Pines Lakes Elementary School

Pines Lakes Elementary School in Pembroke Pines, FL, is a public school serving 414 students in grades PK-5, and it has recently achieved a remarkable academic turnaround that sets it apart from many nearby schools.

After spending several years in the bottom quartile of Florida elementary schools, Pines Lakes made a dramatic leap to the 60th percentile in the 2025-2026 school year, earning a 3-star rating. This represents an improvement of over 500 places in state rankings in a single year. The school's 4th-grade students are particularly strong, with 72% proficiency in both English Language Arts and Math—matching or exceeding district averages and competing with higher-ranked schools like Embassy Creek Elementary School. However, the school faces a "3rd-grade slump," where proficiency rates lag behind the district by 9-12 percentage points. This suggests that while intervention strategies are highly effective by 4th grade, they need to start earlier. The school also invests heavily in its students, spending $14,873 per pupil—significantly more than nearby Pembroke Lakes Elementary School ($10,549)—and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1, which is lower than the district average and many high-performing neighbors.

Chronic absenteeism has been a persistent challenge, peaking at 38.8% in 2021-2022, but it has improved to 26.5% in 2023-2024—now below the Broward district average of 33.6%. This drop in absenteeism correlates strongly with the school's academic gains. Compared to its closest neighbor, Atlantic Montessori Charter School, which achieves high 3rd-grade scores with a much smaller student body, Pines Lakes demonstrates that its model, while slower to start, is effective in the long run, matching or exceeding that school's performance by 4th and 5th grade. For parents, Pines Lakes offers a resource-rich environment with small class sizes and a proven track record of turning around student outcomes, though early elementary support remains a key area to watch.