Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle, 4750 Winkler Avenue Extension: grades 6-8, 999 students (2024-25), a B in Florida's 2026 grades. 239-334-1357.

Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Sources: The School District of Lee County, its 2026-27 Student Enrollment Plan (PDF) and school enrollment zones, the school’s website, the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades and the federal NCES school directory.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School is a School District of Lee County middle school on Winkler Avenue Extension in the eastern part of the city, inside the city limits, next to Ray V. Pottorf Elementary. It is one of the two middle schools in zone EE, the middle school zone that covers about 86% of the address points in Fort Myers.

Who to call
Address 4750 Winkler Avenue Extension, Fort Myers, FL 33966
Phone 239-334-1357
Grades 6 to 8
Principal Karen Prentice
2026 state grade B (63% of points)
Enrollment zone Middle school zone EE

Principal. Karen Prentice is the principal, according to the school’s administration page, which also names Denise Fitzpatrick and Winston Woods as assistant principals.

Enrollment and teachers

  • Federal count: 999 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 55 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 18 students per teacher.

State report card

Florida gave Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle a B in its 2026 school grades, the same grade as in 2025, after a C in 2024. The school earned 63% of the points possible, according to the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file. The school’s state report card has current enrollment and results by student group; it is an interactive dashboard that could not be read for this page.

2026 school grade measure Result
School grade B (63% of points)
English language arts achievement 52%
English language arts learning gains 56%
Math achievement 59%
Math learning gains 63%
Science achievement 50%
Social studies achievement 87%
Middle school acceleration 85%

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 a middle school, A is 64% of possible points or more, B is 57% to 63%, C is 44% to 56% and D is 34% to 43%, the state’s file says.

Enrollment zone and feeder schools

Lee County does not assign a middle school by street address alone. Under the district’s 2026-27 Student Enrollment Plan (PDF), families rank the middle schools in the proximity zone their address falls in, and the district guarantees a seat, with bus service, at a school with room in that zone. When a school has more applicants than seats, a lottery gives preference to students in special programs, then siblings, then homes within 2 miles of the school, then the school nearest the home. Students who live within 2 miles of their school are not bused.

About 86% of the current address points the City of Fort Myers lists inside its limits (city GIS) fall in middle school zone EE on the district’s 2026-27 zone layer. Zone EE has two schools: Fort Myers Middle and Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle. About 7% of city addresses are in zone MM (Cypress Lake Middle and Lexington Middle) and 7% in zone JJ (Harns Marsh, Oak Hammock and Varsity Lakes middle schools).

Feeder schools. The district does not publish feeder lists. Fifth graders rank the middle schools in their zone during open enrollment, and an incoming sixth grader is placed with an older sibling at the same address. Students at James Stephens Community School stay there for sixth grade. After eighth grade, students rank the high schools in their high school subzone: most of Fort Myers is in South 1, where the choices are Cypress Lake, Dunbar, Fort Myers and South Fort Myers high schools.

Changes approved. The School Board approved the 2026-27 enrollment plan on Dec. 1, 2025, the district’s zones page says. The plan’s main change was to high school busing; the elementary and middle proximity zones, in use since 2023-24 and 2024-25, continue.

Check any address on the district’s map of school enrollment zones (elementary, K-8, middle and high), and call Student Enrollment at 239-337-8247 with questions.

Calendar and bell times

From the district’s 2026-27 instructional calendar (PDF), approved by the School Board on Nov. 4, 2025:

  • Monday, Oct. 19: no school for students (remote teacher duty day)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, schools closed
  • Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; Monday, Jan. 4, is a remote teacher duty day, so students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
  • Thursday, May 27, 2027: last day for students, early dismissal

Bell times. Middle schools run from 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle is on that schedule, according to the district’s bell times page. The full calendar and School Board details are in our Fort Myers schools guide.

Programs

The school’s programs pages list agriculture and agribusiness, band, computer science and business, theater, visual arts, Spanish, yearbook and journalism, student government and a sixth-grade program it calls the First Fliers Academy.

More on Fort Myers schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School serve?

Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle serves grades 6 through 8. It is at 4750 Winkler Avenue Extension in Fort Myers, and its main line is 239-334-1357.

What is Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School’s Florida school grade?

Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle earned a B in Florida’s 2026 school grades, with 63% of possible points, the same grade as in 2025, after a C in 2024.

Which high school does Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle feed into?

Lee County has no feeder lists. After eighth grade, students rank the high schools in their subzone; most of Fort Myers is in South 1, with Cypress Lake, Dunbar, Fort Myers and South Fort Myers high schools.

What time does Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle start?

Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle runs from 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., according to the district’s bell times page.