The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Science. The lowest is 59% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Johnnie M Parris Colonial Drive Elementary School
Johnnie M. Parris Colonial Drive Elementary sits in the southwestern corner of Miami, in a zip code where home values run well above the Florida state median and well above national levels. The surrounding area is part of the broader Miami urban fabric but sits toward the suburban edge of the city, removed from the walkable downtown core. Housing costs here reflect the overall Miami-Dade market, which has seen modest softening over the past year in both sale prices and rents, though affordability remains a real constraint: rent-to-income ratios in the area are stretched, and the estimated monthly cost of ownership is substantial relative to national income benchmarks.
The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment that makes it a small elementary school. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a meaningful share of Black students and very small numbers of other groups. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community where economic need is genuine. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available in the records we reviewed, which are worth asking the school about directly.
On the Florida statewide assessments for the most recent school year, the picture is mixed but generally solid in the context of the district. Math proficiency holds up well in third and fifth grade and comes in near the midpoint in fourth grade. Reading proficiency in third grade is the softest point in the available data; by fourth and fifth grade it climbs to a more comfortable range. Fifth-grade science results are in line with the stronger math and reading figures. Trend data across years was not available, so it is not possible to say from this record whether these numbers have been improving, holding steady, or declining. A parent would reasonably want to ask the school about that trajectory.
No information on specific program offerings, course access, staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, or discipline patterns was present in the data. Those are worth asking about, particularly for families making enrollment decisions.
The parent district, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is navigating a notable enrollment decline that has prompted the district to propose closing or consolidating a number of schools, with proposed changes spanning all three geographic regions. Families considering this school should ask whether Colonial Drive is among those under review, and what boundary or grade-structure changes may be coming before the next school year. The district's attendance boundary committee is actively considering reconfigurations, including new K-8 and K-12 arrangements. Reassignment is a real possibility in this environment, and the school board was set to vote on these proposals around the time this data was compiled.
On the funding side, Miami-Dade voters passed a property tax measure in late 2022 to support teacher pay and school safety staffing. That higher rate runs through 2027, when it would need voter renewal. For homeowners in the area, this adds a direct cost but also represents a continued investment in compensation and campus security. The district also moved more slowly than some neighbors on restricting student cell phones, favoring parental education over outright bans, though state legislation is pushing toward a uniform statewide prohibition by the end of 2026.
Miami itself is a large, dense urban city with considerable neighborhood variation. The zip code this school serves is not within the walkable downtown or arts district neighborhoods; it is in the southern residential reaches of the city, connected to the broader metro by roadways and the Metrorail system, which runs from Kendall through the urban core. The metro area's major employers span government, health care, education, and tourism, with a growing technology presence. Miami-Dade County as a whole saw population decline in the most recent year, a reversal from earlier growth, driven in part by shifts in immigration. That broader trend is what is driving the school consolidation pressure the district is now managing.
Proficiency across the tested grades here is generally above what one might expect given the school's economic context, and the results in math and fifth-grade ELA are a relative strength. The soft third-grade reading figure is the place a parent may want to probe more closely with the school.
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