Summary:
This analysis examines nine elementary-level schools in zip code 33032 (Homestead, FL), all part of the Miami-Dade school district, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade with enrollments ranging from 138 to 1,890 students.
The standout top performers are Air Base K-8 Center For International Education (5-star, 91st percentile) and the two Somerset Academy schools: Somerset Academy Silver Palms (4-star, 85th percentile) and Somerset Academy Silver Palms At Princeton (5-star, 94th percentile). These schools share a common success factor: extremely low chronic absenteeism rates (6.8% to 10.0%), far below the district average of 28.2%. In contrast, the three lowest-performing schools—Coconut Palm K-8 Academy (0-star, 6th percentile), Goulds Elementary School (0-star, 10th percentile), and Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy (1-star, 12th percentile)—all have chronic absenteeism rates above 35%, with Mandarin Lakes reaching 43.2%.
A striking "spending paradox" emerges: the two highest-spending schools, Goulds ($17,569 per student) and Dr. William A. Chapman Elementary School ($17,314), are among the lowest-ranked, while the two lowest-spending schools, Somerset Silver Palms ($8,960) and Somerset Princeton ($9,572), are top performers. This suggests that school culture and leadership matter more than financial resources alone. The Somerset schools achieve high performance despite serving high-poverty populations (over 82% free/reduced lunch) and having larger class sizes (21-24 students per teacher), while struggling schools like Mandarin Lakes have smaller classes (13.6:1 ratio) but far worse outcomes. South Prep Scholars Academy stands as an outlier with only 2.17% free/reduced lunch eligibility and a moderate 46th percentile ranking, while Summerville Advantage Academy rounds out the group with a 2-star rating and 37th percentile rank.
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