Henry Elementary School Reeves K-8 Center

Henry Elementary School Reeves K-8 Center in Miami, FL, is a public school serving 830 students in grades PK through 8 as part of the Miami-Dade district, where over 71% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most critical challenge at Henry Elementary is its exceptionally high chronic absenteeism rate of 38.9% (2023-2024), which is dramatically higher than nearby schools serving similar communities. For example, Lakeview Elementary School, just 0.73 miles away, has a chronic absenteeism rate of only 20.4% and consistently outperforms Henry in nearly every subject. This attendance crisis appears to be the primary driver of the school's struggles in early and middle grades (3rd-6th), where proficiency rates in ELA and Math are often 15-25 percentage points below district averages. However, the school shows a remarkable turnaround in upper grades (7th-8th), where students meet or exceed district averages in ELA and Math, and achieve outstanding results in advanced coursework—including an 88% proficiency rate in Biology 1, which is 13 points higher than the district average.

This creates a "tale of two schools" under one roof: the elementary grades are struggling significantly, while the middle school grades are competitive and even excel in some subjects. The school's per-student spending of $12,599 is higher than some nearby schools that outperform it, such as Gratigny Elementary School ($17,091) and Lakeview Elementary School ($15,956), suggesting that funding alone isn't the issue. The stark comparison with Lakeview Elementary—which has similar demographics but nearly half the absenteeism rate—indicates that Henry's challenges are tied to school-level culture and attendance issues, not just poverty. If the school can solve its attendance crisis, it has demonstrated capacity for strong academic outcomes, particularly in its upper grades.