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Alumni: what's one memory from MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
643
Elementary
DISTRICT 568 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MIAMI-DADE·NCES 120039007377
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY
12225 SW 280TH ST, HOMESTEAD, FL 33032 · (305) 257-0377 · Miami-Dade County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL643 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.1:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
463 students
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 50%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY→HOMESTEAD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Based on published attendance-zone data from MIAMI-DADE. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
40.8%
FL avg 56.7% . +10.1pp since 2023
Math
43.4%
FL avg 58.9% . +9.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
40.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.1%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Florida's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
643
-342 (-35%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 14.9:1
% White
2%
was 3%
% Hispanic
45%
was 56%
% Black
52%
was 39%
% Asian
1%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY
Set in HOMESTEAD, Florida, MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is a mid-sized K-5 school, run under MIAMI-DADE. It serves 643 students across grades pre-K through 8.
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is one of 527 schools operated by MIAMI-DADE, a district that educates 335,685 students overall.
Demographically, MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY logs that 52% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 45% Hispanic, 2% White. By comparison, Miami-Dade County as a whole is about 15% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.
In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 47 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.7:1. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 72% of students at MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Miami-Dade County's rate of about 48%.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 45.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 40.0%.
In the broader community, Miami-Dade County reports that median household earnings sit near $71,753, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Miami-Dade County's 561 public schools (combined enrollment of about 335,817 students), MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is one campus in the mix.
Nearest neighbor: CHAPMAN PARTNERSHIP EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER SOUTH, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY comes 6th of 6 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 60.1%.
Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.
Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 35%: 985 students in 2018 compared to 643 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment expanded from 39% to 52% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 14.9:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 today.
On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Miami-Dade County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,738,356
Census ACS
Median income
$71,753
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
561
335,817 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MIAMI-DADE
- JOHN A. FERGUSON SENIOR HIGHHigh · 4,291 students
- CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,399 students
- SOUTH DADE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,382 students
- MIAMI SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,100 students
- HIALEAH GARDENS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,009 students
- BARBARA GOLEMAN SENIOR HIGHHigh · 2,973 students
Other schools in HOMESTEAD
- SOUTH DADE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,382 students
- HOMESTEAD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,323 students
- KEYS GATE CHARTER SCHOOLElementary · 1,950 students
- SOMERSET ACADEMY SILVER PALMSElementary · 1,890 students
- SOUTH DADE MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,304 students
- GATEWAY ENVIRONMENTAL K-8 LEARNING CENTERElementary · 1,165 students
Nearby schools
- CHAPMAN PARTNERSHIP EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER SOUTH0.1 mi · 77
- TITLE I MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM0.1 mi · 29
- AIR BASE K-8 CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION0.8 mi · 1,131
- ACADEMIR CHARTER SCHOOL OF MATH AND SCIENCE1.1 mi · 436
- ACADEMIR MIDDLE SCHOOL OF MATH AND SCIENCE1.1 mi · 151
- DR. WILLIAM A. CHAPMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.7 mi · 515
Frequently asked questions
About MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMYWhat is the total enrollment at MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY?
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY enrolls approximately 643 students in grades PK-08.
Is MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY an elementary, middle, or high school?
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY?
The student-to-teacher ratio at MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is approximately 13.7:1 (47 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY?
At MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY, the student body is approximately 2% White, 45% Hispanic, 52% Black, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY in?
MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY is part of MIAMI-DADE.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.