Ponce De Leon Middle School

This school and its leadership have a tremendous amount to offer. Having attended other supposed 'A' schools in this district, I am most impressed how Ponce admin (and most teachers) really care about the well-being of their students and not just scoring the "A" grade at any cost. This is not to say there isn't academic rigor, for there is, but with such a large student body, there is a certain amount of personalization you might be surprised at seeing. We entered this school "cautiously optimistic" and have now completed 2 years and very proud to be a part of the Ponce community and all that is being accomplished in this community, as well as its forward-looking mindset on new programs to build into the curriculum. By the way, Ponce received one of the highest awards for a Magnet school in the nation this past year - National Award of Excellence - and was chosen in a best of 10 of the nation. This is up there with schools like Young Women's Prep, another top-performing school that does not have to take every kid that walks through its door. Ponce has to take every kid that walks through its door, so it does not have the freedom to only take the cream of the crop like so many of these other so-called top-performing schools in town. This is why you see the scores, etc...so skewed above. If a school only takes top-scorers then of course those stats reflect it. Parents beware, visit your school community first before making your choices.Be sure they open classroom doors and show you inside their classes. Best thing we ever did when choosing to visit Ponce!

10! My son has dedicated teachers and is receiving an excellent education! The support staff is also wonderful keep up the great work Ponce !

Best Middle School in Miami Dade County. It feels like a family. Our student's and staff's well being is at the heart of everything done here. Education for Life.

great school, very big in numbers, but very effective in executing curriculum