4605 Bayshore Blvd
Tampa, FL 33611

Ballast Point has been a wonderful experience for both of my children. My oldest son with ADHD required a 504 plan for accommodations and the guidance counselor was absolutely incredible and very helpful as we were in uncharted waters planning this. We will forever be grateful for each staff member that has personally helped my two boys succeed. PTA is super great too, the moms and dads do amazing jobs getting everyone involved as much as they can with no pressure at all. My dream was to have this school do K-8 because the middle school is horrendous. Fingers crossed!

I went to Madison from 2019-2022. The level of emotional incompetence from the students, teachers, and admin at this school is on another level. South Tampa elitism outshines anything good I could say about this school and if you have a child who is talented/smart/filled with potential please do not send them here. The STEM program is honestly weakly hidden class segregation and the insensitivity of the kids in STEM should be studied.. What should also be studied is the way the administration and teachers encourage STEM students to put themselves on a pedestal and consistently express their superiority over the “traditional” students- often referred to by teachers/admin as “genpop”, “troubled”, etc. despite being capable children that have been given up on and have zero support system. Despite South Of Gandy hardly being the land of prosperity, parents and consequently children who go to Madison truly believe they were sent by God to improve the world with their presence. If your child is someone with emotional depth they will feel out of place, ostracized, and dissociated from their peers who clearly don’t have parents that actually speak to them and encourage them to have hobbies/interests beyond vaping, gossiping, and bullying those deemed weird. Talking to the vast majority of students there is the equivalent of talking to a badly trained AI. The arts education is lacking severely and extremely underfunded and undervalued, the teachers are clearly stressed, social emotional learning is basically mocked, and the guidance counselors top it all off as a place where motivated and talented minds go to die. Send your gifted child to a school where they will succeed and prosper, NOT Madison.

Note that the great schools is listing academic scores are from 2020 and Plant has the highest scores in the city and county in 2022.