Ocala Standard

The only school district in Marion County experienced an increase in student numbers, growing by 4.3% and welcoming 44,493 students during the 2022-23 academic year, as reported by the Florida Department of Education.

The most represented ethnicity among Marion County School District students was white, accounting for 44.8% of the student population.

Marion County School District has a main office in Ocala and is the only school district within Marion County.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2,8 million students enrolled in a total of 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrolment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub’s analysis, Florida is ranked 9th out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	Total Enrollment in 2021-22	Total % Change
West Port High School	2,906	2,825	2.9%
Forest High School	2,325	2,181	6.6%
Belleview High School	1,783	1,724	3.4%
Vanguard High School	1,661	1,596	4.1%
Belleview Middle School	1,573	1,491	5.5%
Lake Weir High School	1,483	1,413	5%
Liberty Middle School	1,365	1,315	3.8%
Dunnellon High School	1,350	1,186	13.8%
North Marion High School	1,303	1,334	-2.3%
Lake Weir Middle School	1,207	1,179	2.4%
Fort King Middle School	1,092	1,145	-4.6%
Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks	1,067	1,015	5.1%
Sunrise Elementary School	1,017	870	16.9%
Osceola Middle School	999	963	3.7%
Howard Middle School	980	1,019	-3.8%
Fort McCoy School	964	950	1.5%
Ward-Highlands Elementary School	959	947	1.3%
Marion Oaks Elementary School	939	910	3.2%
Saddlewood Elementary School	917	914	0.3%
Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School	867	808	7.3%
College Park Elementary School	840	822	2.2%
Harbour View Elementary School	819	782	4.7%
Maplewood Elementary School	817	794	2.9%
Dr. N. H. Jones Elementary School	807	759	6.3%
North Marion Middle School	803	782	2.7%
Greenway Elementary School	736	701	5%
Legacy Elementary School	716	720	-0.6%
South Ocala Elementary School	715	744	-3.9%
Romeo Elementary School	707	708	-0.1%
Ocala Springs Elementary School	690	666	3.6%
Dunnellon Middle School	678	643	5.4%
Emerald Shores Elementary School	666	620	7.4%
Belleview Elementary School	650	627	3.7%
Wyomina Park Elementary School	645	617	4.5%
Shady Hill Elementary School	643	606	6.1%
East Marion Elementary School	620	608	2%
Dunnellon Elementary School	580	560	3.6%
Belleview-Santos Elementary School	570	558	2.2%
Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School	544	484	12.4%
Oakcrest Elementary School	470	439	7.1%
Madison Street Academy of Visual and Performing Arts	455	444	2.5%
Sparr Elementary School	425	397	7.1%
Fessenden Elementary School	417	382	9.2%
Eighth Street Elementary School	405	405	0%
Anthony Elementary School	365	405	-9.9%
Reddick-Collier Elementary School	334	366	-8.7%
Marion Charter School	223	223	0%
Ina A. Colen Academy	214	0
Silver River Mentoring and Instruction	202	193	4.7%
Ocali Charter Middle School	201	201	0%
Marion Technical Institute	162	159	1.9%
Hillcrest	160	154	3.9%
New Leaf Center	89	86	3.5%
Marion County Acceleration Academy	88	0
Ocala Center for Success and Independence	64	46	39.1%
McIntosh Area School	54	53	1.9%
Fordham Early Learning Academy	47	0
Marion Regional. Juvenile Detention Center	43	41	4.9%
Pace Center for Girls Inc.	36	42	-14.3%
McSo Adults	20	19	5.3%
Elc PK Ese Services	16	16	0%