DESOTO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL vs PATRICIA SULLIVAN METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES PARTNERSHIP SCHOO

DeSoto Elementary School and Patricia Sullivan Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School sit 2.2 miles apart in Tampa, yet their overall ratings tell a clear story: Patricia Sullivan rates 9.0/10 against DeSoto's 8.5/10 — a half-point gap that reflects a meaningful difference in standing. The state rank gap is sharper: Patricia Sullivan ranks #84 of 3,777 Florida schools, placing it in the top 3%, while DeSoto ranks #294 — still a strong top-8% finish, but well behind its neighbor across town.

Academically, the separation is concrete. Patricia Sullivan scores 8.6/10 on academic performance versus DeSoto's 6.5/10 — a 2.1-point difference that signals consistently higher proficiency on state assessments. Where the two schools converge entirely is growth: both DeSoto Elementary School and Patricia Sullivan Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School score a near-perfect 9.9/10 on student growth, meaning that regardless of where students start, both schools are pushing them forward at an elite rate relative to Florida peers.

The demographic and structural profiles diverge significantly. DeSoto enrolls 180 students across a PK–5 span, while Patricia Sullivan serves 77 students in grades KG–5 — less than half the enrollment. Patricia Sullivan's free and reduced lunch rate is 100%, compared to 75% at DeSoto, indicating a more uniformly high-need student body. DeSoto's student-teacher ratio is a notably low 9.5:1, giving it an edge in classroom attention over Patricia Sullivan's 12.8:1 ratio. Both ratios are well below Florida averages, but DeSoto's is meaningfully tighter.

DeSoto's PK inclusion distinguishes it at the earliest grade band — families with pre-kindergarten-age children have no equivalent entry point at Patricia Sullivan, which begins at kindergarten. Patricia Sullivan's combination of a top-100 state rank and a 100% FRL population reflects a school achieving exceptional outcomes with the highest-need students — a specialized mission that shapes who it serves and how.