David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center, North Miami FL

Original Research by School Decision on David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center

David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center sits in the northeastern corner of North Miami, near Oleta River State Park and adjacent to FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus. It serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular Miami-Dade County public school, carrying students from their earliest years through the end of middle school. The enrollment is on the larger side for a K-8 school, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, reflecting the broader demographic makeup of North Miami's culturally diverse neighborhoods. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful share of families facing economic pressure. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.

On Florida's FAST assessments, math proficiency sits in the roughly middle range in the elementary grades, then slides noticeably by eighth grade, where fewer than half of students tested at grade level. ELA proficiency follows a somewhat uneven path across the grades, with sixth grade performing best among the middle school years and eighth grade trailing. Science scores, available at fifth and eighth grade, land below the midpoint of students scoring proficient. These results are not catastrophic, but they do indicate that a meaningful portion of students are not reaching grade-level benchmarks, particularly by the time they reach eighth grade. A parent whose child is in the upper middle school grades may want to ask the school directly about supports for students who are not yet at grade level, and about how students are being prepared for the academic demands of high school.

Trend data was not available in the source material, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining.

On the neighborhood side, North Miami is a city in active transformation. The SoLē Mia development along Biscayne Boulevard, a large master-planned community publicly reported to include thousands of residences and substantial retail and commercial space, is well underway, with more buildings expected for delivery by 2027. A publicly reported 22-story waterfront condominium project has also received city approval, and construction began recently on another multi-story residential building nearby. This pace of development has divided residents, with some opposing height variances and filing litigation over zoning decisions.

Housing in the area around the school has seen home values decline over the past year, now sitting below both the statewide median and the national median. Rents are also modestly down year over year, though the rent-to-income burden in this ZIP code is substantial, making it a financially stretched market for renters. Homeowners here pay a Miami-Dade school district property tax approved by voters in 2022, running through 2027, that funds teacher pay and school safety staffing.

At the district level, Miami-Dade is managing a sustained enrollment decline that has prompted a proposal to close or consolidate up to nine schools across the county, with reconfigured grade structures including new K-8 and K-12 configurations. Families moving into the area should be aware that school assignments and grade band structures are actively in flux, and it would be worth confirming with the district which campuses are stable. Program data for David Lawrence Jr. specifically was not included in what we reviewed, so specialized tracks or enrichment offerings, if any, could not be assessed here. The school's position right beside a major university campus and a state park is a concrete locational characteristic, though how that proximity translates into any formal programming is not something the available data speaks to.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 69% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 68% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 62% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 64% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 54% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 60% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 60% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 59% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 60% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 63% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 62% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 60% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 56% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

This schoolMIAMI-DADE, 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-income44%Higher-income44%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income57%Higher-income52%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income59%Higher-income52%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income63%Higher-income53%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income42%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income56%Higher-income42%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income52%Higher-income57%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income51%Higher-income48%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income62%Higher-income57%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income54%Higher-income40%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income50%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income35%Higher-income33%2 pp gap