Summary:
The 8 schools in zip code 33010 (Hialeah, FL) are part of the Miami-Dade school district and serve grades PK-12, with a heavy focus on elementary education in a community where all schools serve a high percentage of students from low-income families.
The standout performer in the area is Imater Preparatory Academy High School, the only school with a 4-star rating and an exceptional 98.7% graduation rate. In contrast, its feeder school, Imater Academy Middle School, has a low 2-star ranking and high chronic absenteeism (34.6%), yet it achieves near-perfect proficiency in advanced courses like Geometry (93%) and Biology 1 (92%). South Hialeah Elementary School is the most improved school, rising from a 2-star to a 3-star rating, and leads in elementary math with 4th graders at 85% proficiency. Excelsior Prep Charter School Of Hialeah is a high-risk, high-reward outlier with the highest poverty rate (95.47%) and chronic absenteeism (37.7%), but it achieves 100% proficiency in Biology 1 and 92% in Geometry. Other schools like Hialeah Elementary School, James H. Bright Elementary/J.W. Johnson Elementary, Imater Academy, and Brightview Preparatory Academy show mixed results, with James H. Bright spending the most per student ($18,847) but ranking low (1-star), while Imater Middle spends the least ($8,861) but excels in advanced exams.
Key takeaways include a systemic chronic absenteeism issue averaging 31.8%, higher than the state average, and a clear disconnect between spending and success—higher funding does not guarantee better outcomes. The "Imater Paradox" shows a middle school with low overall rankings feeding into a high school that is a model of success, suggesting a powerful value-add effect. The charter schools create "pockets of excellence" in advanced courses but struggle in standard subjects, while South Hialeah Elementary stands out as a bright spot in math with low absenteeism, offering a potential model for improvement in the area.
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