Poinciana Stem Elementary Magnet School, Boynton Beach FL

Original Research by School Decision on Poinciana Stem Elementary Magnet School

Poinciana STEM Elementary Magnet School sits on North Seacrest Boulevard in Boynton Beach, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of Palm Beach County's public school system. Its STEM magnet focus sets the school's academic identity, though the program details, course offerings, and specific instructional approach were not available in the data, so families interested in what that looks like day-to-day would want to ask the school directly.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed. Florida's FAST exam results for the most recent year show third-grade ELA and math proficiency running at roughly similar rates, each just above or below the majority mark. Fourth-grade ELA is somewhat stronger. Fifth-grade math and ELA are in a similar range, while fifth-grade science proficiency on the statewide assessment lands noticeably lower than the other tested subjects, which is worth a direct conversation with the school given the STEM identity. A very small cohort of sixth-grade math testers returned a full-proficiency result, but the data likely reflects a group too small to treat as a broad signal about school performance.

Placed against other districts in Palm Beach County, the school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among that set, though the county comparison covers only a small number of districts, so the peer group is limited.

A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic profile of the surrounding neighborhood. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of Hispanic, white, and Asian students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not reported in the available records, so families with children in those categories should ask the school what supports are in place.

The school's enrollment is modest relative to the broader elementary school universe. Each grade from kindergarten through fifth runs at roughly similar sizes, with fifth grade somewhat smaller than the others.

The surrounding community is Boynton Beach, the third-largest municipality in Palm Beach County, publicly described as one of the county's fastest-growing communities. The neighborhood around the school is part of the older, inner-city residential fabric near the Seacrest corridor, characterized by single-family homes, townhouses, and a street grid that predates the suburban sprawl to the west. The city overall is car-dependent, though the downtown core a short distance from the school is in the middle of a major redevelopment effort. The Town Square project has already delivered a new City Hall and library and an amphitheater, and a large mixed-use apartment project began construction in 2026 with hundreds of units, including workforce housing, planned across two phases. Additional downtown housing projects are in various stages nearby.

Home values in the zip code have edged down slightly year over year and sit below the Florida statewide median, though affordability remains a genuine constraint: rent absorbs a very large share of a typical income, and estimated monthly mortgage costs are substantial relative to household earnings. For families renting, the gap between renting and owning in this market is meaningful.

The parent district is Palm Beach County Schools, one of the largest districts in the country. A search for recent district-level changes or strategic priorities did not return confirmed results within the available research, so that context was left out rather than guessed at.

For a family drawn to a STEM-focused public school in an urban, changing neighborhood of Boynton Beach, Poinciana offers that theme within a majority-Black, economically diverse community. The proficiency results are generally around the midpoint, with science standing out as the softer area in a school whose stated focus is science and technology. That gap is something a prospective family would want to explore with school leadership before enrolling.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 64% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 55% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 59% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 6100%

School 100% · District 65% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 57% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 56% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 56% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 54% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

This schoolPALM BEACH, 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-income51%Higher-income71%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income66%Higher-income71%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income58%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income53%Higher-income71%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income58%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income62%9 pp gap