West Florida News

There were 2,302 Hispanic students enrolled in DeSoto County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 0.1% decrease from the 2,304 Hispanic students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that DeSoto County welcomed a total of 4,582 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 50.2% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the nine schools in DeSoto County, Desoto Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 611 students, making up 52.3% of the school's total student body.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School name	% of Hispanic Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Desoto County High School	48.2	1,244
Desoto Middle School	52.3	1,169
West Elementary School	40.6	795
Memorial Elementary School	55.4	793
Nocatee Elementary School	56.1	446
Desoto Secondary School	17.4	69