Best Schools: How Pinellas Schools Ranked On 2022 Niche List

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — The latest school rankings released by the data analysis company Niche offer a look at how K-12 schools in Pinellas County compare with each other.

Niche, which released its eighth annual version of the rankings, looks at a variety of criteria in determining a grade for both public and private K-12 schools in Pinellas County, including academics, teachers and diversity.

Pinellas County Schools in general received a B+ from Niche including a B in academics, a B for teachers, a B+ for clubs and activities, an A in diversity, an A in college prep and a C for health ad safety.

The school district ranked No. 13 out of the 69 school districts in Florida including No. 13 for most diverse school district, No. 15 for districts with the best teachers and No. 19 for best school districts for athletes.

Nationally, Pinellas County Schools ranked No. 343 for diversity in the nation and No. 852 for athletes.

Of the four school districts in the Tampa Bay area — Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Pinellas — Pinellas ranks No. 1 for best school districts, No. 2 for best school districts for athletes and No. 2 for diversity.

Here are the top-ranked high schools in Pinellas County:

• Grade A+ — St. Petersburg Collegiate High School (ranked No. 18 in Florida for best high schools)
• Grade A — Palm Harbor University High School (ranked No. 63 in Florida for best high schools)
• Grade A — St. Petersburg High School (ranked No. 98 in Florida for best high schools)
• Grade A — East Lake High School (ranked No. 114 in Florida for best high schools)
• Grade A — Osceola Fundamental High School (ranked No. 121 in Florida for best high schools)
• Grade A- — Largo High School (ranked No. 161)
• Grade B+ — Lakewood High School (ranked No. 243)
• Grade B+ — Boca Ciega High School (ranked No. 256)
• Grade B — Northeast High School (ranked No. 293)
• Grade B — Dixie M. Hollins High School (ranked No. 305)
• Grade B — Tarpon Springs High School (ranked No. 307)
• Grade B — Countryside High School (ranked No. 320)
• Grade B — Pinellas Park High School (ranked No. 326)
• Grade B — Clearwater High School (ranked No. 375)
• Grade B — Seminole High School (ranked No. 383)

Here are the top-ranked middle schools in Pinellas County:

• Grade A- — Clearwater Fundamental Middle School (ranked No. 72 for best middle schools in Florida)
• Grade A- — East Lake Middle School Academy of Engineering (ranked No. 148)
• Grade A- — Pinellas Preparatory Academy (ranked No. 159)
• Grade A- — Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School (ranked No. 194)
• Grade B+ — Joseph L. Carwise Middle School (ranked No. 313)
• Grade B+ — Palm Harbor Middle School (ranked No. 355)
• Grade B — Dunedin Highland Middle School (ranked No. 455)
• Grade B — Tarpon Springs Middle School (ranked No. 505)
• Grade B — Fitzgerald Middle School (ranked No. 506)
• Grade B — Alfred Adler K-8 School (ranked No. 526)
• Grade B — Safety Harbor Middle School (ranked No. 540)

Here are the top-ranked elementary schools in Pinellas County:

