Education in Indian River County

The children of Indian River County are a precious resource because they represent our future.  They are our future scientists, first responders, elected officials, carpenters, and medical personnel.  Children under the age of 18 represent 17.5 percent of our population so it is important that we provide them with the best education possible.

The Indian River County Public School District serves about 20,000 students in13 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 2 high schools, one alternative education center, one career and adult education center, one exceptional student education school, and 5 charter schools.  About 43 percent of the students enrolled are minorities. Almost 60 percent of the students are considered economically disadvantaged and 6 schools have over 80% of their student body receiving free and reduced price lunch (economically disadvantaged).

According to Private School Review, there are 14 private schools in Indian River County, FL, serving 1,806 students. 86% of schools are religiously affiliated. Minority enrollment is 11% of the student body.

School District of Indian River County Receives “B” From State

The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) released school and district grades for the 2017-2018 school year in June 2018. Dr. Rendell, School District of Indian River County Superintendent, said, “As a district, we did show improvement overall, earning a “B,” and missing an “A” by just 2 percentage points.

Nine schools increased their letter grade, with one of those schools increasing two letter grades in one year.

  • Liberty Magnet Elementary School, Indian River Charter High School, and North County Charter Elementary School all increased their letter grade from a “B” to an “A.”
  • Vero Beach High School, Sebastian River High School, Gifford Middle School, and Sebastian Elementary School increased from a “C” to a “B.”
  • Oslo Middle School increased from a “D” to a “C.”
  • St. Peter’s Academy increased two letter grades from a “C” to an “A.”

Five schools received a lower letter grade. Rosewood Magnet Elementary School dropped from an “A” to a “B.”

  • Glendale Elementary School and Storm Grove Middle School dropped from a “B” to a “C.”
  • Vero Beach Elementary School dropped from a “C” to a “D.”
  • Beachland Elementary School dropped two letter grades from an “A” to a “C.”

All other schools maintained their previous year’s letter grade. The school grades, district grades, and school improvement ratings, along with the guides to calculations, can be found at: http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/

Indian River County School report cards can be found here: https://indianriverschools.org/school-report-cards-2017-2018

Indian River County’s Senior Graduation Rates

On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) released student graduation rates for the 2017-18 school year.  Indian River County improved its graduation rate by almost 5 points; increasing from 87.1% in 2016-2017 to 92% in 2017-2018. This exceeds the State of Florida’s graduation rate by almost 6 percentage points. Also, for the first time in the history our school district, all three of our high schools, Indian River Charter High, Sebastian River High School, and Vero Beach High School are above a 90% graduation rate.

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Sebastian River High School 85.2% 80.4% 85.3% 83.7% 91.1%
Vero Beach High School 75.4% 81.6% 89.4% 91.0% 93.2%
Indian River Charter High School 94.0% 94.0% 94.9% 91.6% 96.3%
Overall District 79.1% 81.2% 87.2% 87.1% 92.0%
White 84.7% 86.1% 90.7% 89.9% 95.8%
Hispanic 75.8% 78.9% 85.6% 85.1% 88.2%
Black 59.7% 64.6% 74.2% 79.7% 81.9%
Two or more 85.4% 73.7% 86.2% 76.2% 94.9%
Asian 85.0% 83.3% 87.5% 95.0% 94.1%