Pinecrest Glades Academy

15250 Southwest 8th Street

School District

Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:25
Type

charter

School Map for Miami-Dade County Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 13, 2024

My son is at 6th grade. He is doing very well with learning and grades. The environment is clean and safety. Teachers are nice and helpful. It is a real boutique school. The communication with the parents is very good. The principal is great and she is always implementing new ideas to improve the succeed of the children. When the head works very well, all works very well.
Submitted by student on October 10, 2024

just bad school some classes are fun and some teachers are cool and fun
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2024

This has to be the worst school and all of Miami-Dade County. They do not want you to be partners in your children’s education because they will not communicate with you. Forget about emailing the teachers or the head principal. They will never respond. I don’t mind giving money for anything but they ask for money for something every single week, and you can pay your community hours with monetary substitution. I’m not sure how the learning happens in the classrooms but I can tell you they’re more concerned about sending home 1 million things of homework for the parent to have to complete I’m still trying to figure out what they do the whole day. Drop off and pick up for your child is the absolute worst. They’ve invested I’m sure thousands of dollars in a company that focuses on that and still it will take you over an hour to pick your child up from school. I received an informational brochure from the teacher and my biggest concern was if the teacher can’t write grammatically correct how is she going to teach my child? The school only cares about the money received for your child that the county will pay. It’s the only time they try to stop you from walking or even make the effort to try and rectify anything. There is one assistant principal that truly I believe is overqualified to even be at the school. Other than that, there is absolutely nothing nice to say about the school. Don’t waste your time you can get a better education anywhere for certain.
Submitted by parent on December 15, 2023

I thought the school would only improve with time, as they were brand new when my eldest enrolled in 6th grade. My child is now a Senior graduating in 2024. I also have my youngest in elementary. Let me start with the good news. The elementary education and elementary teachers are very good. At least the ones my youngest has been with since kindergarten. The majority have several years or decades of experience. They offer many activities for the little ones, fun events , which are usually planned and funded by the parents (the call them PALs). Academically, this school does very well and the kids have great learning experiences. Middle school and high school are another story, and this is where my disappointment lies. My eldest got into this school in 6th grade around 2017. My daughter had great teachers, no complaints from that standpoint, but enrichment areas were very limited with few clubs of interest or good instructors to run them. They also had no clue how to handle kids with mental health struggles, which should be expected specially for middle schoolers transitioning from elementary. Unfortunately things did not get better with time. I was willing to give school the benefit of the doubt because they were brand new, and we got hit with a pandemic in the middle of it all. The pandemic just exacerbated a deep rooted problem at this charter school. Our children's education is NOT their priority. The money they bring with them is what matters. Teaching staff turnover in high school is staggering. Very few have stayed over the years. The good ones always leave. That brings me to why I don't recommend this school for high school. The classes offered do not match expectations. The reality is that the instructors they hire are not qualified to teach anything or worse, do not care. Those that do care and are good, leave and a vacuum is left behind. My child is pretty much self-taught, because she has to learn everything on her own and her instructors do not care. The school does not provide books to each student, they have to share a book in class for most classes. Only some classes they allow them to take books home to study. AP classes? Good luck go use the AP website. Study on your own. Events for high school are a joke because at this point parent involvement dwindles, and the school does nor do anything unless we pay for it and plan it ourselves. Total disappointment. Considering other schools once my youngest goes to high school
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2023

This school is a joke. Office never answers phones. Teachers don’t answer/reply to emails. I thought if I check the box to request conference with teachers on progress report they will definitely get back to me now! Ha they don’t even acknowledge that. Teachers don’t post homework so I don’t know what to study with my child or the days of tests. I will have to look at other teachers homework learning page to get some help on what to help teach my child at home. Please consider other schools cause you will regret it
Submitted by student on November 21, 2023

This is the worst school ever. Please don't attend.
Submitted by student on June 23, 2023

Super good security and best teachers. They are the sweetest.
Submitted by other on June 12, 2023

