The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Math. The lowest is 42% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Watkins Elementary School
Watkins Elementary sits on SW 52nd Avenue in Pembroke Park, a small, mixed residential and commercial town tucked into southwestern Broward County within the broader Miami metro. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary in the Broward County district. Enrollment puts it in the small-to-moderate range for a PK-5 building.
The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a smaller share of white and other students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Watkins among schools serving a high proportion of economically disadvantaged families. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
State assessment results come from Florida's FAST exams in ELA and math for grades three through five, and from the Florida Statewide Science Assessment at fifth grade. Across all three grades tested in math, proficiency sits roughly in the low-to-mid range, with fifth grade performing somewhat better than fourth. ELA results are generally lower than math, particularly in the earlier tested grades, with fifth grade showing a modest uptick. Science at fifth grade is in a similar range to fifth-grade ELA. Taken together, fewer than half of students across most tested grade-subject combinations are reaching proficiency, which is a pattern parents may want to explore further with the school, particularly around what reading and writing supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting the standard. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether scores have been moving up or down.
A meaningful comparison against neighboring Broward County districts was not possible from this data because the comparison pool contained only one district, so no peer positioning is included here.
No information on program offerings, course access, discipline practices, chronic absenteeism, or staffing was available in the provided data, and the district brief did not surface any parent-relevant policy or program changes to report.
On housing, the zip code covering this part of Pembroke Park carries home values that are above the Florida statewide median and roughly in line with national figures, though values have edged down slightly over the past year. Rents have held roughly flat. Affordability is a real constraint here: the estimated monthly cost of owning a home in this market is substantial relative to typical incomes, and rent as a share of income runs high by conventional measures. Families renting in the area are spending a meaningful portion of their budget on housing.
Pembroke Park itself is a quiet, auto-oriented town. Nearly half of residents live in mobile homes, and the town has numerous mobile home parks as well as RV camping facilities. The main commercial corridor, Hallandale Beach Boulevard, is a high-traffic strip-mall environment rather than a walkable center. The town's civic hub is Town Hall, which shares a street with Watkins Elementary, and a large community preserve offers parks and green space. Transit runs along Pembroke Road via Broward County Transit. Downtown Hollywood and Hallandale Beach are a short distance away. Seasonally, the town's population grows considerably when snowbird residents arrive. Publicly reported information notes that Pembroke Park markets itself heavily around its commercial and industrial base, drawing logistics companies and a range of larger employers, and new affordable senior housing construction is underway on the western side of town, expected to complete within a couple of years.
For a family evaluating Watkins, the picture is a small neighborhood elementary in a working community with a high share of economically disadvantaged students, test results that are currently below the state's proficiency midpoint across most subjects and grades, and limited supplementary data to fill in a fuller picture of what support the school provides. A conversation with the school about intervention programs, reading instruction, and student supports would be a practical next step.
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