Palm Glades Preparatory High School

Palm Glades Preparatory High School is a small high school in the Goulds area of Miami, serving 229 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Miami-Dade County Public School District, with over half of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

This school is in a period of transition, showing both promising improvements and persistent challenges. On the positive side, Palm Glades has seen its state ranking rise from the 17th percentile to the 31st percentile over the last few years, and its graduation rate has jumped dramatically from 69.8% to 95.8%. However, the school still struggles with academic performance. Proficiency rates in core subjects like Algebra 1 (45%) and 9th Grade ELA (47%) are significantly lower than at nearby schools like Somerset Academy Charter High School, which posts rates around 85%. A bright spot is US History, where 67% of students are proficient, much closer to the district average. The most critical issue is chronic absenteeism, which sits at a very high 43%—nearly double the district average and over five times higher than Cutler Bay Senior High School (8.2%).

Interestingly, Palm Glades spends a relatively high $15,466 per student, yet this investment hasn't translated into top-tier test scores. For comparison, Somerset Academy Charter High School spends only $8,633 per student but achieves much stronger academic results. The school's small size and low student-teacher ratio of 12.7:1 suggest that challenges are not due to a lack of individual attention, but are likely tied to broader issues of student engagement and attendance. For parents, the key takeaway is that while Palm Glades is making strides in getting students to graduate, the school's leadership must first solve the foundational problem of getting students to class consistently before academic gains can fully take hold.