Somerset Oaks Academy

Somerset Oaks Academy is a K-8 charter school in Homestead, FL, serving 628 students within the Miami-Dade school district, and it serves a high-poverty community with nearly 87% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school is a story of two very different halves. Its middle school (grades 6-8) is a standout, achieving 100% proficiency in advanced courses like Geometry and Biology, and scoring well above district and state averages in English and math. For example, 7th and 8th graders scored 80% and 76% proficient in English, far exceeding the district's 67% and 65%. However, the elementary grades (3-5) struggle, with proficiency rates in reading and math often falling below district averages. This creates a dramatic "value-add" effect: students who enter middle school from a weaker elementary foundation see a significant jump in performance, suggesting the middle school program is exceptionally effective at accelerating learning. The school has also shown a remarkable turnaround from a pandemic low, climbing from the 11th percentile in 2020-2021 to the 44th percentile in the most recent ranking year.

Compared to nearby schools, Somerset Oaks is an interesting case. It spends less per student ($10,731) than many peers like Laura C. Saunders Elementary School ($14,522) or Avocado Elementary School ($16,749), yet its middle school results rival or exceed those of higher-spending schools. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 19.6% is better than the district average (28.2%) and far lower than nearby Gateway Environmental K-8 Learning Center (40.3%). While it is the lowest-performing of the local "Somerset" charter schools—with Somerset Academy Charter Elementary School (South Homestead) ranking in the 78th percentile and Somerset Arts Academy in the 65th—Somerset Oaks' middle school success shows it can defy expectations for a high-poverty school, making it a promising option for families focused on the upper grades.