Lincoln Avenue Academy, 1330 N. Lincoln Ave.: IB and STEM magnet for K-5, 512 students (2024-25), an A in Florida's 2026 grades. 863-499-2955.

Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Sources: Polk County Public Schools, its magnet and choice schools page, the school’s website, the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades and the federal NCES school directory.

Lincoln Avenue Academy is a Polk County Public Schools magnet elementary school for kindergarten through fifth grade on North Lincoln Avenue, inside the Lakeland city limits. It “is a STEM and International Baccalaureate (IB) school that offers an accelerated, hands-on, transdisciplinary curriculum,” according to the district’s magnet and choice schools page.

Who to call
Address 1330 N. Lincoln Ave., Lakeland, FL 33805
Phone 863-499-2955
Grades Kindergarten to 5
Principal Dorothy Ewing
Program IB Primary Years Programme and STEM (magnet)
2026 state grade A (75% of points)

Principal. Dorothy Ewing is the principal, according to the school’s staff page.

The school opened in 1992 as a voluntary desegregation magnet school, and in November 2016 it became Polk County’s first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme World School, according to its about page.

Enrollment and teachers

  • Federal count: 512 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 35 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 15 students per teacher.

State report card

Florida gave Lincoln Avenue Academy an A in its 2026 school grades, its third A in a row, with 75% of the points possible, according to the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file. The school’s state report card has results by student group; it is an interactive dashboard that could not be read for this page.

2026 school grade measure Result
School grade A (75% of points)
Grade 3 English language arts achievement 84%
English language arts achievement 85%
English language arts learning gains 77%
Math achievement 86%
Math learning gains 70%
Science achievement 80%

Florida grades schools A to F on the share of possible points earned across these measures. Achievement is the share of tested students on grade level; learning gains is the share who improved from the year before. For an elementary school, A is 62% of points or more, B is 54% to 61% and C is 41% to 53%, the state’s file says.

How admission works

No address is zoned for Lincoln Avenue Academy. Under the district’s magnet and choice rules:

  • Magnet zone. Families may apply only to magnet schools in the magnet zone where they live; Lakeland is in the district’s Zone A, listed as Highland City and Lakeland.
  • Selection. Open seats are filled by “computerized random selection.” No numbers or places in line are assigned, and the applicant pool is kept for one school year.
  • Siblings. Kindergarten applicants with a brother or sister returning to the school get preference, for no more than 50% of the kindergarten class. Families submit a sibling survey form to the school before open enrollment.
  • Acceptance. An acceptance appears in the Parent Portal; families have 10 working days to accept and must register at the school with two proofs of address.
  • Buses. The district provides transportation if the home is 2 miles or more from the school.
  • Middle school. Rising sixth graders are assigned to Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, the district says.

A student who is not offered a seat should enroll at the zoned school, the district says.

What the program offers

The school combines the IB Primary Years Programme with a STEM curriculum that uses 3D printers, a fabrication lab, robotics and mobile devices, the district says. Weekly classes include a STEM lab, visual arts, music and Spanish.

Calendar and bell times

From the district’s 2026-27 calendar (PDF), which the district labels tentative:

  • Friday, Oct. 16: no school for students
  • Friday, Oct. 30: early dismissal
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school
  • Nov. 23-27: fall break
  • Monday, Dec. 21: winter break begins; students return Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2027

Bell times. The school’s website does not publish its bell schedule; call the front office at 863-499-2955. The school’s website has a School Tours page.

More on Lakeland schools

Frequently asked questions

How do students get into Lincoln Avenue Academy?

Lincoln Avenue Academy is a Polk County magnet school with no attendance zone. Families in its magnet zone apply, and the district fills open seats by computerized random selection.

What is Lincoln Avenue Academy’s school grade?

Lincoln Avenue Academy earned an A in Florida’s 2026 school grades, with 75% of possible points, its third A in a row.

Which middle school does Lincoln Avenue Academy feed into?

Rising sixth graders at Lincoln Avenue Academy are assigned to Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, the district’s International Baccalaureate magnet middle school in downtown Lakeland.