The private Pine Crest School is expanding to West Palm Beach to create its third South Florida campus, thanks to a large but undisclosed gift from real estate developer Stephen Ross.
The new campus brings a top-tier K-12 preparatory school to a city bursting with growth from new residents, companies and institutions. Pine Crest’s expansion also caps a years-long effort by Ross to bring a respected private school to what he calls a “model city.”
To make the Pine Crest campus happen, Ross’ non-profit is making “a landmark philanthropic commitment” to the school, according to a June 2 letter sent to the school community by Pine Crest President Dana Markham.
The amount of Ross’ donation was not disclosed in the letter.
But Markham wrote that the pledge is large enough not only to create a West Palm Beach campus but also to boost existing Pine Crest campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
Through Ross’ non-profit, the Related Ross Foundation, the donation will help academic programs, faculty recruitment and the schools’ financial well-being, Markham said.
Pine Crest is an independent, non-denominational school.
The academic-oriented Pine Crest is a leading private school in the state. In 2023, it was ranked the No. 1 private school in the country by The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews Challenge Index.
Pine Crest is known for its academic rigor, regularly placing graduating high school students in top universities nationwide. The non-profit school relies on both tuition and philanthropy.
Ross, the billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins, is chairman of the Related Ross firm and the city’s major real estate developer.
In a statement, a Ross executive explained the developer’s decision to donate to Pine Crest.
“We are committed to strengthening the educational ecosystem of Palm Beach County, anchored by strong public, charter, private, and higher-education options,” Maura Daves, Related Ross vice president, said in a statement.
A top K-12 private school is important because it helps make up the infrastructure of a community, Ross said during a January event in West Palm Beach.
Ross, who is building two new office towers in the city, told attendees, “You can’t get companies to want to expand in an area without having great education…..it’s all about getting into great universities.”
Why Pine Crest is expanding to West Palm Beach
In her letter, Pine Crest’s Markham said the school is opening the West Palm Beach campus because it recognizes the city’s growth.
Much of this growth was spurred by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the migration of financial firms and new residents to the city. This expansion, in turn, has helped attract institutions eager to join this newfound center of wealth and entrepreneurship.
Among them is Vanderbilt University, which plans to open a graduate business school campus.
Pine Crest Chief of Staff Christine Dardet said other factors also helped boost interest in the school’s expansion. They included a planned Cleveland Clinic Hospital and several top-tier companies open or coming to the city.
Ross has had a hand in many of these deals. He also pledged $50 million, each, to the Cleveland Clinic and Vanderbilt University.
In addition to Pine Crest, Ross is bringing a private school to Wellington. In April, his foundation also announced scholarships to the graduating students at public school students at Forest Hill and Palm Beach Lakes high schools in West Palm Beach.
In higher education, Ross’ foundation has donated to the public Palm Beach State College and the private Vanderbilt University.
All of these donations are an effort “to expand access, opportunity, and talent development for the region,” Daves said.
Pine Crest wants to tap West Palm’s new families, companies
Markham said Pine Crest school’s programs will meet the needs of families “seeking the highest-quality education.”
“Pine Crest is uniquely positioned to contribute to this vibrant community by welcoming these families and forging new relationships with leading local businesses,” Markham wrote in her letter.
“There are so many opportunities for our students in the types of partnerships we can establish and the type of faculty we could attract,” Dardet said of the West Palm Beach campus. “It’s the right time to be here.”
What will the Pine Crest campus be like in West Palm?
The West Palm Beach campus location, planned opening date and the grade levels offered are not yet decided, Dardet said.
She said the school expects to know more details of the campus in the coming months.
But Pine Crest’s other schools provide some guidance.
The 28-acre Boca Raton campus serves 878 children from Pre-K to 8th grade, she said. The 48-acre Fort Lauderdale campus can accommodate 1,829 children from Pre-K to 12th grade.
Also not yet determined: when parents can apply to the campus and how much the fees will be when the campus eventually opens.
For the 2026-27 academic year, annual tuition ranges from $39,010 for Pre-K to $49,670 for the upper grades, Dardet said.
Pine Crest’s classes contain between 15 and 18 students. This year, the Fort Lauderdale school’s graduating class totaled 211.
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: Stephen Ross donation brings exclusive private school to West Palm
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
