Charts: Links to poverty, violence, drugs in South Florida public schools

Schools reporting problems with violence, drugs were more likely to have students living in poverty, high-crime neighborhoods

MIAMI ā€“ The Miami-Dade County and Broward County public schools listed below reported the highest safety incidents during the 2013-2014 school year. The categories of the reports included fights, drugs, tobacco, alcohol and sex offenses.

Problematic schools generally serve students struggling with poverty

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Most of these schools had a majority of students who lived in a higher level of poverty than the Florida average.

A family of two was required to have an annual income below of about $20,450 to qualify for a free lunch. A family of four was required to have an annual income below about $31,000.Ā 

RANKINGMIAMI-DADE SCHOOLS2013-2014 INCIDENTSPOVERTY: Estimate on students who qualify for free/reduced price lunch
1CUTLER BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL21176 percent
1MIAMI SOUTHRIDGE SENIOR HIGH21163 percent
1SOUTH DADE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL21162 percent
2NORTH DADE MIDDLE SCHOOL169Ā 83 percent
3MIAMI CAROL CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL162Ā 67 percent
4BROWNSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL156Ā 93 percent
5MIAMI NORLAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL151Ā 59 percent
7HIALEAH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL146Ā 70 percent
8MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY143Ā 90 percent
9MIAMI CENTRAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL142Ā 65 percent
10G. HOLMES BRADDOCK SENIOR HIGH14051 percent
10NORTH MIAMI BEACH SENIOR HIGH140Ā 62 percent
RANKINGBROWARD SCHOOLSĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 2013-2014 INCIDENTSPOVERTY: Estimate on students who qualify for free/reduced price lunch
1HOLLYWOOD HILLS HIGH SCHOOL151Ā 54 percent
2COCONUT CREEK HIGH SCHOOL128Ā 52 percent
3DEERFIELD BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL12747 percent
4NORTH FORK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL12298 percent
5NEW RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL11073 percent
6CYPRESS BAY HIGH SCHOOL10411 percent
7SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH SCHOOL10145 percent
8FORT LAUDERDALE HIGH SCHOOL9157 percent
9MIRAMAR HIGH SCHOOL8954 percent
10SOUTH BROWARD HIGH SCHOOL8556 percent
10DILLARD HIGH SCHOOL8568 percent

High student enrollment did not always mean more violence, drugs

While Cypress Bay High School has the highest enrollment in Broward, about 10 percent of the reports were fights.Ā  In South Dade Senior High School, which has the highest enrollment in Miami-Dade, about 56 percent of the reports were fights.

RANKINGBROWARD SCHOOLS2013-2014 INCIDENTSEnrollmentĀ 2013-2014 Grade2012-2013 GradeFIGHTS
6CYPRESS BAY HIGH SCHOOL1044416AA10%
8FORT LAUDERDALE HIGH SCHOOL912073AA45%
7SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH SCHOOL1012422BB21%
10DILLARD HIGH SCHOOL851872BA35%
1HOLLYWOOD HILLS HIGH SCHOOL1512113BC21%
3DEERFIELD BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL1271164CC20%
5NEW RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL1101380CC5%
10SOUTH BROWARD HIGH SCHOOL852059CB68%
2COCONUT CREEK HIGH SCHOOL1281407DC30%
4NORTH FORK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL122553FD36%
9MIRAMAR HIGH SCHOOL892666N/AA49%

High violence did not always mean a bad grade, but schools with less violence were more likely to have better grades. In Broward County, among the schools with the most incident reports, 3 of the 5 with the less violence had high grades. That was not the case in Miami-Dade, where among the schools with the most incident reports, the 5 with the highest violence had "D" grades.Ā 

In both Miami-Dade and Broward, more fights reported at the schools with the most safety reports did not equate to more reports of drug use and drug sales. Having a high percentage of fights did make it more likely for there to be a high percentage of reports on drug use and drug sales.

RANKING BROWARD SCHOOLS 2013-2014 INCIDENTS DRUGS FIGHTS
10 SOUTH BROWARD HIGH SCHOOL 85 11% 68%
9 MIRAMAR HIGH SCHOOL 89 0% 49%
8 FORT LAUDERDALE HIGH SCHOOL 91 11% 45%
4 NORTH FORK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 122 20% 36%
10 DILLARD HIGH SCHOOL 85 46% 35%
2 COCONUT CREEK HIGH SCHOOL 128 20% 30%
1 HOLLYWOOD HILLS HIGH SCHOOL 151 7% 21%
7 SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH SCHOOL 101 18% 21%
3 DEERFIELD BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL 127 15% 20%
6 CYPRESS BAY HIGH SCHOOL 104 24% 10%
5 NEW RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL 110 0% 5%

RANKING MIAMI-DADE SCHOOLS 2013-2014 INCIDENTS DRUGS FIGHTS
4 BROWNSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL 156 1% 121%
8 MANDARIN LAKES K-8 ACADEMY 143 1% 86%
12 JOSE DE DIEGO MIDDLE SCHOOL 148 0% 86%
10 G. HOLMES BRADDOCK SENIOR HIGH 140 9% 85%
5 MIAMI NORLAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 151 3% 81%
2 NORTH DADE MIDDLE SCHOOL 169 0% 81%
1 CUTLER BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL 211 0% 63%
1 MIAMI SOUTHRIDGE SENIOR HIGH 211 2% 49%
3 MIAMI CAROL CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 162 4% 47%
9 MIAMI CENTRAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 142 1% 46%
1 SOUTH DADE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 211 0% 38%
10 NORTH MIAMI BEACH SENIOR HIGH 140 9% 34%
7 HIALEAH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 146 14% 27%

CHART: Schools reporting most fights are in dangerous neighborhoods