Seven of 11 New Tampa schools get As

Despite a number of serious challenges the past few years, New Tampa’s schools continue to be among the best performing in the state.

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) released its school grades for the 2021-22 academic year, and seven of the area’s 11 schools received “A” grades.

New Tampa’s elementary schools went 6-for-6 when it came to receiving A grades, thanks to two schools that haven’t received the top grade for a while.

Heritage Elementary, which ended a string of four straight years with C grades, received its first A grade since 2012. And, Hunter’s Green Elementary received its first A grade since 2011.

The other four elementary schools — Chiles, Clark, Pride and Tampa Palms — also received A grades, continuing their long-term trends. 

Pride and Chiles have never received less than an A, beginning with their first grades in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Clark has received As every year since 2001, while Tampa Palms incredibly has earned all As since 1999.

Benito Middle School received its 19th straight A, and its total score of 610 was tops among all of New Tampa’s schools. The total scores are determined by adding the testing scores in a variety of categories — including English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and others. 

Liberty Middle School got a B grade, down from last year’s A, while Turner-Bartels K-8 School received its fifth straight B.

Both area high schools, Wharton and Freedom, received C grades for the fifth consecutive year.

Grades were up throughout Hillsborough County, which achieved top-20 status among Florida’s 67 school districts following the release of school accountability data, as 100% of the schools that graded F in 2019 improved their grades in 2022.

NOTE: No grades were given in 2020, and 2021 grades were optional.