The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Norman M Thomas El
Norman M Thomas Elementary is a small rural school in Freer, a brush-country town in northwestern Duval County, serving pre-K through fifth grade. The school enrolls roughly equal numbers across its grade bands, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and an overwhelming majority identifying as Hispanic. The school sits at the geographic and social center of Freer's economy, which has contracted sharply as oil companies departed; many families have deep roots in the area, though migration out has left the town smaller than it was a decade ago.
The school's performance on state assessments shows a clear pattern. In third and fourth grade, proficiency in both math and English language arts runs very low, with only a small fraction of students meeting or exceeding state standards. Fifth grade marks a pronounced jump: in math, roughly two out of five students reach proficiency, and in language arts, about the same proportion do. Science proficiency at fifth grade is substantially lower. Across the school overall, most students reach the "approaches" level, meaning they are working toward grade-level mastery, but the proportion moving into "meets" or "master" territory remains modest. When compared against other districts in Duval County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, a reality parents should understand clearly as they consider the academic trajectory and support structure their child would encounter.
The gap between younger and older elementary grades suggests that by fifth grade, some students are catching up or beginning to consolidate skills, though many are not. No data on English learner status or special education services was available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the nature of support for students still building English proficiency and any interventions offered to students who are not yet meeting standards. The school does not report chronic absenteeism or graduation outcomes, as those measures do not apply to early elementary settings.
Freer as a place reflects its oil-and-gas heritage and current condition. The town is small, a crossroads at US 59 and state highways rather than a walkable downtown. Most life revolves around the highway network, the schools, and the annual Rattlesnake Roundup festival. Families either own homes or rent in a housing market shaped by long-term population decline; home values are well below state and national medians, making purchase possible for many, though employment in oil and gas has tightened. The school district itself, with three campuses in the town, is a major local employer. This is a place of generational family ties and close community knowledge, where most people know each other and many were born there. It is not a growth market and not a place of abundant new programs or rapid change. What it offers is stability, affordability, low anonymity, and the character of a rural small town where school and community are tightly woven.
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