Buckhorn Elementary School in Valrico

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	7/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Florida Assessment of Student Thinking data from Florida Department of Education, and using 2025 Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking data from Florida Department of Education.
Student Growth	8/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from Florida Department of Education.

Posted: December 11, 2025

it was HORRIBLE here for me and I dont like it here I was absurd after what happened with the kid and I was defenseless outside of school the girl was BARLEY in trouble and nothing helped

Posted: December 11, 2025

My 4th grader developed severe social anxiety after being bullied and ignored by the principal in this school by a child who regularly bullies others. Her and a group of girls made and shared a RAP DISS track about my daughter mocking her, her family, and her body. If your unlucky enough to be at this school, make sure you send your kid in in tattered cloths ready to fight because bullies will be given 100 chances and this is where your child will learn to fight for their self or isolate.

Posted: December 11, 2025

Posted: December 3, 2025

If I could rate them 0 stars trust me I would.
This HC public is school is by far the worst. Let me go into detail though.
If your child has any issues, like autism (like my child), severe ADHD, any behavioral issues for that matter that require an EIP PLEASE, DO NOT send your child to this "school".

My child was 10 years old when he frist got in this school and the experience has been nothing but awful.
Children with autism, or any behavioral issues, they are isolated in super small classes (3-4 children sometimes even less) AND they do not teach the school curriculum (they will tell you yes but they do not, I have proof.)
Teachers, counselors or even the principal, do not help one bit, instead of wanting the child to reach his maximum potential and succeed, they would rather just isolate the children and pass them to the next grade.
My child started at a different school up north in Ohio, starting middle school. 6 months after he started i got an email and a call asking me what was going on with buckhorn elementary.. i replied, "what do you mean?" their words "your son's EIP in FL is a whole different child" "your son is doing great, behavior wise and academics he was very behind but we will work harder for that."(he was behind because they were teaching him stuff he already knew, and his 2 classmates were 2-3 years younger than him. Mind you if you saw the little homework he has, and the KIND of homework he had, it was a second grade type of exercises... really sad) its been 1 year and a half and he is getting all straight A's on every subject. He is in a regular classroom, he is NOT in a self contained classroom or isolated, he has made friends, and behavior and academics are top notch. they are on top of everything, i met with them and i was shocked how good of a school this is, (from the secretary, to the teachers and even the principal), and how much they care about their students.
I WILL NEVER FORGET how they treated my child, isolated him and made me think he was slow and could not do more. they were very wrong.

Follow my advice, if you want your child to succeed, and LEARN and have good teachers, DO NOT come to this school.

Posted: December 3, 2025

Posted: June 12, 2025

My child had a new teacher to the school for second grade for ELA and for Math. She unfortunately went down in math, but grew in ELA. She became more confident of a reader, more willing to spend more time practicing, but still struggles with comprehension. our child just needs more work in that area. Her ELA teacher worked hard at helping her develop her skills. And our daughter always came home talking about her day with her and always had positive things to say. We were dropping her off at camp last week and told her maybe she would get a counselor like her teacher, her response was probably not, theres not many people like Ms. Izzi it was a moment that warmed my heart. Our kids are with their educators all day most of the week, I was very happy she enjoyed her class so much.

Posted: January 29, 2025

Ms G is very nice and extremely helpful. She's the reason why my kid smiles. she's very empathetic to parents and students no matter what walks of life you are from. Im Glad she's there I trust that my kid is safe. You couldn't tell if she has ever had a bad day just a burst of joy.

Posted: April 5, 2023

My experience at this school as a parent of a child with special needs has been top-notch! The principal Mrs. Horn cares deeply for each of the students. Amanda Allen the ESE specialist has so much knowledge about varying exceptionalities. It seems the consequences for poor student behavior are handled swiftly and appropriately. I wouldn't want my son anywhere else!

Posted: April 5, 2023

Posted: March 10, 2023

Every experience I have had at Buckhorn has been wonderful. Everyone in the office is GREAT. All 3 of our teachers have been wonderful. Communication is prompt. Everyone is friendly and happy to be there. So glad to be a Buckhorn Bear.

Posted: March 10, 2023

Posted: July 23, 2019

We love Buckhorn! Many of the teachers have been here for YEARS, which means they must be happy to not leave. I love that the staff stays fairly consistent since all of my children have gone through this school; they have been able to have some of the same teachers over the years, so relationships are easy to build. My two older kids come back to complete High School volunteer hours, and the Principal and AP always agree to assist past students. They can't wait to come back and visit their teachers too! I couldn't be happier with this school, and that's why we would never move out of this school zone.

