Shadowlawn Elementary School

Shadowlawn Elementary School is a public elementary school in Miami, Florida, serving 129 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Miami-Dade school district, which is ranked 24th out of 68 districts in Florida and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Shadowlawn Elementary stands out for several key factors. It has a significantly higher percentage of African American students (86.05%) compared to the surrounding schools, which range from 3.71% to 86.31% African American. The school also consistently struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 33.3% to 48.3% over the past few years, notably higher than the 12.3% to 42.8% range of nearby schools. Academically, Shadowlawn's test scores are generally lower than the Miami-Dade and Florida state averages, with 5th-grade science proficiency at 32% compared to 53% for the district and state. Additionally, Shadowlawn has an exceptionally high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 84.5% to 94.8%, significantly higher than the 59.23% to 88.04% range of surrounding schools.

Despite Shadowlawn's higher spending per student, ranging from $20,152 to $21,698 annually, the school's performance is generally lower than nearby schools, both in terms of test scores and school rankings. For example, in 2023-2024, Shadowlawn ranked 1526 out of 2256 Florida elementary schools, while the nearby Holmes Elementary School, Toussaint L'Ouverture Elementary, and others ranged from 949 to 2144. Addressing the high chronic absenteeism and exploring ways to effectively allocate resources could be crucial for improving Shadowlawn's overall performance and providing a high-quality education for all its students.