SURFSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL

PANAMA CITY BEACH · FL · BAY · Public · K-12 combined

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Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

J.R. ARNOLD HIGH SCHOOL → THE COLLEGIATE SCHOOL AT FSU PC → Gulf Coast School For Autism → Covenant Christian School → RISING LEADERS ACADEMY → CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL → Ohana Institute → EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

✅ Gifted & talented program

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 14% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How SURFSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL compares for families

What families should know about SURFSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

▸ LocallyFL sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: J.R. ARNOLD HIGH SCHOOL, THE COLLEGIATE SCHOOL AT FSU PC, Gulf Coast School For Autism and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

0.0

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)

6.5%

Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

35.3%

Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Mixed-income school

Below Title I eligibility threshold (FRPL < 35%)

34.2%

FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).

0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

25-34% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Below the federal Title I threshold but a meaningful share of the population is income-eligible for free lunch.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days

35.6%

Well above the national average (~16%). At this level, chronic absence becomes a leading driver of enrollment loss as families rotate to other schools.

Students absent 15+ days

269

Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

378:1

Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.

Counselor FTE

2.0

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -1.5%/year, projecting from 2024's 755 students:

2025

743

2027

721

2029

699

≈ 56 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $13,868 per student in district revenue, the 56 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $776,608/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
J.R. ARNOLD HIGH SCHOOL PANAMA CITY BEACH	Public	2.4	1,629	+8.3%
THE COLLEGIATE SCHOOL AT FSU PC PANAMA CITY	Public · charter	9.2	178	+83.5%
Gulf Coast School For Autism Panama City	Private	9.4	23	—
Covenant Christian School Panama City	Private	9.7	161	+37.6%
RISING LEADERS ACADEMY PANAMA CITY	Public · charter	9.8	19	—
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL PANAMA CITY	Public · charter	10.4	99	+11.2%
Ohana Institute Inlet Beach	Private	10.6	197	+62.8%
EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION PANAMA CITY	Public	10.8	—	—