• Grade A- —Pasadena Fundamental Elementary School (ranked No. 120 for best elementary schools in Florida)
• Grade A- — Plato Academy Clearwater (ranked No. 125)
• Grade A- — Curtis Fundamental Elementary School (ranked No. 137)
• Grade A- — Sutherland Elementary School (ranked No. 141)
• Grade A- — Orange Grove Elementary School (ranked No. 168)
• Grade A- —Plato Academy Charter School Tarpon Springs (ranked No. 183)
• Grade A- — Pinellas Primary Academy (ranked No. 225)
• Grade A- — Brooker Creek Elementary School (ranked No. 248)
• Grade A- — Plato Academy of Palm Harbor (ranked No. 256)
• Grade A- — Cypress Woods Elementary School (ranked No. 262)
• Grade A- — Ridgecrest Elementary School (ranked No. 270)
• Grade A- — James B. Sanderlin Pk-8 (ranked No. 280)
• Grade A- — Academie Da Vinci Charter School (ranked No. 303)
• Grade A- — Madeira Beach Fundamental School (ranked No. 321)
• Grade A- — Discovery Academy of Science Charter School (ranked No. 325)
• Grade A- — Gulf Beaches Elementary Magnet School (ranked No. 378)
• Grade A- — Plato Academy of St. Petersburg (ranked No. 390)
• Grade A- — Anona Elementary School (ranked No. 394)
• Grade A- — Bauder Elementary School (ranked No. 396)
• Grade A- — Oakhurst Elementary School (ranked No. 403)
• Grade B+ — Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary School (ranked No. 436)
• Grade B+ — Lake St. George Elementary School (ranked N0 476)
• Grade B+ — Garrison-Jones Elementary School (ranked No. 490)
• Grade B+ — Forest Lakes Elementary School (ranked No. 510)
• Grade B+ — Lakeview Fundamental Elementary School (ranked No. 513)
• Grade B+ — Oldsmar Elementary School (ranked No. 528)
• Grade B+ — Ozona Elementary School (ranked No. 556)
• Grade B+ — Leila Davis Elementary School (ranked No. 563)
• Grade B+ — Curlew Creek Elementary School (ranked No. 575)
• Grade B+ — Perkins Elementary School (ranked No. 601)
• Grade B+ — Highland Lakes Elementary School (ranked No. 609)
• Grade B+ — Sunset Hills Elementary School (ranked No. 636)
• Grade B+ — Safety Harbor Elementary School (ranked No. 672)
• Grade B+ — Starkey Elementary School (ranked No. 673)
• Grade B+ — Plato Seminole (ranked No. 705)
• Grade B+ — Plato Academy Largo (ranked No. 712)
• Grade B+ — Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary School (ranked No. 725)
• Grade B — Shore Acres Elementary School (ranked No. 750)
• Grade B — Azalea Elementary School (ranked No. 791)
• Grade B — Frontier Elementary School (ranked No. 814)
• Grade B — Plato Academy Pinellas Park Charter School (ranked No. 852)
• Grade B — Plumb Elementary School (ranked No. 933)
• Grade B — Pinellas Academy of Math & Science (ranked No. 976)
• Grade B — San Jose Elementary School (ranked No. 988)
• Grade B — Belcher Elementary School (ranked No. 1,000)

Niche also ranked private schools. The following private schools in Pinellas County received high marks:

• Grade A+ — Shorecrest Preparatory School (ranked No. 2 best private high school in Tampa Bay)
• Grade A — Admiral Farragut Academy (ranked No. 8)
• Grade A — The Canterbury School of Florida (ranked No. 9)
• Grade A — Calvary Christian High School (ranked No. 14)
• Grade A — St. Petersburg Catholic High School (ranked No. 16)
• Grade A — Keswick Christian School (ranked No 23)
• Grade A — Solid Rock Community School (ranked No. 25)
• Grade A — St. Petersburg Christian School (no ranking comparison)
• Grade A- — Clearwater Central Catholic High School (ranked No. 27)
• Grade A- — Indian Rocks Christian School (ranked No. 28)
• Grade A- — Northside Christian School (ranked No. 29)
• Grade A- — Washburn Academy (no ranking comparison)
• Grade A- — Classical Christian School for the Arts (no ranking comparison)
• Grade A- — St. John Vianney Catholic School (no ranking comparison)
• Grade B+ — Clearwater Academy International (ranked No. 35)
• Grade B+ — American Collegiate Academy (no ranking comparison)
• Grade B+ — Iva Christian School (no ranking comparison)
• Grade B — Espiritu Santo Catholic School (no ranking comparison)
• Grade B- — Oldsmar Christian School (no ranking comparison)

Niche said its 2022 best schools rankings offer a more “personal” view of schools than its rankings in recent years. Significantly less importance was placed on SAT and ACT scores this year, Niche said. Any factor in its methodology that is related to test scores was reduced by one third.

The company combined ratings from students, alumni and parents with quantitative data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources to evaluate teachers, resources, facility, extracurricular activity opportunities and other factors. Read more about the methodology here.

Across the country, Niche ranked 94,491 public schools, 2,489 private schools and 11,846 school districts to come up with its lists and rankings.

Top 5 Public High Schools:

1. The Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada
2. The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
3. Massachusetts Academy for Math & Science School
4. Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Virginia
5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Virginia

Top 5 Private High Schools:

1. Phillips Academy in Massachusetts
2. The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut
3. Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut
4. The College Preparatory School in California
5. Groton School in Massachusetts

Top 5 School Districts:

1. Adlai E. Stevenson High School District in Illinois
2. Glenbrook High School District in Illinois
3. Great Neck Public Schools in New York
4. Community High School District 128 in Illinois
5. Jericho Union Free School District in New York

See the full Niche rankings here