Are you looking for a school in South Florida? These just made the best list
Several South Florida schools made it into the top ranks for best public elementary and middle schools in Florida as well as into the top five for charters, according to new rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
Two of the schools that ranked high were Somerset Academy at SoMi (South Miami campus) and Doral Academy of Technology. Both charter schools — Somerset in the elementary division and Doral in the middle school division — were named No. 1 for schools in Miami-Dade County and for charter schools in Florida.
Doral Academy also snagged the No. 2 spot for best middle school in Florida, with Somerset Academy securing the No. 3 spot for best elementary school in Florida. Somerset Academy at SoMi also garnered the No. 3 spot for best middle school charter in Florida. The school goes from kindergarten to eighth grade.
South Florida schools — those in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — made up half of the top 10 elementary schools in Florida and six of the top 10 middle schools statewide. They also made up four of the top 10 magnet elementary schools, eight of the top 10 magnet middle schools, and seven of the top 10 middle school charters statewide, including the top five.
Schools in Monroe County were included in the statewide rankings, but didn’t make the list until well past the 100 mark.
The rankings are part of U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural list of best public elementary and middle schools, including charters and magnet, across the country. Private schools are not included on the lists.
The media company has been ranking universities and colleges globally since the early 1980s. It also has an annual Best High School list. However, unlike the high school rankings, Florida elementary and middle schools were not compared to schools in other states.
Rankings based on test results, graduation rates, other factors
A school’s ranking was based on a variety of factors, including performance on state-required tests, graduation rates, and how well the school prepares students for high school, all done in the context of socioeconomic demographics, according to U.S. News methodology.
The rankings are separated into two lists, one that looks at elementary schools and another that looks at middle schools. K-8 centers appear on both lists. The elementary and middle school lists can be filtered to compare schools statewide or by school district, with the school’s district rank based entirely on its state rank.
“For example, if the highest-ranked elementary school in a school district is No. 30 in its state, then that school is ranked No. 1 in its district; if the second highest-ranked school in that same district is No. 250 statewide, then that school is ranked No. 2 in its district,” U.S. News explains.
The statewide lists can also be filtered to look at charter or magnet schools only.
So, did your child’s South Florida school make the top three in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties?
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If you don’t see your child’s school in the list below, you can visit usnews.com/education and click on the K-12 tab to search for its ranking.
What are the top schools in Miami-Dade County?
The top 3 public elementary schools:
▪ Somerset Academy at SoMi, a charter school in South Miami. It also ranked No. 1 for Florida Charter Elementary schools and No. 3 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ Henry S. West Laboratory School, a magnet school on the University of Miami’s campus in Coral Gables. It also ranked at No. 3. for middle schools in Miami-Dade. Both its elementary and middle school ranked at No. 4 statewide for magnet. Its elementary school ranked No. 6 statewide and its middle school ranked No. 9 statewide.
▪ Sunset Elementary School, a magnet school near South Miami and Coral Gables with an international studies program that teaches students in French, German and Spanish. It also ranked at No. 6 for magnet elementary schools statewide and No. 9 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ You don’t see a traditional (not magnet) public school in the rankings until No. 12 with Coconut Grove Elementary School. It ranks at No. 35 for elementary schools statewide.
The top 3 public middle schools:
▪ Doral Academy of Technology, a charter school in Doral. It also ranked No. 1 in Florida Charter Middle Schools and No. 2 for Florida middle schools.
▪ Archimedean Middle Conservatory, a charter school in Southwest Miami-Dade. It also ranked No. 2 for Florida Charter Middle Schools and No. 5 for Florida middle schools.
▪ Henry S. West Laboratory School, a magnet school in Coral Gables. It also ranked No. 2 for elementary schools in Miami-Dade. Both its elementary and middle school ranked at No. 4 statewide for magnet. Its elementary school ranked No. 6 statewide and its middle school ranked No. 9 statewide.
▪ You don’t see a traditional (not magnet) public school in the rankings until No. 17 with Ethel Koger Beckham K-8 Center in Southwest Miami-Dade. It ranked No. 14 for elementary schools in Miami-Dade and was in the 30s for elementary and middle schools statewide.
Best schools in Broward County?
The top 3 public Broward elementary schools are:
▪ Somerset Academy Miramar South, a charter school in Miramar. It also ranked at No. 2 for elementary charter schools in Florida and No. 5 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ Somerset Academy Davie Charter School, a charter school in Davie. It also ranked at No. 7 for Florida Charter Elementary Schools and No. 18 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ Beachside Montessori Village, a magnet school in Hollywood. It also ranked No. 2 for middle schools in Broward County, No. 7 for magnet middle schools statewide, No. 13 for middle schools statewide, No. 14 for magnet elementary schools statewide and No. 34 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ The first traditional (not magnet) public school in the rankings is No. 4 with Bayview Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale. It ranks at No. 38 for Florida elementary schools.
The top 3 public Broward middle schools are:
▪ Broward Virtual School, which is based at Coconut Creek High School. The fully online school is also ranked No. 8 for middle schools in Florida.
▪ Beachside Montessori Village, a magnet school in Hollywood. It also ranked No. 3 for elementary schools in Broward County, No. 7 for magnet middle schools statewide, No. 13 for middle schools statewide, No. 14 for Florida magnet elementary schools and No. 34 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ City of Pembroke Pines Charter school in Pembroke Pines. It also ranked at No. 13 for middle school charters statewide and No. 32 for middle schools in Florida.
▪ You don’t see a traditional (not magnet) public school in the rankings until No. 14 with Falcon Cove Middle School in Weston. The school ranks at No. 130 in Florida middle schools.
What are the best schools in the Florida Keys?
The top 3 public elementary schools in Monroe County are:
▪ Stanley Switlik Elementary School in Marathon. It ranks at No. 417 for elementary schools in Florida.
▪ Poinciana Elementary School in Key West. It ranks at No. 803 for elementary schools statewide.
▪ Plantation Key School in Tavernier. It also ranks at No. 1 for middle schools in Monroe County and is ranked 873 and 202 for elementary and middle schools statewide, respectively.
▪ The first charter school to make the list is Ocean Studies Charter in Tavernier at No. 6. It ranks at No. 183 for charter elementary schools in Florida and No. 1020 for elementary schools statewide.
The top 3 public middle schools in Monroe are:
▪ Plantation Key School in Tavernier. It also ranks at No. 3 for elementary schools in Monroe and is at the 873 and 202 rank for elementary and middle schools statewide, respectively.
▪ Key Largo School in Key Largo. It also ranks at No. 5 in elementary schools in Monroe and at No. 935 and No. 275 for Florida elementary and middle schools, respectively.
▪ Sugarloaf School in Sugarloaf Key. It is tied with Horace O’Bryant School in Key West and Sigsbee Charter School in Key West for the No. 7 to 9 rankings for elementary schools in Monroe. It is also ranked at No. 1,491 and No. 423 for elementary and middle schools statewide, respectively.
▪ The first charter school to make the list is Sigsbee Charter School at No. 4. It is tied with Horace O’Bryant School in Key West and Sugarloaf School in Sugarloaf Key for the No. 7 to 9 rank in Monroe elementary schools. It ranked No. 214 for charter elementary schools statewide, No. 1,227 for Florida elementary schools and No. 442 for middle schools statewide.
