Academir Charter School West, Miami FL

Original Research by School Decision on Academir Charter School West

Academir Charter School West is a K-8 public charter school sitting in western Miami along SW 26th Street, operating as part of the Miami-Dade district network but with its own charter governance. It serves kindergarten through eighth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no AP or dual-credit pathway data is present in the available information given that the school does not reach high school.

Academic performance on Florida's FAST assessments is one of the clearest things this school has going for it. Across every tested grade in reading and language arts, proficiency runs well above what most families would consider a strong floor, climbing from the upper seventies in third grade to the low nineties in sixth grade, with seventh and eighth sitting in the mid-to-upper eighties. Math tells a similar story: third through fifth grade proficiency falls in the upper seventies to low eighties, while sixth grade is exceptionally high and seventh grade holds firmly in the mid-eighties. Eighth-grade math results were suppressed in the state data, likely because group size fell below Florida's reporting threshold, so a complete picture at that grade is not available. Fifth-grade science proficiency came in just below the math results for that grade. Taken together, the pattern across subjects is consistently strong, and the jump in performance in the middle grades is particularly apparent. Multi-year trend data was not available for comparison.

The school is predominantly Hispanic, with nearly all students identifying that way, reflecting the demographics of the surrounding Miami neighborhoods. About half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a mixed-income population with a meaningful share of economically disadvantaged families. Data on special education and English learner populations was not reported in the available records, so parents with students in those categories should ask the school directly about services and staffing. Program offerings were not provided in the data.

The surrounding Miami housing market sits substantially above both the state and national medians for home values. Rents here are also high, and a meaningful share of renter income goes toward housing costs, a pattern publicly reported as one of the more challenging housing cost burdens in the country. Home values in the zip code were slightly lower year-over-year at the most recent reading, though the broader picture remains one of an expensive market for families considering the area. Current mortgage rates add to the calculus for buyers.

Miami itself is a large, dense urban city. The western Miami neighborhoods where this school sits are distinctly residential, removed from the high-rise corridors of Downtown, Brickell, and Edgewater. The broader city has strong transit infrastructure, including Metrorail and the free Metromover system serving downtown, though walkability scores vary widely by neighborhood and the school's immediate area is less pedestrian-oriented than central Miami. Employment anchors across the metro include Miami-Dade County Public Schools, major health systems like Baptist Health South Florida and Jackson Health System, and institutions such as the University of Miami, alongside government at multiple levels.

At the district level, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is navigating a period of real turbulence. Enrollment has declined sharply, and as of spring 2026, the district was publicly considering closing or consolidating up to nine schools. Academir Charter West operates within this environment as a charter, which provides some structural separation from district boundary decisions, but families should understand that the broader ecosystem is in motion. A property-tax referendum passed in late 2022 raised the school tax rate to fund teacher pay and school safety; that higher rate is set to expire in 2027 unless voters renew it. Separately, state legislation is moving toward a school-day cell phone restriction, with a statewide policy required by the end of 2026, which will affect classroom rules regardless of where individual schools currently stand.

For a family seeking a K-8 path in western Miami with strong tested outcomes and a predominantly Hispanic peer community in a mixed-income setting, this school fits that picture clearly. Anyone wanting detail on special education services or enrichment programming will want to contact the school directly, as those specifics are not in the available data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 69% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 68% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 62% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 698%

School 98% · District 64% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 54% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 60% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 59% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 585%

School 85% · District 60% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 693%

School 93% · District 63% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 62% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 60% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 56% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above 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-income78%Higher-income78%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income97%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income83%Higher-income87%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income88%Higher-income100%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income78%Higher-income93%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income83%Higher-income77%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income80%Higher-income81%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income93%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income65%Higher-income85%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income96%Higher-income100%4 pp gap