This school sucked, the students where the worst i was bullied so badly in 6th grade that i became depressed and anxious and didn't feel safe at the school please do not send your kid here
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2023

Have two kids here one in elementary, the other in secondary... both are fully engaged and love their school. There is a huge level of personal accountability and responsibility being taught here. I am 100% for MERIT based systems. This school uses a reward system a Merit and Demerit system. Parents do need to be on the ball and up to date with information though, the school is very innovative and has almost everything on their school website. Traffic jam aside which happens with large schools and it is being managed... I'm very happy and my kids feel challenged and involved. It does require parent involvement and constant monitoring as there are many events, activities, clubs, sports and opportunities for the kids to participate in but then again... that's parental responsibility. My kids have been attending for 3 years now, I've waited to review based off of new principal and adjustment post covid-19 and additional activities available to the students in addition to testing changes. My children have never been in an academic class with more that 25-26 students in the past 3 years... just my experience. PE class excluded.
Submitted by parent on March 15, 2023

I had PCG on a pedestal, until my 11 year old daughter came home telling me about a class experience with one of her teachers and a student with some facial problem. She said to me Momma the teacher is always picking on this poor boy, telling him hey - - - your mom is it here to help you or I can’t wait for someone to take you out of my class. She says he humiliates him, embarrases and bullies him in class. And anything that happens it that poor boys fault. She’s afraid of retaliation and won’t speak up. But I told her mamita the classes have cameras someone will be what’s happening. If the parents are aware they have a very good case. NO Child should be humiliated, defeated or made fun of because of his physical appearance specially not by an educator or anyone by that matter. Hopefully this teacher will be discovered and stop hurting children’s feeling and do what’s he’s there to do TEACH and let the kids be kids. That’s another problem in todays society kids aren’t kids they are have to be like robots, So sad. If this was to happen to my daughter I won’t hesitate to take her out of the school. This is not what I want my daughter to learn, thankfully she has a heart and she know that what’s going on it’s totally and absolutely wrong. My mother was an educator in our homeland and she says this can cause a lot of self-esteem, emotional damage and create a hatred towards school and a proper education. My question is where is the school superiors and owners that don’t see this type of behavior? Sorry for my English that is not very good looking but I’m not the one to be judged.
Submitted by parent on February 24, 2023

This school has the most inconsiderate parents and students. There is up up to 43 students in a classroom in the lower elementary grades. The administration office will not return calls when there's concerns regarding your children. The parents are very rude, they will cuss at other parents and even to the neighboring homes complex when they are parking on their lawns. Because of parent's examples, the students will also say awful cuss words as they are coming out of the classes or as they walk to the cars. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL!
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2022

Avoid Pinecrest Glades ! There’s other charter schools around the area and even great magnet program that are worth looking into for your children . I understand no school is perfect just like teachers but at Glades the way they do things instead of the kids actually learning properly and the teachers actually working with their students is the opposite so it ends up being overwhelming. If the students take any assessments like for example the I-ready diagnostic or even the new diagnostic that replace the FSA this year , the parents are not aware of the results . The additional help needed is not there , so if a child is not performing on level by the time the second around and third round of those diagnostic come around instead of them doing better , the students either stay the same or go down and is not right because now and days everyone thing is based on scores . Furthermore , the teacher they hire they place them where ever they need teachers even if those teacher aren’t good with teaching those subject . The communication is horrible with teachers and even the counselors . I don’t get the purpose of some teachers or even the counselors having an email for secondary because that where the big issues are be up being .Elementary is great and would recommend Glades just for Elementary . If emails are sent to a particular teacher or have a conference expressing your concern nothing ever gets resolve. No matter the complains the schools gets which sometimes they want to brush it off and pretend they never hear anything some teachers end up staying teaching the same thing instead of moving them around . The career pathways classes they offered they don’t have the appropriate teachers to truly teach any of those classes . Some of those teacher end up being the same that are not even that great teaching the advance classes . Another thing secondary doesn’t have a true gifted program . The kids are kid with regular kids that get placed in the advance classes . Parents if you want your child to be in a true gifted program Glades is not the right choice . If you want a great sport program that offer different sports and the school has the coaches for it , Glades is not great for that . Maybe in 2-3 years the school will be where it needs to be . Lastly the grades get posted late . There’s no organization and the amount of work being left for the student to complete this year is out of hand with out teaching the material correctly .everything is rushed .
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2022

