbers look going forward.
Also pending for Washington County is a voter referendum on the November 2026 ballot. As publicly reported by the Washington County News, the measure would shift a portion of capital funding to operating expenses on a tax-neutral basis, directing those dollars toward teacher and staff recruitment and retention, special-needs services, career and technical education, and technology. The outcome of that vote will have real bearing on classroom resources and staffing levels across the district, including at this school.
Housing in the area is priced well below both Florida's state median and the national figure, and the market has seen a modest dip in value over the past year. There is no rental index available for this zip code. For families buying into the area, affordability compared to state and national norms is a clear draw, though Washington County's rural economy means limited job market depth.
Specific details about Vernon's community character, walkability, employers, and civic anchors were not available in the research, so that picture is incomplete here. The school has no magnet designation and no charter status; it is a standard public elementary in a single-district rural county. Because Washington County has only one district, the comparison framework did not produce peer comparisons, so positioning this school against neighbors is not possible from the data provided.
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