West Florida News

The majority of students in Charlotte County schools were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Of the 16,834 students attending Charlotte County schools, 66.5% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 17.4% of Charlotte County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common ethnicity in Charlotte County, representing 65.1% of the student body.

Baker/Head Start had the most even distribution of races among the county schools, including 47.5% white students, 28.5% Black students, 12.7% Hispanic students, and 10.1% multiracial students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 2.6% when compared to the previous year.

Florida's choice to stick with in-person classes during the pandemic may have shielded students from significant learning setbacks. A recent Harvard study highlighted that districts heavily reliant on remote learning saw the most significant declines in student achievement amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Interestingly, gaps in math achievement by race and school poverty did not widen in school districts in states such as Texas and Florida and elsewhere that remained largely in-person, said Thomas Kane, professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

School Name	Most Prevalent Ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Babcock Neighborhood School	White	77.3%	789
Baker/Head Start	White	47.5%	158
Charlotte Harbor School	White	64.6%	127
Charlotte High School	White	65.8%	1,994
Charlotte Technical College	White	< 10%	< 10
Charlotte Virtual Franchise	White	81.7%	104
Deep Creek Elementary School	White	65.3%	835
East Elementary School	White	78.3%	761
Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School	White	66.6%	344
Kingsway Elementary School	White	59.9%	596
L. A. Ainger Middle School	White	81.1%	720
Lemon Bay High School	White	82.5%	1,360
Liberty Elementary School	White	59.7%	622
Meadow Park Elementary School	White	63.6%	701
Murdock Middle School	White	57.2%	577
Myakka River Elementary School	White	80.8%	608
Neil Armstrong Elementary School	White	51.2%	780
Peace River Elementary School	White	52.2%	581
Port Charlotte High School	White	53.9%	1,649
Port Charlotte Middle School	White	52.3%	877
Punta Gorda Middle School	White	70.4%	1,120
Sallie Jones Elementary School	White	65.7%	694
The Academy	White	65%	257
Vineland Elementary School	White	85.2%	579