More than a decade ago, a South Florida couple began thinking about how to prepare their three young children for a rapidly changing world.
Jeff and Mei Sze Greene were real estate investors, not educators, but that didn’t stop them from devising a plan for a new school for their children, as well of the children of other Palm Beach County families.
Their new school, dubbed The Greene School, opened in 2016 with 40 students, in a former car dealership at 2001 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach.
Fast forward eight years later, and the Pre-K through 12th grade school just graduated its first high school class. Not only are students attending major universities, but the school’s sailing and tennis programs are top competitors in Florida competitions.
Now the school is poised for a major expansion that will mean the construction of a library, a new academic building, a three-story racquet facility, plus tennis courts.
In addition, Kathi Rinaldi, a former professional tennis player who previously led women’s tennis at the U.S. Tennis Academy, is coming to The Greene School to build an elite tennis program.
The school’s growth is a reflection of the Greenes’ careful focus on both academics and activities, Jeff Greene said in a recent interview.
“Our goal was always to build a school that would be competitive in any city in America in academic excellence, athletic excellence, arts, everything. And we’ve achieved that,” Greene said.
Interest in private schools also is reflective of the wealth and population migration to Florida that accelerated after the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic. The rush of people, and families to the state and its emergence as a Wall Street South hub for finance, a moniker particularly used in Palm Beach County, has exponentially increased the demand for schools, and private ones at that.
Greene, who lives in Palm Beach, isn’t the only South Florida entrepreneur working on ways to boost the K-12 education landscape. In fact, several South Florida business executives are building new schools or enticing existing ones to expand to the region.
In Palm Beach County, Palm Beach resident Stephen Ross, West Palm Beach’s major real estate developer, a Palm Beach resident and the billionaire owner of the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, is bringing two K-12 schools.
One school, the Pine Crest School, will build its third South Florida campus in West Palm Beach, possibly on land owned by the city of West Palm Beach on Roebuck Road.
Another, Wingrove Academy, will be built in Wellington, on land owned by the village that is being sold to Ross’ firm, Related Ross.
Ross has said top K-12 schools are integral to the infrastructure of a community, especially one growing as fast as Palm Beach County.
“You can’t get companies to want to expand in an area without having great education,” he told a Palm Beach business group in January. “It’s all about getting into great universities.”
Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County, a couple of business leaders also are starting their own schools.
Sometimes the motive is to help their own children excel. Other times, the schools are intended to boost the region’s attractiveness to relocating companies and wealthy residents.
All this growth, in turn, is attractive to some private schools seeking their own growth.
Tuition at these schools can range from $35,000 to about $50,000 per student. Most schools provide some financial aid to needy families, and several schools accept Florida’s tuition voucher program, which provides about $8,000 per child annually for private schools.
But private schools also rely heavily on wealthy families that are willing, and able, to spend thousands of dollars each year on their children’s education.
The Greene School’s success with academics
Even as new schools try to set up operations in Palm Beach County, officials at The Greene School are basking in the accomplishments of their first graduating high school class.
Some of these students will attend top schools as Brown University, an Ivy League school in Rhode Island, and Wellesley College, a private women’s school in Massachusetts.
But Greene isn’t the only South Florida resident who started a school.
In 2011, industrialist William Koch, a Palm Beach resident, launched the private Oxbridge Academy on the site of the former Palm Beach Jewish Community Campus Corp. in West Palm Beach.
Oxbridge Academy offers classes for students from grades 8-12. Baron Trump, son of President Donald Trump, graduated from Oxbridge in 2025.
More recently, in Miami-Dade County, tech entrepreneur John Marshall built an elementary school that could expand to upper grades. And former WeWork executives plan to open a private elementary through middle school next year.
Greene cautioned that no school can be successful merely with a big check, or in his case, more than $65 million spent on assembling downtown property and building new facilities.
Instead, Greene said success requires hands-on work from a school’s founders, and a long-term commitment to the community.
“It’s the sweat equity and the hours and hours and hours we’ve both put in,” Greene said of he and his wife, Mei Sze.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Private schools boosted by Florida wealth, Wall Street South migration
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
