Henry D Perry Education Center

Henry D Perry Education Center in Miramar, FL, is a large alternative school serving 1,014 students from Pre-K through 12th grade within the Broward County Public School District, which is ranked in the 67th percentile statewide.

The most pressing concern at Henry D Perry is a severe crisis of student disengagement, with an 88% chronic absenteeism rate—nearly 2.6 times higher than the district average. This directly contributes to critically low academic outcomes, such as only 3% of 8th graders proficient in math and a graduation rate of just 36%, far below the district's 91.4%. The school also has an extremely high student-to-teacher ratio of 44:1, which is dramatically higher than other nearby alternative schools. For example, The Quest Center, just 4.23 miles away, serves 109 students with a 5.1:1 ratio, an 83.3% graduation rate, and a 34.1% absenteeism rate. This stark contrast highlights that Henry D Perry is severely under-resourced for its scale, spending only $10,568 per student compared to The Quest Center's $63,363 per student.

Despite serving a high-needs population, the school's free/reduced lunch eligibility has dropped sharply to 11.24%, an anomaly compared to other alternative centers in the area. The school's best relative performance is in US History (39% proficient) and Biology (36% proficient), though these remain well below state averages. The data suggests that Henry D Perry functions as a "last resort" for a large number of students, but without the individualized support or funding that smaller, more successful alternative programs like Whispering Pines Exceptional Education Center or Robert Renick Educational Center provide. A fundamental shift in resource allocation and a reduction in scale would be needed to improve outcomes.