The top reported proficiency rate is 94% in Math. The lowest is 85% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Somerset Academy Bay Middle School
Somerset Academy Bay Middle School is a charter middle school serving sixth through eighth grade, located in southwestern Miami along the SW 97th Avenue corridor. It operates independently from the Miami-Dade district's attendance boundaries, which means enrollment is by choice rather than by address, and families apply rather than being assigned.
The school is quite small for a middle school, with enrollment spread thinly across three grade levels, the eighth grade cohort being noticeably smaller than the sixth. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a small white population and virtually no representation of other racial or ethnic groups. That composition reflects the surrounding southwestern Miami neighborhoods, which are heavily Latino. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is low relative to what you would expect in a Miami-Dade school, suggesting this school draws from families with somewhat higher economic resources, though income data and English learner counts were not available in the data, so a fuller socioeconomic picture is incomplete.
Academically, Somerset Academy Bay is performing at a genuinely strong level on Florida's FAST assessments. Math proficiency across the tested grades runs from high to near-universal, with seventh grade in particular reaching a rate that is exceptional by any standard. ELA results are also well above the Florida middle school norm across all three tested grades, with sixth and eighth slightly closer together and seventh again the highest point. Eighth grade science data came from an earlier school year and showed similarly strong results, though that figure predates the current assessment cycle and should be read with some caution. Trend data across years was not available in the payload, so whether these results have improved, held steady, or shifted recently cannot be determined here. The neighbor comparison tool flagged that the school comparison set in Miami-Dade County was too small for a meaningful ranked position, so the proficiency figures are best read in absolute terms rather than against a peer group.
Graduation rates and chronic absenteeism data do not apply here: this is a middle school, so neither metric is generated for this entity.
Program details were not available in the data provided. Course access, staffing ratios, extracurricular offerings, and special education or English learner services were not reported, and IEP and English learner rates were missing. A parent interested in support services for students with disabilities or language needs should ask the school directly, as these gaps in the data prevent any characterization of what Somerset Academy Bay offers in those areas.
The surrounding housing market is expensive. Home values in the school's zip code are well above both the Florida statewide median and the national median, and they have held roughly flat year over year. Rents are also high relative to typical incomes, with a rent-to-income ratio that sits in territory most household finance guidance would consider stretched. Buying in this area at current mortgage rates produces a monthly payment that would require a substantial income to sustain comfortably.
Miami-Dade as a district is navigating real turbulence right now. Enrollment has fallen enough that the district was considering closing or consolidating up to nine schools in spring 2026, with proposed boundary and structure changes affecting all three regions. As a charter, Somerset Academy Bay operates outside those reassignment decisions, but families considering the area should be aware that surrounding traditional public schools may shift in grade configuration. A voter-approved property tax increase, which raised the millage rate to fund teacher pay and school safety, runs through 2027 and represents an ongoing cost for homeowners unless renewed. The district also chose in 2024 to address phone use through education programs rather than outright restriction, though state legislation is moving toward a stricter statewide policy by the end of 2026.
For a family seeking a small, academically strong charter environment with very high math and ELA proficiency in a predominantly Hispanic, Spanish-language-influenced community in southwestern Miami, this school fits that picture clearly. The trade-off is limited program information, unanswered questions about special populations, and the cost of the surrounding housing market.
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