Renaissance Charter School at Summit, West Palm Beach FL

Original Research by School Decision on Renaissance Charter School at Summit

Renaissance Charter School at Summit is a public charter school in West Palm Beach serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It sits within the Palm Beach County School District's administrative umbrella but operates independently as a charter, drawing families who are choosing it over their neighborhood district school.

The school's student body is large for a K-8 charter. Hispanic students make up the clear majority, with Black students representing a substantial minority and white students a smaller share. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this squarely in a high-need demographic context. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.

On Florida's state assessments, the picture across subjects and grades is consistently below the midpoint. In math, third grade shows the strongest results among the tested grades, but scores decline through the middle grades and only partially recover by eighth grade. ELA proficiency follows a similar pattern, with fifth and seventh grades among the lower points and eighth grade coming in a bit higher. Science results, tested at fifth and eighth grade, are notably low, particularly at the eighth-grade level. Taken together, across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Palm Beach County. That comparison set covers only a small number of county-level entities, so the positioning is meaningful but should not be read as a fine-grained ranking. A parent looking for more context on what the school is doing to address these gaps would do well to ask directly.

No trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether results are improving, holding steady, or declining. The school lists Student Council as its one documented extracurricular activity; no information was available on additional programs, dual enrollment, or enrichment offerings beyond that. A graduation rate does not apply here because the school ends at eighth grade.

The school is located on Summit Boulevard in West Palm Beach, a city undergoing a sustained development boom. Publicly reported accounts describe a downtown that has shifted over recent years from a quiet commercial center into a walkable, mixed-use district anchored by Clematis Street, a performing arts center, a major art museum, Brightline intercity rail, and a stretch of luxury waterfront condominium towers still under construction. The broader city economy includes large public-sector employers alongside private firms in aerospace, finance, and agriculture. Housing costs in the zip code are meaningfully above the Florida statewide median and well above the national median, with rents running high enough that rent as a share of income is a real pressure for many households. Home values in the area have edged down slightly year over year, though they remain elevated.

For a family weighing this school, the core questions are practical ones. The academic results as reported are low across the board, and a parent would reasonably want to understand what academic supports are in place, how the school tracks student progress, and what it offers beyond the standard curriculum. The school's charter status means it has made an explicit commitment to results in exchange for operating autonomy, so those questions have a concrete context to be asked in.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 64% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 55% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 59% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 65% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 58 pts below county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 42% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 65% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 57% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 56% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 56% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 62% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 60% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 56% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 54% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 51% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 29 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-income39%Higher-income49%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income36%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income28%Higher-income33%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income46%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income39%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income47%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income61%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income42%2 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income42%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income45%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income68%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income38%0 pp gap