1
What do you wish you knew before starting at PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,760
High
DISTRICT 1,228 · STATE 1,035
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALM BEACH·NCES 120150004121
PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
8499 FOREST HILL BLVD, WELLINGTON, FL 33411 · (561) 304-1000 · Palm Beach County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL2,760 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
142 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.3:1 · STATE 23.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
1,022 students
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 50%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high 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
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
56.5%
FL avg 56.7% . +3.0pp since 2023
Math
37.0%
FL avg 58.9% . +10.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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 3 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
54.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.6%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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
2,760
-273 (-9%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
was 19.8:1
% White
26%
was 36%
% Hispanic
40%
was 37%
% Black
26%
was 19%
% Asian
5%
was 4%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Set in WELLINGTON, Florida, PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is a heavily attended 9-12 campus, operated by PALM BEACH. It works with 2,760 students across grades 9 through 12. By comparison, Florida's public schools average about 1,035 students each, so PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL sits 167% above that benchmark.
Within PALM BEACH, which oversees 233 schools and 191,505 students, PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is one campus in the system.
On the student-mix side, PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 40%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder consists of 26% Black, 26% White, 5% Asian, 3% multiracial. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 24%.
On the income-and-resources front, The school employs 142 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 19.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 23.5:1 average. An estimated 37% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.
After controlling for student poverty, PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 62.6%; this one delivers 54.4%.
In the broader community, the surrounding county (Palm Beach County) reports that median household income runs about $83,581, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is one of 245 public schools in Palm Beach County (combined enrollment of about 192,831 students).
The closest other public school is EVERGLADES ELEMENTARY, roughly 1.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL. On composite proficiency, PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL comes 6th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 59.0%.
Geographically, the school is in a residential area.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL has declined 9%, going from 3,033 students in 2018 to 2,760 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 36% to 26% over that span.
On the community side, the feed for PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Palm Beach County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,533,806
Census ACS
Median income
$83,581
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
245
192,831 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PALM BEACH
- JOHN I. LEONARD HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,262 students
- JUPITER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,122 students
- PARK VISTA COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,881 students
- BOCA RATON COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,819 students
- PALM BEACH LAKES HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,809 students
- SPANISH RIVER COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,730 students
Other schools in WELLINGTON
- WELLINGTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,689 students
- BINKS FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 1,246 students
- WELLINGTON LANDINGS MIDDLEMiddle · 1,227 students
- EMERALD COVE MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,221 students
- POLO PARK MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,122 students
- WELLINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 897 students
Nearby schools
- EVERGLADES ELEMENTARY1.3 mi · 818
- OKEEHEELEE MIDDLE SCHOOL1.5 mi · 1,401
- CHOLEE LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.8 mi · 976
- EQUESTRIAN TRAILS ELEMENTARY1.8 mi · 834
- EMERALD COVE MIDDLE SCHOOL1.8 mi · 1,221
- RENAISSANCE CHARTER SCHOOL AT WELLINGTON2.1 mi · 682
Frequently asked questions
About PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOLHow large is PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL?
PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL enrolls approximately 2,760 students in grades 09-12.
Is PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL?
Approximately 19.4:1 students per teacher at PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
What is the racial breakdown of students at PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL?
At PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 26% White, 40% Hispanic, 26% Black, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL public or private?
PALM BEACH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by PALM BEACH.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.