Posted: July 23, 2019

Homework is given appropriately and not in excess.

Posted: July 23, 2019

I have four children, and all four have been through this school (two still attend), and I can't say enough wonderful things about each of my children's teachers!

Posted: July 23, 2019

The principal has seen all of my children through school, and she is the best I've seen when making relationships with children (kids still come back here to complete volunteer hours for High School). The Assistant Principal is new to Buckhorn but apparently went to school here as a child, so she already has a strong community connection too.

Posted: July 23, 2019

From what I've seen, this school takes time to make sure every child is helped.

Posted: July 23, 2019

Never, ever, ever have we had a bullying problem at this school. Sure, kids say mean things sometimes, but that's life. I've taught my children to think for themselves and tell a grown up if it gets to the point where they need help. Anything we've ever brought up to a teacher has been handled.

Posted: July 23, 2019

This school has wonderful students, staff, and parents! The amount of parental support has exceeded my expectations. I have loved the front office staff's smiles and knowledge. Everyone has responded quickly to any question or concern I have had. My children have excelled at this school and have made lifelong connections with many of their teachers. I am proud to say that we have a family of Buckhorn Bears!

Posted: July 23, 2019

Homework is often modified for individual students (like mine) to ensure that it is used for it's purpose: perfect practice.

Posted: July 23, 2019

All of the teachers at this school have at least three years' experience. I have witnessed strong teachers leave their former schools to choose to work here when there are openings (which is rare).

Posted: July 23, 2019

There are multiple opportunities for students to work collaboratively to build unity. One recent example is the rock garden that each child participated in to bring awareness of everyone's uniqueness that makes them all beautiful together.

Posted: July 23, 2019

The Principal has been at this school for over 10 years. She has been responsive to any question I have posed. Additionally, her Assistant Principals have been supportive, knowledgeable and caring towards not only my child, but every one of them.

Posted: July 23, 2019

Students with exceptional needs are differentiated for and supported. I have seen them meet and exceed goals created for them.

Posted: July 23, 2019

To my knowledge, there have been no substantiated bullying reports at this school. The school counselors do a wonderful job of mediation and supporting communication skills for students.

Posted: June 19, 2019

If I could give Buckorn Elementary school zero star I would. False accusations with no meritt or proof.Calling my child NAME.. and many more. I've been called into the office on many occasions mostly under false pretenses. I am a very understanding person but I think they misuse the little power they have to get back at parents and are more concerned with their funding received from PTA then helping our children succeed. Furthermore, they have been very rude to me on many more occasions. The principla is a very rude woman. I feel my child is depleted of joy and happiness at this school!

Posted: June 19, 2019

Posted: June 13, 2019

the principal, female teachers, and staffs are bullies.

Posted: June 13, 2019

no homework, principal is there for her paycheck.

Posted: June 13, 2019

some female teachers and staffs hit younger students. school adults staff are bullies.

Posted: June 13, 2019

its close knit and so many students receive undue mistreatment while a small selected few are treated as royalty

Posted: June 13, 2019

the principal is hypocritical and political. she only cares about funding receiving from PTA, not students success.

Posted: June 13, 2019

this school is horrible! the principal is Very hypocritical and political. she only cares about funding received from PTA, not students success. She allows some school staff and teachers to bully students. this school need security camera to monitor them. A bunch of Low morale women.

Posted: July 13, 2018

Most teachers have eliminated homework. I don't want my children spending hours every night but I think they need 20 minutes of math a night to master the skills.

Posted: July 13, 2018

There are some strong teachers, such as Ms. Boerger for K and Ms. Michael for AGP science and math. But my daughter had a weak teacher in first and learned absolutely nothing. I think there should be more oversight/mentoring of the teachers because the quality seems very uneven.

Posted: July 13, 2018

The school needs to better support advanced students before third grade because they aren't challenged at all.

Posted: July 13, 2018

The environment at Buckhorn is very positive and caring, and the PTA does an amazing job creating fun events for the students. However, the administration needs to do a much better job challenging advanced students, particularly in the lower grades. There are some strong teachers but there seems to be little oversight of the weak ones. It's probably a good school if you have average students but not if you have advanced ones.

