The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Math. The lowest is 75% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pinecrest Elementary School
Pinecrest Elementary sits on SW 57th Avenue in the southern reaches of Miami, a neighborhood that falls within one of the city's higher-cost residential corridors. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and draws a sizable enrollment for an elementary school. Hispanic students form the clear majority, with white students making up roughly a quarter of the population, and smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and Black students. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is small, which points to a relatively affluent enrollment compared to what is typical in Miami-Dade County. Data on students receiving special education services and on English learners were not available in what was provided.
Academically, the school posts strong results on Florida's FAST assessments. In math, third graders scored at the very high end of proficiency, and fourth and fifth graders were close behind, all well above what most Florida elementary schools report. Reading and language arts results are similarly strong across all three tested grades, with the fourth-grade figure a step lower than the others though still well above average by statewide standards. Fifth-grade science, measured through the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, came in at a solid level. Taken together, these are genuine strengths. Multi-year trend data were not available, so whether results have been moving up or down cannot be assessed from what was provided.
The housing market surrounding the school is expensive by any measure, sitting dramatically above both Florida and national medians. Rents in the zip code are also high, running well above national typical levels. Year-over-year, home values edged up modestly while rents slipped slightly, but the area remains one of the costlier residential addresses in the state. Families renting in the neighborhood spend a very large share of income on shelter, and mortgage costs on a typical nearby home run substantially above the national norm. This context matters for families assessing whether they can establish stable residency in the attendance zone.
The parent district is Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and a few district-level realities are worth knowing. Voters approved a property tax referendum that added to homeowners' annual bills, with the higher rate running through 2027. The proceeds fund teacher pay increases and campus security. Separately, the district is experiencing a meaningful, sustained enrollment decline, and publicly reported accounts indicate that up to nine schools across the district's regions were proposed for closure or consolidation ahead of the next school year, with some reconfigured into K-8, 6-12, or K-12 formats. Families moving into the area should ask directly whether Pinecrest Elementary's attendance boundaries or grade structure are affected by these proposals, as the board was expected to vote on these changes around mid-year. On phones, Miami-Dade had moved toward a parental-education approach rather than a classroom ban as of 2024, though state legislation was advancing that would require a uniform statewide policy by the end of 2026.
Miami itself is a dense, differentiated city with uneven walkability by neighborhood. The area around SW 57th Avenue is in the southern part of the city, somewhat removed from the highest-walkability downtown core but served by the regional Metrorail system, which runs through South Miami and Coral Gables. Major employers in the county include government at multiple levels, the county school district itself, large health systems like Baptist Health South Florida and Jackson Health System, the University of Miami, and American Airlines through Miami International. The city has been growing at the municipal level while the broader county recently reversed course, posting a notable population decline attributed in part to an immigration slowdown. That context shapes the district's enrollment picture and the closure decisions flowing from it.
For a family weighing this school, the academic results are among the clearest signals available: proficiency rates in math and reading run high across all tested grades. The peer population skews toward families with higher incomes, and the surrounding housing market reflects that. The unanswered question at the district level is whether consolidation plans will affect this school's structure or boundaries, and that is a reasonable thing to ask the school directly before making a housing decision based on the attendance zone.
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