Website ranks Clay as 5th best school district in Florida

Niche.com said Clay County Public Schools trailed only St. Johns, Sarasota, Okaloosa, and Seminole Counties as the best-performing school district in the state.

Collier, Leon, Alachua, Martin and Nassau Counties rounded out the top 10.

Niche bills itself as the market leader in connecting colleges and schools with students and families. It claims to have compiled profiles of every school and college in the U.S., with 140 million reviews and ratings.

The website gave Clay County Public Schools an overall grade of A-, with evaluations in the categories of academics: B+, teachers: B, clubs and activities: A-, diversity: A, college prep: A, administration: A- and food: B-.

The website also graded individual schools within the district, awarding Clay Virtual the only A+ grade in the county. Earning an A were Discovery Oaks, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Robert M. Paterson and Thunderbolt elementary schools, Lakeside Junior High, and Ridgeview and Fleming Island senior high schools.

The only campus rated lower than B- was Charles E. Bennett Elementary in Green Cove Springs with a C+.

Thirty-four reviewers gave the district an excellent 5-star rating, with 49 grading Clay County schools as very good, 19 rating them as average and five reporting the district as poor or terrible.

One parent reported: “Small town feel. Blue-collar workers. Good student-teacher ratio. Fairness to students. District works hard to keep schools safe for students. Good communication with parents. Online monitoring for current grades, upcoming assignments and achievement scores.”