Chapel Trail, Lakeside, Pembroke Lakes and Silver Palms elementaries are on Broward's 2025-26 Schools of Excellence list. West Broward High dropped off it.
Four Pembroke Pines elementary schools have been named Florida Schools of Excellence for the 2025-26 school year. They are Chapel Trail, Lakeside, Pembroke Lakes and Silver Palms elementaries.
Broward County Public Schools announced the list in a district news release. The designation comes from the Florida State Board of Education.
All four schools were also on the district’s list last year. West Broward High, which was on that 2024-25 list, is not on this one.
How a school earns it
The district said a school must rank at or above the 80th percentile within its grade-level group in at least two of the previous three school years. The ranking is based on Florida’s school grading system.
The designation gives a school more flexibility over administrative, instructional and operational requirements, the district said, along with access to additional funding.
The ranking compares a school only with schools of the same level. An elementary school is measured against other elementary schools, and a high school against other high schools.
The Pembroke Pines schools
Each of the four has earned an A in the state’s grades three years running, according to the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file (Excel).
| School | Address | 2026 grade | Share of possible points | On the 2024-25 list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel Trail Elementary | 19595 Taft St. | A | 63% | Yes |
| Lakeside Elementary | 900 NW 136th Ave. | A | 72% | Yes |
| Pembroke Lakes Elementary | 11251 Taft St. | A | 69% | Yes |
| Silver Palms Elementary | 1209 NW 155th Ave. | A | 71% | Yes |
West Broward High, at 500 NW 209th Ave., also earned an A in 2026, with 72% of possible points, and has had an A three years running. The district’s release does not say why it is not on this year’s list.
Across Broward
The district’s release says 50 Broward schools earned the designation. Most of the schools it names are elementary schools; it also lists four middle schools and seven high schools.
Nearby schools on the list include Cooper City Elementary and Cooper City High in Cooper City, about four miles north, and Miramar Elementary in Miramar, about three miles south.
The release lists only district-run schools. It does not name any charter schools, including the city-run Pembroke Pines Charter schools.
“We are proud to celebrate the schools earning this distinction and the students, teachers, staff and school leaders whose dedication makes these achievements possible,” Superintendent Howard Hepburn said in the release.
What it means for you
- If your child is zoned for Chapel Trail, Lakeside, Pembroke Lakes or Silver Palms, their school ranks in the top fifth of Florida elementary schools on the state’s measure in at least two of the past three years.
- Which school serves your address is set by the district’s zones. Our Pembroke Pines public schools guide has the zone maps and every school’s grade.
- Full report cards, with test scores, are on the state’s EDStats school report cards.
- For calendars, registration and the School Board, see our schools page.
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