The top reported proficiency rate is 86% in Math. The lowest is 71% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Lakeland Elementary School
Lakeland Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in the Memphis suburb of Lakeland, Tennessee. It is part of the Lakeland School System, which recently completed its own high school facility, allowing the district to offer a full PK-12 pathway for local families. This is a key development for those considering the area, as it means students no longer need to attend a neighboring district’s high school.
The school operates in a community that is primarily residential and notably upscale. Lakeland sits as an affluent suburb within Shelby County, a car-dependent place without a traditional walkable downtown. Its origins trace back to a manmade lake and a now-closed amusement park, and the area around that lake today includes some of the area’s most valuable homes. The city is growing steadily, with a tight housing market reflected in very low vacancy rates. Housing values are well above the state benchmark, and the cost of entry is substantial, making this a market that suits families with comfortable budgets. The built environment is dominated by subdivisions, parks, and a golf course, with development strung along the Highway 70 corridor.
Academically, Lakeland Elementary posts strong results on Tennessee’s state assessments, which are administered in the tested grades (third and fourth in this school). Student proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science all fall well above the midpoint for elementary schools in the district, and the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects places it in the top quartile among districts in Shelby County. Participation in testing is near universal, which adds confidence that the results reflect the full student body. The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary, with class sizes that appear moderate across the grades it serves. The student body is majority white, with meaningful shares of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students, reflecting the broader suburban demographics of this part of Shelby County.
The school does not report data on several common metrics. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, on special education classification rates, and on English learner status are all absent from the available data. A parent who wants to understand the school’s approach to supporting students with additional needs or the socioeconomic mix of the student body would need to ask the school directly for this information. Discipline data, staffing ratios, and chronic absenteeism rates are also not included in the record, so it is not possible to assess those dimensions from the public data used here.
Because Lakeland Elementary serves only through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The district-brief data indicates that the system now has its own high school, so students who attend this elementary can continue within the district through graduation. The Lakeland School System is a young one, having formed its own district in recent years, and the construction of a new high school represents a significant investment in local control over students’ complete academic career.
For a family considering Lakeland Elementary, the strongest signal is the consistently high performance on state tests across multiple subjects. The school’s academic profile is strong within its county context. The community context is one of affluence and growth, with a housing market that is expensive and competitive. The absence of key support-program data means that a family with a child who may need specialized academic intervention or language support services should seek out that information from the school office before making a decision. The school is situated in a community that offers substantial park and recreational amenities, but no public transit and little pedestrian connectivity outside of recreational trails.
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