If you were considering this school for your child DONT! The only thing this school cares about is money. They are constantly asking for “donations” but they then say they are mandatory. The principal even bribed the kids last year at a pep rally with $50 for each 5 they scored on FSA. Then she turns around and not give that promised bribe money to students if they did not return to the school. This school is a joke. The teachers cannot control the kids, there are fights in hallways while there are adults “supervising”, the administration does not handle threats properly (that’s an entirely other discussion I could go on for hours about), when a question is asked about general information nothing is answered it if it has to do with fundraising or their mandatory “donations” you get your answer in 2.5 seconds. Save yourself and your child the drama and look at other more respectable schools where your child’s education is top priority.
Submitted by parent on August 20, 2022

Pinecrest Glades is a school that is slowly trying to make thing better but they still need a lot of work specially for secondary. I understand there's no such thing as a perfect school or perfect teachers but when it comes to 6-12th grade the teachers they have teaching some of those classes truly don't care to see their student improve or provide the guidance needed . At Glades there no such thing as classes just for gifted the way MDCPS provides. Everything is mixed and the communication is really poor. I have never understood the purpose of teachers or administration proving their contact information if the help will never be there when needed. The school don't care about the parents concerns and when things are brought up all they can say is " We have never heard any complains" first time we are hearing this and will look into it and we appreciate it you coming to us but at the end they brushed everything off. When it comes to the sports they offer, they truly don't have the right coaches for some of those sports and the cheerleading is just to cheer at the school when they have an event which is not often when it comes to all that. At the end parents have to pay a high fee just to play against each other at the school for the new sports the school has decided to implement . The only teams that Glades has that competes is the basketball/ Volleyball team ( Co-Ed) which they are pretty good. Academically I would recommend a different charter school or looking into magnet schools. The Teachers that are put to teach some of those classes don't truly know how to teach it properly but they get placed because teachers end up leaving that school . Another things the classes are so small when they transfer to Hs because the amount of kids that end up leaving after 8th grade is a lot . As a parent I get they have their friends they don't want to leave behind and Maybe is a small environment, but when it comes to your child education that more important than anything else. If they have true friends they will always be around no matter where they end up going too. Nevertheless, bully is an issue just like in any other school but is kept on the down-low and not many parents are aware unless you are friends with parents that are always at the school volunteering and they get to hear many things that can be alarming. Glades love to say many things and what they offered is not as great for being a well known Charter school.
Submitted by parent on August 20, 2022

Amazing school. Great teachers. A healthy environment for the kids.
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2022

An amazing institution indeed. Pinecrest Glades never fails to exceed expectations, especially in their different academic pathways and teachers.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2022

I put my two kids in Pinecrest Glades Academy since we had to move and I really think that this is truly a great school. They got a new principal that is much better than the other one and I think she's really nice! My daughter is in the cooking club and she now makes food for us at home lol. I think this is a good school for parents wanting to put their children in a school with a lot of different academic roads. They have a lot of events for the students to partake in and the campus looks very nice.
Submitted by student on June 09, 2022

based off of the 2021 and 2022 sy its pretty gud
Submitted by other on June 08, 2022

staff is strict, but fun school nevertheless. graduated with an AA thru doral college so thats good. i like the school
Submitted by other on June 08, 2022

just graduated so i felt like leaving a review for future students/parents:pinecrest is really fun school and the teachers are pretty good too, the staff is strict but its manageablesports aren't the best but on the other hand the pathways are really good, especially the biomed and stem pathsschool is small with like 800 or so students and the uniform is cooli enjoyed my time here and i hope this school gets more recognition in the future