George W. Jenkins Senior High

LAKELAND · FL · POLK · Public

Public 🏛 POLK →

📚AP rigor: Top 3.7% nationally 📖22 AP courses 🎓97% 4-yr grad rate

🧭 A parent's read

  • 97% graduate on time. Nearly every student who starts 9th grade here finishes in four years — the strongest baseline signal a school can post.
  • Course rigor in the top 4% of US high schools. 22 AP courses plus advanced math and lab-science depth — measured against every high school in the country, not just the neighborhood.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 22 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 9 calculus classes · 8 physics · 20 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Top 3.7% of US high schools
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Top 3.9% by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 97% (90th percentile nationally)

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

You've seen George W. Jenkins Senior High. What are your child's real college odds? Check any college in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price for every college on their list. Check odds →
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How George W. Jenkins Senior High compares for families

Among the nation's most academically rigorous high schools.

  • StatewideAP rigor sits in the top 3.7% of US high schools with 22 AP courses.
  • 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: BARTOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, LAKELAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, PLANT CITY HIGH SCHOOL and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

Top 3.7% of US high schools

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
22
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
603
≈24 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
31
9 calculus · 22 advanced
Lab science classes
28
8 physics · 20 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Top 3.9% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
672
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
27.2
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

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.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

90th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
97%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
518
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
8.1%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
34.2%
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

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

47.0%
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)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

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.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of Florida

24%
admit rate
$6,381
in-state tuition/yr · $28,659 out-of-state
1300–1480
SAT 25–75 · ACT 28–33

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $6,541/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Florida profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

💰 Pay for college in Florida

Florida's public scholarships

Florida's Bright Futures pays 75–100% of in-state tuition by tier, based on GPA, test scores, and community-service hours. We built a calculator that checks the exact thresholds for you.

Merit Bright Futures (FAS & FMS)
75%–100% of in-state public-college tuition (by tier)
GPA: 3.0 weighted (Medallion) / 3.5 weighted (Academic Scholar) Test: SAT/ACT + community-service hours (varies by tier) Income: No income limit

Florida's merit scholarship pays 75–100% of in-state tuition by tier. Use our Bright Futures calculator for the exact GPA, test, and service-hour cutoffs. (Use our Bright Futures calculator for exact GPA, test & service thresholds.)

Check eligibility with our calculator →  official program ↗

Eligibility rules change yearly — confirm with the official program before relying on it. Amounts are recent published figures; awards cover tuition/fees, not housing or books unless noted. Verified 2026-06-14.

📊 Florida School Grade

Florida's official A–F school grade.

Every Florida public school earns an annual A–F grade from the state — the single signal Florida families (and the housing market) watch most. It rolls achievement, learning gains, graduation, and college/career readiness into one letter.

FLDOE Grade
B
2023-24
Points Earned
60%
of total possible (A ≥ 62%)
Graduation Rate
95%
4-year federal rate
College & Career Ready
61%
earned college credit or a credential
How does Florida grade a high school? →

A high school's grade is the percent of possible points across up to 11 components — English/math achievement and learning gains, science & social-studies achievement, the 4-year graduation rate, and College & Career Acceleration: the share of graduates who earned college credit (via AP, IB, AICE, or dual enrollment) or an industry certification. Letter cutoffs: A ≥ 62%, B ≥ 54%, C ≥ 41%, D ≥ 32%, F below.

Source: Florida Department of Education, School Grades, 2023-24. Graduation rate & College/Career Acceleration components reflect the prior cohort year, per FLDOE's grading model.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
27.2%
Elevated above the national average (~16%). Worth understanding — chronic absence compounds into dropout risk, transfer-out risk, and revenue loss.
Students absent 15+ days
672
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.

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

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
412:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
6.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
109
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

Grade 12 went from 508 in 2021 to 548 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+7.9%

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

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +2.3%/year, projecting from 2024's 2,469 students:

2025
2,527
2027
2,647
2029
2,772

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

Revenue upside

At $11,803 per student in district revenue, the 303 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $3,576,309/year in additional funding.

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

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
BARTOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
BARTOW
Public 6.9 2,276 +8.9%
LAKELAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
LAKELAND
Public 5.5 1,985 -1.0%
PLANT CITY HIGH SCHOOL
PLANT CITY
Public 12.9 2,572 +8.9%
WINTER HAVEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
WINTER HAVEN
Public 12.9 2,648 +9.6%
KATHLEEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
LAKELAND
Public 8.3 1,849 -9.4%
MULBERRY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
MULBERRY
Public 4.6 1,451 +19.5%
DURANT HIGH SCHOOL
PLANT CITY
Public 16.2 2,504 +1.6%
LAKE GIBSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
LAKELAND
Public 12.4 1,973 -3.5%

For Parents

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