West Florida News

There were 3,350 Black students enrolled in Sarasota County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 0.4% decrease from the 3,365 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Sarasota County welcomed a total of 45,077 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 7.4% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 60 schools in Sarasota County, Booker High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 312 students, making up 23.8% 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 Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Riverview High School	6.2	2,597
Venice Senior High School	0.5	2,584
North Port High School	9.5	2,562
Sarasota High School	6.1	2,528
Booker High School	23.8	1,309
Sarasota Military Academy	4.5	1,213
Imagine School at North Port	0.8	1,189
Lamarque Elementary School	3.5	1,073
Woodland Middle School	9.1	978
Booker Middle School	24.9	950
Heron Creek Middle School	8.4	902
McIntosh Middle School	15.4	851
Atwater Elementary School	8.1	802
Toledo Blade Elementary School	2.8	799
Cranberry Elementary School	2.9	785
Fruitville Elementary School	5.7	775
Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences	4.7	746
Brookside Middle School	12.5	745
Phillippi Shores Elementary School	6.6	731
Glenallen Elementary School	1.4	716
Tuttle Elementary School	11	665
Gocio Elementary School	20.2	644
Bay Haven School of Basics Plus	19.1	582
Brentwood Elementary School	5.4	573
Alta Vista Elementary School	14.5	476
Emma E. Booker Elementary School	51.7	468
Wilkinson Elementary School	10	460
Oak Park School	4.2	239
Suncoast School for Innovative Studies	18.3	142
Triad	21.6	116
Sarasota County Acceleration Academies	11.9	109