Lake Forest Elementary, 4401 SE Fourth Ave.: pre-K through fifth grade, 286 students in 2023-24 and a D in Florida's 2026 school grades.

Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, Alachua County Public Schools’ Schools and Centers Directory, zone maps and 2026-27 calendar, the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file, the Census Bureau’s 2020 census block counts and the federal NCES school directory.

Lake Forest Elementary School is the Alachua County Public Schools elementary school for pre-K through fifth grade at 4401 SE Fourth Ave., Gainesville. The school’s mascot is the dolphin, and its colors are blue and white, according to its website.

Who to call

  • Front office: 352-955-6710, 4401 SE Fourth Ave., Gainesville, FL 32641
  • School website: alachuaschools.net/o/lakeforest
  • Which school is my address zoned for? Office of Student Assignment (Zoning), 352-955-7700, zoning@alachuaschools.net
  • Enrolling a new student: the district’s enrollment page; district office 352-955-7300
  • Buses: district Transportation, 352-955-7602
Address 4401 SE Fourth Ave., Gainesville, FL 32641
Phone 352-955-6710
Grades Pre-K to 5
District Alachua County Public Schools

Principal

Principal Karla Hutchinson, according to the district’s Schools and Centers Directory, which links each school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • Federal count: 286 students in the 2023-24 school year, the latest year in the NCES school directory, with 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, or about 11 students per teacher.
  • School’s own figure: the school’s website listed enrollment of 268 in February 2026.

State report card

Florida grades every public school A to F each year. The grade is the share of possible points a school earns on state test results and learning gains and, for middle and high schools, acceleration measures and, for high schools, the graduation rate, according to the Florida Department of Education.

School year Grade
2025-26 D (37% of possible points)
2024-25 C
2023-24 C

From the state’s 2026 school grades file, the share of students scoring on grade level on the state tests in 2025-26:

  • English language arts: 21%
  • Math: 25%
  • Science: 25%

The full report card, with test results by grade and student group, is on the state’s Florida school report cards site. It is an interactive dashboard; the figures above come from the downloadable grades file.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Check any address with the district’s Find My School zone maps (instructions on its Find My School page), or ask the Office of Student Assignment at 352-955-7700 or zoning@alachuaschools.net.

On the district’s 2026-27 elementary zone map, about 25% of the people who live in the Lake Forest Elementary zone live inside Gainesville city limits, by 2020 census block counts.

The district does not publish a feeder list: students are zoned by address for each level. For middle school, 48% of the zone’s residents live in the Bishop Middle zone, and the rest in the Lincoln Middle and Hawthorne Middle/High zones. For high school, 92% of the zone’s residents live in the Eastside High zone, and the rest in the Hawthorne Middle/High zone.

These zones are new. The School Board approved a right-sizing plan, announced in a district news release on March 13, 2026, that redrew elementary, middle and high school zones for 2026-27, the first districtwide rezoning since 2003. Details are on the district’s Our Schools, Future Ready page.

Calendar and bell times

From the district’s 2026-27 calendar, which applies to every district school:

  • Tuesday, Oct. 13: end of the first nine weeks
  • Friday, Oct. 16: student holiday, teacher workday
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day holiday
  • Nov. 23-27: no school for Thanksgiving week
  • Friday, Dec. 18: flex day, no school
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
  • Monday, Jan. 4: flex day, no school

The district says it will use the two flex days, Dec. 18 first, as makeup days if school is canceled for a hurricane or other emergency.

The school’s website listed the school day as 7:40 a.m. to 1:52 p.m. in February 2026. Wednesdays end at 12:37 p.m., and breakfast is served from 7:15 a.m. Call the front office to confirm this year’s times.

More on Gainesville schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Lake Forest Elementary serve?

Pre-K through fifth grade. It is part of Alachua County Public Schools, at 4401 SE Fourth Ave., Gainesville.

What is Lake Forest Elementary’s school grade?

Lake Forest Elementary earned a D in Florida’s 2026 school grades, with 37% of possible points. It earned a C in 2025.

Which high school does Lake Forest Elementary feed into?

The district zones each address separately. On the 2026-27 maps, the Lake Forest Elementary zone lies mostly in the Bishop Middle zone for middle school and the Eastside High zone for high school; parts are zoned for Hawthorne Middle/High.

What time does Lake Forest Elementary start?

The school’s website listed the school day as 7:40 a.m. to 1:52 p.m. in February 2026; call 352-955-6710 to confirm.

Who is the principal of Lake Forest Elementary?

Karla Hutchinson, according to the district’s Schools and Centers Directory.