Posted: January 11, 2017

The teacher Buckhorn has for students with special needs is absolutely amazing. I've seen the way she treats the children when she thinks no one is looking. She always has a smile on her face and love for every one of those children. If you've ever worked with children with special needs, you know it can be difficult. At the end of the day, this teacher is still smiling and seems to love her job more than any other special needs teachers I've met.

Posted: January 11, 2017

I am neutral on the homework issue. My daughter love's homework and will create homework for herself if she doesn't have any. My son has finally started to enjoy homework.

I find it unnecessary for nightly homework but necessary for certain projects. I think it would be nice to have the kids come home and have more time to be kids after learning 6 hours a day.

I also think it would be more beneficial and helpful to the children to have homework UNLIKE the exact worksheets they are doing in school. They could benefit from a different style of homework by learning through short projects, games or research. At the same time they would be able to work on many subjects at once (Reading, Writing, and science by doing a short project or a little research). They could learn Math and other subjects through games while still practicing their reading and writing skills. I think it would be pretty exciting to have our children carry-out short interviews of family members or neighbors. I think it would be much more effective for them to learn in this way.

Posted: January 11, 2017

When it was time for my children to enroll in school, I did a ton of research and chose Buckhorn. We got them in with the Hillsborough County Choice program. I commuted back and forth to make it possible for them to go to this great School until we could sell our house and move into the area.

Mrs. Brooks is hands down, the best principle I have ever met in my 39 years. She is very compassionate and truly wonderful with all of the students. I was impressed that she seems to know every single one of her students by name, as I've witnessed many times, her walking through the halls and saying hello or good morning to each child by name. Not only that but if she came upon a parent, she knew exactly whose child that parent belonged to even if the child was not around at the time. She always seems to make it a point to say something positive about that child to the parent. This quality is more than I expected out of any school for my children. And one that I will definitely miss when it's time to leave.

Every teacher my two children have had have been very compassionate, loving and tough in certain situations that are absolutely necessary, ie. my son not wanting to read. The teacher helped me come up with a plan to help my son enjoy reading. Every one of the teachers have their own strengths and they've all always been great with communication. I had an experience where another parent told me that it was the teacher's job to make sure her child was learning and getting good grades. I was pretty surprised by that comment and told that parent that it's very important to be involved in their child's education and communicate well with the teacher. It's also very important to be on the same side as the teacher and not talk badly of her child's teacher at home. It only leads to disrespect to the teacher from that student in the classroom.

Mrs. Brooks has done a phenomenal job of building a great team of educators for her school. So many of the teachers seem to have the same drive and love for what they do, which makes a huge difference in a child's love for education.

Posted: December 7, 2015

My son loves school and his teachers. They are very organized and my son loves going everyday!

Posted: April 18, 2015

My daughter loves it at Buckhorn. I have been very happy with the school and teachers.

Posted: October 5, 2014

I'd like to make a comment to the parent complaining about the education at Buckhorn. I do not teach here, but I do teach at another elementary school in the district. Unfortunately it is the CCSS that are making us teach math equations a certain way and have taken away spelling. I try to incorporate spelling into mine, but with only so many hours in the day and with so many things we HAVE to teach, it is hard to do. YOU as a PARENT could teach the spelling if you wanted and if you felt it was that important. We do everything we can to teach your children what they need, but unfortunately we can't do it all. CCSS have now dictated what skills we teach and how we teach them. My kids are learning to do math in ways that are foreign to even me, but that's how they have it now. Please Don't bash a school when you don't know what's really going on. Its not the school, it's the educational system of FL.

Posted: September 24, 2014

Buckhorn Elementary has the potential to be great school but it is time for a change in Administration. The teachers are amazing but they aren't provided the support they need to succeed. This really effects student progress and what parents are told is not always what happens behind closed doors. :(

Posted: August 28, 2014

We have been so very blessed here at Buckhorn. The teachers go above and beyond to care for the students, challenge them academically, and to ensure they succeed. The principal, Mrs. Brooks, is the best you will ever find!! We love it here!!!

Posted: April 28, 2014

Buckhorn has great amount of money and donations from the PTA. But, for the education part would be scored as below average. The teachers have their hands tied when teaching within the classroom. Teachers are unable to teach grammar, spelling, correct way to solve math equations. They also do not focus on History and Science in the classrooms until second quarter then is but on hold again until the last quarter of school. This school is more focused on testing the children then teaching the children how to read, write and conduct math problems. Examples of our frustrations: Math is being taught is a different way of drawing dots instead of solving the problems through proven mathematical steps. Buckhorn lacks constant focus in regards to English. They do not teach phonics nor spelling. When asking the past 5 years why the school does not teach spelling or grammar the school has explained most of the children will be writing on the computers in which has spell check. This comment has been made from teachers, vice principal and principal.

