These Pembroke Pines schools rank among best in Broward by US News & World Report

The results are out ranking the best public elementary and middle schools, and one Pembroke Pines school cracked the top 50 in the state.

U.S. News & World Report ranked two schools in the City of Pembroke Pines Charter School System among the best middle schools in Broward County, according to the Oct. 28 rankings.

The City of Pembroke Pines Charter High School claimed the No. 2 spot in Broward County Public Schools and No. 41 in Florida, while the City of Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School came in at No. 4 in the county and No. 68 in the state.

While it may sound confusing how a high school was listed as the best middle school in the city, Pines Charter High serves grades 6-12 with over 2,000 students. It’s located on the charter system’s Academic Village Campus at 17189 Sheridan St.

Meanwhile, the top-ranked Pines Charter middle school serves grades 6-8 at the West Campus at 18500 Pembroke Road, about four miles away. The charter system has four elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.

It’s not the first time Pembroke Pines Charter High has made the long list for best public schools in Florida, the Pembroke Pines News reported in September. Ranking site Niche similarly named it the 48th best public high school in the state using a combination of academics, extracurriculars, diversity and location.

“At the end of the day, it’s really the students that make the difference and can tell you the true value of the school,” Peter Bayer, the school’s longtime principal, told the Pembroke Pines News on Sept. 30. “I think that (the ranking) really embodies our tone. Of course, it’s important to be smart and ambitious, but you also have to be a good citizen.”

As for the U.S. News elementary school ratings, Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines was ranked the top-performing elementary school in the city, while coming in at No. 9 in Broward and No. 70 in the state.

Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary was next (No. 16 in Broward/No. 128 in Florida), followed by Pembroke Lakes Elementary (No. 18 in Broward/No. 144 in Florida).

U.S. News calculated the rankings mostly based on schools’ performance on standardized tests.

According to the report, 64% of students at Pines Charter High scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 79% scored at or above proficiency in reading. At Pines Charter Middle, those figures were 80% for math and 79% for reading.

While the middle school had better scores, it was ranked lower than the high school. The answer may come down to U.S. News’ methodology, which doesn’t only depend on how students scored on tests, but also how they were expected to score.

“For the models, U.S. News used the percentages proficient in each subject as its dependent variables, and the following two independent variables: the percentage of students who received free or reduced-price lunch, and the composite percentage of students who were among one of the historically underserved ethnicity groups,” the methodology says.

Somerset Academy elementary students scored 84% proficiency in math and 80% in reading.

This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM.