Pinecrest Glades Academy, Miami FL

Original Research by School Decision on Pinecrest Glades Academy

Pinecrest Glades Academy is a charter elementary school in Miami, serving kindergarten through fifth grade within Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Its student body is large for an elementary school of its type, and the population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, reflecting the surrounding communities along the SW Eighth Street corridor in western Miami-Dade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the school serves a mixed-income community rather than a uniformly affluent one. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what we reviewed, so a parent seeking detail on specialized services or language support programs should ask the school directly.

On academics, the picture is genuinely strong. Florida's FAST assessments measure grade-level proficiency in reading, math, and science, and Pinecrest Glades posted results across all three subjects in the most recent school year. Math proficiency was high across third, fourth, and fifth grades, with third grade performing especially well. ELA results were also strong, with fifth grade leading and fourth grade somewhat lower, a pattern worth watching but not alarming on its own. Fifth-grade science results were solid, comfortably above what many Florida elementary schools produce. Trend data across prior years was not available in the records we reviewed, so it is not possible to characterize whether these results represent a rise, plateau, or recent shift. Because this is an elementary school, graduation rates and AP or dual-credit pathways do not apply.

The comparison set for Miami-Dade County contains only a small number of districts, which is not enough to produce a meaningful proficiency ranking, so we did not include one rather than imply a position the data cannot support.

Program details were not provided in the records we reviewed. A parent interested in enrichment offerings, arts, physical education structure, or extracurriculars should consult the school directly or check its website.

The school sits in a part of Miami that is predominantly residential and suburban in character, even if technically within city limits. The broader Miami housing market in this zip code is well above both the Florida state median and the national median for home values, and prices have edged down modestly in the past year. Renting does not appear substantially cheaper on a cost-to-income basis. Families considering a move to be near this school should factor in a housing market that remains expensive relative to statewide norms.

At the district level, Miami-Dade passed a property-tax referendum a few years ago that raised the school tax rate to fund teacher pay and campus safety staffing. That rate is set to expire and would require a renewal vote, which is a line item homeowners should track. More immediately, the district is publicly reported to be managing sharp enrollment declines, with proposals in spring 2026 to close or consolidate up to nine schools across the district's three regions. Pinecrest Glades Academy is a charter school and operates somewhat differently from district-assigned schools, but the broader pattern of boundary changes and grade-structure reconfigurations across Miami-Dade is a context any family choosing a school in the district right now should follow closely. The district has also been navigating a statewide push toward a full school-day cell phone prohibition, with a required policy expected by the end of 2026.

For a family looking for a well-performing K-5 charter school in western Miami with a predominantly Hispanic student community and strong elementary test results, Pinecrest Glades Academy fits that description clearly. The gaps in this profile, specifically around special education services, English-learner supports, and program offerings, are real enough that a visit or conversation with school staff would fill in what the data cannot.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 386%

School 86% · District 69% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 68% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 62% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 60% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 59% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 60% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 56% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 16 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-income75%Higher-income84%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income69%Higher-income76%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income83%Higher-income85%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income80%Higher-income93%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income74%Higher-income77%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income77%Higher-income83%6 pp gap