Sand Lake Elementary School

The Sand Lake ES attendance zone covers Sand Lake Hills, Sunset Park, Bay Lake (partial), Bay Meadows (partial), and Tangelo Park — a broad wedge of southwest Orlando in the 32836 zip code. The zone runs roughly from the Apopka-Vineland Road corridor east through Sand Lake and south toward Tangelo Park. The zone boundary is irregular and cuts through some subdivisions, so address-specific confirmation via the OCPS Find My School tool at ocps.net/find-my-school is essential before making any school-based housing decision.

Sand Lake ES is a zoned OCPS school — no application or lottery. If your home address is inside the attendance boundary, your child enrolls automatically. Bring proof of address, immunization records, and a birth certificate to the school at 8301 Buena Vista Woods Blvd, or call the registrar at (407) 903-7400 x415-2232. The Gifted and Talented program requires a separate referral from the classroom teacher once your child is enrolled and the school has assessment data.

Homes inside the Sand Lake ES attendance zone generally run from the high $300s (older townhomes and condos in Tangelo Park and Bay Meadows) to over $800K for single-family in Sand Lake Hills and Sunset Park. The middle of the market — detached single-family, 3-4 bedrooms — tends to cluster in the $500K–$680K range for the 32836 zip code. The Dr. Phillips area median reported in early 2025 ran around $570K–$650K depending on the source and time window. For a current zone-filtered list, ask Ben directly.

Sand Lake ES follows standard OCPS campus-security protocols: controlled entry during school hours, front-office ID check, and a clear visitor sign-in policy. The surrounding Sand Lake Hills and Sunset Park neighborhoods in 32836 are predominantly residential owner-occupied with low crime rates relative to the broader Orlando metro. The school had no notable discipline or safety incidents flagged in publicly available state data.

Both are OCPS public elementary schools in the Dr. Phillips corridor feeding Southwest Middle and Dr. Phillips High — the pipeline is the same. Palm Lake ES carries a 9/10 GreatSchools rating vs. Sand Lake ES at 7/10, and Palm Lake's zone sits slightly north and west in the 32819 zip code while Sand Lake ES covers the 32836 side. For buyers, which school your address is assigned to comes down to the specific street, not the neighborhood name. Zone-verify any address before going under contract if school assignment is a factor.