Posted: April 8, 2014

We are so happy at Buckhorn. My son is in 1st grade and has ADHD. The teachers and guidance department have gone above and beyond to help us get through the sometimes exhausting 504 Plan/IEP process. I trust both the principal and AP and know that the teachers there truly care about each child and making sure that child can excel.

Posted: April 2, 2014

This school has a very good student enviroment my son is in 1st grade he tells me dad this is the best school i want to go there everyday the teachers are very friendly & caring. Each & every quater the teacher's will specifically let you knw about your kids performance.

Posted: October 28, 2013

Buckhorn teachers and supporting personnel are always performing at their best! The PTA and parent volunteers are supportive and a valuable asset to students and teachers. I would not want my children attending any other school. It is a gem! Teachers are caring as well as wanting the best education possible. My children want to go to school and they come home happy.

Posted: October 5, 2013

My child goes to Buckhorn this year and our experience is that the administrators lack caring. If you have a problem with a teacher, don't expect a reply to your email or a return phone call. I guess that is beneath the current principal and AP. My child has been discouraged time and time again at this school. She is an honor student and has never had a difficult time anywhere else. If I had only known what awaited her here I would have used my school choice for her to attend Valrico Elementary. After school, car riders are kept in the cafeteria and yelled at until they get picked up. The 5th graders are allowed only 1 recess a week because they are punishing the entire 5th grade for a fight between 3 students. This is just the tip of the ice berg at this place. Bad admin, sub par teachers, bad school.

Posted: August 22, 2013

This school is a great school. My daughter loves it. She wants to go to school everyday.

Posted: July 24, 2013

My oldest daughter will be in 5th this yr. And youngest wilk be in kindergarten. But last yr. My youngest was attending for speech twice a week with Mrs. Wayne and Mrs. Ober and she will be with them again and I absolutely have loved them!! Because EVERYTIME! She left speech she came out HAPPY, EXCITED, AND HAS LEARNED A LOT! ! I COULDN'T ASK FOR BETTER TEACHERS

Posted: April 30, 2013

This school should not be allowed to have disabled students there , very bad with non verbal children staff very RUDE i WOULD NOT SEND MY DOG THERE NEED CAMERAS TO MONITOR TEACHERS OF DISABLED CHILDREN

Posted: June 19, 2012

For the most part, the teachers wonderful. Unfortunately, the pressure to remain a grade A school prevents them from providing individual attention to those children in need. The pressure to stick to the cirriculum is too great. Many of children with learning/behavior disorders are stuck into the mainstream and are pushed to the wayside in order to focus on the majority.

Posted: July 13, 2011

I have been involved with this school for many years. It has ALWAYS been a joy. The teachers are above excellent. The administration is top notch. We had a job offer and turned it down in part because we wanted the girls to stay in Buckhorn. I could not imagine we would have found another school that is as dedicated to its students. Parent involvement is highly encouraged and as a result the community well supports this school. I believe my child's future has been elevated as a result of attending Buckhorn. You will not be disappointed if your children are given the opportunity to attend this fantastic school.

Posted: May 25, 2010

I love Buckhorn! The guidance the teacher has provided for my son has been above and beyond what I would expected.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	FishHawk Ranch	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Lithia	FL	4.4 mi
2	Fish Hawk Ranch	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Lithia	FL	4.9 mi
3	Fishhawk Ranch	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Lithia	FL	5.8 mi
4	Panther Trace	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Riverview	FL	8.3 mi
5	Avelar Creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Riverview	FL	9.5 mi
6	Hyde Park	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Tampa	FL	14.7 mi
7	The Pavillions	Apartment Complex	Tampa	FL	15.6 mi
8	Harbour Isles	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Apollo Beach	FL	16 mi
9	Westchase	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Tampa	FL	24 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Fishhawk Ranch /Lithia FL	Lithia	FL	5.2 mi
2	South Tampa	Tampa	FL	15.9 mi
3	South of Gandy (SOG)	Tampa	FL	16 mi

Base	Distance
MacDill AFB	15.6 mi.
Coast Guard Clearwater	27.8 mi.

Buckhorn Elementary School

Valrico, FL 33594

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Buckhorn Elementary School

Valrico, FL 33594

School Ratings

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