Paxon School for Advanced Studies, 3239 Norman E. Thagard Blvd.: 9-12, 1,278 students in 2024-25, an A in Florida's 2026 school grades.

Last checked Oct. 10, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, Duval County Public Schools’ school locator map, school hours page and calendar, the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file, the federal NCES school directory, and the FHSAA’s 2026-27 football classifications.

Paxon School for Advanced Studies is the Duval County Public Schools magnet high school for grades 9 to 12 at 3239 Norman E. Thagard Blvd. The campus is inside Jacksonville city limits.

Who to call
Address 3239 Norman E. Thagard Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32254
Phone 904-693-7583
Grades Grades 9 to 12
District Duval County Public Schools
State school number 16-0751

Principal

Principal Royce Turner, according to the school’s staff directory.

Enrollment and teachers

  • Federal count: 1,278 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 61 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 21 students per teacher.

State report card

Florida grades every public school A to F on the share of possible points it earns on the measures in the state’s 2026 school grades file: test scores, learning gains and, for middle and high schools, acceleration and graduation. The file sets an A for high schools at 65% of points or more.

School year Grade
2025-26 A (79% of possible points)
2024-25 A
2023-24 A

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: 86%
  • Math: 78%
  • Science: 86%
  • Social studies: 97%
  • Graduation rate (2024-25): 100%
  • College and career acceleration (2024-25): 93% of graduates

The same file lists 33.5% of the school’s students as economically disadvantaged.

The full report card is on the state’s Florida school report cards site. It is an interactive dashboard; the figures above come from the downloadable file.

Admission

Paxon is a dedicated magnet school: it has no attendance zone, and every student applies. The district’s list of dedicated magnet schools describes its program as college preparatory. Families apply through the district’s magnet lottery, which for the 2026-27 school year ran Dec. 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026; seats left after the lottery are offered through controlled open enrollment. Dedicated magnet schools set academic standards for entry and for staying enrolled, according to the district’s magnet standards page.

Calendar and bell times

Classes run 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school hours, which list the school as an exception to the standard schedule.

From the district’s 2026-27 calendar:

  • Monday, Oct. 12: no school for students (employee planning day)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: schools closed for Veterans Day
  • Nov. 23-27: schools closed for Thanksgiving week
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, 2027: winter break
  • Monday, Jan. 4, 2027: employee planning day, no school for students
  • Monday, Jan. 18, 2027: schools closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • March 15-19, 2027: schools closed for spring break week
  • Friday, May 28, 2027: last day of school

Programs

The district’s magnet programs list shows a magnet program here: College Preparatory.

Sports and activities

Paxon is listed as an independent, outside the class and district structure, in the FHSAA’s 2026-27 football classifications. The school’s athletics page points to a separate Paxon athletics website. Follow the season on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.

More on Jacksonville schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Paxon School for Advanced Studies serve?

Grades 9 to 12. It is a Duval County Public Schools magnet high school at 3239 Norman E. Thagard Blvd. in Jacksonville.

What is Paxon School for Advanced Studies’ school grade?

Paxon School for Advanced Studies earned an A in Florida’s 2026 school grades, with 79% of possible points. It earned an A in 2025.

What time does Paxon School for Advanced Studies start?

Classes run 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school hours.