Glades Central High School

Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, FL, serves 979 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Palm Beach school district, located in a high-poverty community where over 73% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The most remarkable feature of Glades Central is its near-perfect graduation rate of 99.5%, which surpasses the state average of 92.2% and every nearby school, including Pahokee Middle-Senior High (99.0%) and Clewiston High School (88.9%). This success is supported by a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 21.5%, which is far better than Crossroads Academy (62.7%) and Everglades Preparatory Academy (57.2%). However, the school presents a paradox: while it excels in Biology (84% proficiency vs. 74% state) and US History (75% proficiency vs. 74% state), it struggles significantly in math, with Algebra 1 proficiency at 40% and Geometry at 47%, both below state averages. This contrasts with Pahokee Middle-Senior High, which excels in math but has a slightly lower graduation rate.

Glades Central is clearly a school on the rise, climbing from the 20th percentile in 2020-2021 to the 48th percentile in 2025-2026. Recent improvements include a jump in Algebra 1 proficiency from 11% to 40% and 9th-grade ELA from 28% to 41% over the past few years. The school spends $15,654 per student, higher than Clewiston High ($10,215) but less than smaller alternative schools like Crossroads Academy ($29,916) and Everglades Prep ($17,971), which have far worse outcomes. This suggests Glades Central is using its resources effectively to prioritize student persistence and completion, even as it works to boost test scores in core subjects.