Parkway Elementary School

Parkway Elementary School is a small, Title I school in Miami, FL, serving 178 students from Pre-K through 5th grade as part of the Miami-Dade district, and it is showing signs of a promising turnaround after years of low performance.

The most exciting news for parents is the school's dramatic academic improvement in the 2025-2026 school year. After consistently ranking in the bottom 30% of Florida elementary schools, Parkway has made huge strides, especially in the lower grades. For example, 3rd-grade math proficiency jumped to 72%, tying the district average and surpassing the state average. Even more striking, 3rd-grade English Language Arts scores soared from 21% to 56% in just one year. This turnaround is likely linked to a major reduction in class sizes, with the student-teacher ratio dropping from a very high 27:1 to a much more manageable 14.8:1. This allows teachers to give students more individual attention, a key factor for early learning success. While these gains are impressive, it's important to note that 5th-grade math remains a challenge, with only 29% of students proficient—a significant gap compared to nearby Scott Lake Elementary, which excels in that area.

Despite the positive momentum, Parkway still faces hurdles. Chronic absenteeism affects about 26.5% of students, which is higher than at top-performing nearby schools like Hibiscus Elementary (14.0%). The school also spends a relatively high amount per student ($18,329), more than schools like Norland Elementary and Scott Lake, but this investment is now beginning to show results. For parents, Parkway represents a school in transition—one that has made a strong commitment to smaller classes and is seeing real progress in the early grades. The key to its future success will be sustaining this momentum and replicating the 3rd-grade gains in the upper elementary years.