Park Lakes Elementary School, Lauderdale Lakes FL

Original Research by School Decision on Park Lakes Elementary School

Park Lakes Elementary sits on State Road 7 in Lauderdale Lakes, a small, densely populated city in central Broward County with a working-class, minority-majority character shaped heavily by Caribbean culture. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Broward district, and its enrollment is substantial for an elementary school of this type. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic population and very little racial diversity beyond those two groups. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. Data on English learner counts and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.

On academics, Florida reports FAST assessment results by grade, and Park Lakes shows a mixed picture across the tested grades. In math, third graders perform roughly around the midpoint, fourth graders perform somewhat better, and fifth graders land in between. In ELA, third and fourth grade results are near or just above the midpoint, while fifth grade reading proficiency dips below it, a pattern worth discussing directly with the school. Fifth grade science results, from the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, are near the midpoint as well. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether performance has been moving up or down in recent years. A parent who wants to understand the school's trajectory would want to ask the school directly. The comparison framework we have positions schools relative to districts in Broward County, but the cohort was too small to produce a meaningful comparison index, so we left that out rather than imply a ranking that the data does not support.

The school itself sits in a neighborhood defined by the SR-7 commercial corridor, which publicly reported city planning describes as busy and auto-oriented, with ongoing efforts to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment that has not fully materialized yet. The city runs a free community bus connecting major stops along Oakland Park Boulevard and SR-7, including parks and the branch library, so families without a car have transit options. Lauderdale Lakes is built out at its current small footprint, and new development is largely infill through the city's Community Redevelopment Agency rather than any large greenfield expansion.

Housing near the school has seen a notable decline in estimated home values over the past year, well below the state average for home prices, making it one of the more affordable entry points in Broward County. Rents in the zip code have also eased slightly year over year, though rent as a share of income remains a real pressure point relative to national norms. The gap between renting and buying is narrow here, which can matter for families weighing their options in a county where housing costs are broadly elevated.

Program information for Park Lakes was not available in what we reviewed, so it is not possible to describe enrichment offerings, after-school programs, or any specialized curriculum tracks. A parent should ask the school what is available. District-level changes and strategic priorities for Broward were also not surfaced during research, so we left that section out rather than guess.

The picture that emerges is of a neighborhood elementary school drawing from a close-knit, economically modest, and culturally distinct community. Academic proficiency across grades is uneven, with some grades performing around the state midpoint and fifth grade ELA falling below it, which a family would reasonably want to explore further. The community itself is engaged in active redevelopment, and the civic infrastructure, transit, library, and parks, is more developed than the commercial streetscape might suggest on a first pass.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 68% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 465%

School 65% · District 69% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 61% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 62% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 62% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 57% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolBROWARD, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income52%Higher-income54%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income58%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income48%Higher-income40%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income51%Higher-income50%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income70%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income54%Higher-income58%4 pp gap