New Renaissance Middle School

New Renaissance Middle School in Miramar, FL, is a public school serving 965 students in grades 6-8 as part of the Broward County School District, and it has consistently ranked in the bottom 25% of Florida middle schools over the past decade, earning a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for ten consecutive years.

This school stands out as an underperforming island in a sea of higher-achieving neighbors. For example, in 6th grade math, only 47% of New Renaissance students were proficient, compared to 91% at Pioneer Middle School and 86% at Somerset Academy Middle (Miramar Campus). The gap is even wider in 8th grade science, where New Renaissance’s proficiency rate is just 27%, while Pioneer and Somerset both exceed 59%. Chronic absenteeism is also a concern, with 29.2% of students missing significant school time—far higher than Somerset’s 0.5% rate. Interestingly, the school shows a "two-tiered" performance: its advanced students excel, with 92% proficiency in Geometry and 84% in Biology, but the majority of students struggle in standard subjects. This suggests a strong advanced program exists alongside a general education program that needs significant improvement.

Despite these challenges, New Renaissance spends more per student ($11,574) than top-performing neighbors like Pioneer ($9,717) and Somerset ($8,472), indicating that funding is not the root issue. The school’s free/reduced lunch rate has dropped sharply from 75.6% to 50.5% in two years, yet academic performance has not improved, pointing to deeper instructional or cultural challenges. Nearby charter schools like Somerset Academy Middle, which serves a more economically disadvantaged population (60.9% free/reduced lunch) yet achieves near-perfect test scores, demonstrate that school culture and instructional quality—not poverty alone—are key drivers of success. For parents, this means New Renaissance offers a strong advanced track but may require extra support for students in standard classes.