Academir Preparatory Academy

Academir Preparatory Academy is a K-5 elementary school in Miami, FL, serving 396 students within the Miami-Dade school district, and it serves a community where over 81% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making it the most economically disadvantaged school in its immediate area.

Academir has historically been a solid, mid-tier performer, but recent data shows a significant drop in its state ranking from the 76th percentile to the 57th percentile, a decline that is the most dramatic negative swing among nearby schools like Kendale Lakes Elementary and Somerset Palms Academy, which have maintained high rankings. The school shows a clear strength in early-grade Math, with 3rd and 4th graders scoring 77% and 69% proficient, outperforming district and state averages. However, this strength does not extend to Science, where 5th-grade proficiency dropped to just 42%, a 20-point decline from the previous year. Chronic absenteeism is also a challenge at 20.8%, which is higher than many high-performing neighbors like Royal Green Elementary (9.8%) and Ethel Koger Beckham K-8 Center (8.5%).

Despite its high poverty rate, Academir is not the lowest-performing school in the area, outperforming Bowman Ashe/Doolin K-8 Academy in some metrics. However, it is consistently outperformed by Pinecrest Preparatory Academy, which also serves a high-poverty population (60%) but ranks in the 97th percentile, showing that poverty is not an insurmountable barrier. Academir's per-student spending of $11,825 is the lowest among its immediate neighbors except for Somerset Palms, suggesting that the school's challenge may be in how effectively it uses its resources, especially when compared to a highly efficient peer like Pinecrest.