Built in 1962, Rufus Payne Elementary is named in honor of the prominent local educator Rufus Elvin Payne. The school is located in the northeast quadrant on Jacksonville’s north side. Payne is home to approximately 400 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. The population of the school consists of 96% African American.

The majority of the students that attend Payne come from families with very low incomes. Most receive benefits and/or assistance from Medicaid, Social Security and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Payne has an extremely high student mobility rate with 92% of the students receiving free or reduced lunch.

Class size at Payne averages less than twenty (20) students with the classroom distribution being as follows: one pre-kindergarten class , three basic kindergarten classes, four basic first grade classes, four basic second grade classes, three basic third grade classes, three basic fourth grade classes, three basic fifth grade classes and one third grade drop-out prevention class. Rufus Payne also meets the needs of students with special needs through specialized services and intervention for students with varying exceptionalities-Educable Mentally Handicapped, Specific Learning Disabled, Speech Impaired, Language Impaired, Gifted and Other Health Impaired.

In addition to the 22 classroom positions, other faculty and staff positions that directly impact instruction include one Assistant Principal, one Curriculum Integration Specialist, one School Standards Coach, one Reading Coach, one Math Coach, one full-time Science Resource Teacher, one full-time Art Resource Teacher, one full time Chinese Exchange Teacher, one part-time Media Specialist, one part-time Speech Pathologist, , one part-time Music Resource Teacher, one part-time Physical Education Teacher, one part-time Guidance Counselor and six full-time paraprofessionals. Other support staff positions include a front office clerk, a CRT operator and a Bookkeeper that serves as the principal’s personal secretary. The staff at Rufus Payne is extremely young with the average years of experience being only six years. Only six teachers have more than ten years of teaching experience.

Payne continues to make strides in academic achievement. In 2008 Ninety- seven percent of our fourth grade students scored proficiency on the writing assessment which gave us the highest elementary writing scores in Duval County. We also had the second highest gains for fifth grade Science. For the second time in one year, our DIBELS scores were ranked at or above the 90th percentile in three of the four areas and above the state in all four. In 2007 while Payne's school grade remained a "C", we made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2007. 100% of all subgroups met the criteria for Reading, Math and Writing. In 2005, the school earned a school grade of “B”. This is the highest level of achievement Payne has received since the state adopted the FCAT. Payne received in “D” in 2004, a “C” in 2003, and an “F” in 2002. On 2006 FCAT, 70% of all struggling students (low quartile) showed growth in Reading and 64% showed growth in Math. Not only did low quartile students show growth, 61% of all students showed learning gains in reading and 64% in math.

While these numbers show adequate growth, the faculty and staff of Rufus Payne continue to strive for excellence. We live daily by our motto that Excellence Is The Expectation and we will only achieve that excellence through Respect, Responsibility, Peacefulness and Pride.

In September, 2007, Rufus Payne Elementary received a grant totaling $951, 915 from the Magnet Schools of America to implement the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. The PYP Magnet Program places a special emphasis on scientific, inquiry-based instruction. It is an internationally recognized program that focuses on developing the academic, social, physical, cultural, and emotional needs of a child while teaching them what it means to appreciate diversity and develop the attributes of a global citizen. It is designed to allow students the opportunity to ask questions, investigate and research for answers, communicate their learning in meaningful ways and to be active participants in their learning.