Miami, United States
International schools in Miami: what families need to know
Miami is the practical landing point for families moving between Latin America, Europe and the United States, and its schools reflect that: US independent schools, IB and French and Spanish bilingual programmes, plus a large public system with strong magnet options. Admissions run a year ahead for the best-known private schools, and hurricane season shapes the calendar. The year runs mid-August to late May. This guide covers the cycle, curricula, fees and neighbourhoods.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Your request
- Where you are moving
- Miami
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
One request. We ask relevant schools whether they have places for each child. Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Example request. School names in these examples are fictional.
Miami in short
- Curricula available in Miami: US programmes with AP, plus IB and French and Spanish bilingual schools.
- The Miami school year runs Mid-August to late May, in two semesters, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Florida Department of Education; private schools are typically accredited independently.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Miami school.
- You can create one request and we ask relevant Miami schools whether they have places for your children and what happens next.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Miami at a glance
The facts that shape a Miami school search
- Oversight
- Florida Department of Education; private schools are typically accredited independently
- Main curricula
- US programmes with AP, plus IB and French and Spanish bilingual schools
- School year
- Mid-August to late May, in two semesters
- Ages served
- Pre-K from about age 3 through Grade 12 at about 17 or 18
- Language
- English, with genuinely bilingual English–Spanish provision at many schools
How admissions work in Miami
Most Miami schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Miami. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Miami
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Miami school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Miami fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Miami school year runs mid-August to late May, in two semesters.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Miami
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Miami market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- USD 22,000 – 38,000
- Secondary, per year
- USD 28,000 – 45,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$22,000 – 45,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Miami schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why we ask schools directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Miami school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Answers from schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
Answered in 1 day
North campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Place available for AugustPlace available
- Luca · Year 1Place available for AugustPlace available
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
Answered in 2 days
City campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Place available for AugustPlace available
- Luca · Year 1Waiting list, reviewed monthlyWaiting list
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
Answered in 3 days
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Full for the August intakeFull for this intake
- Luca · Year 1Place available for AugustPlace available
Next step: Register interest for January
Your contact details are shared only with the schools you continue with.
Example answers. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Miami
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Coral Gables and Coconut Grove
Leafy, established and close to several long-standing private schools; the default choice for many relocating families.
Key Biscayne and Brickell
Apartment living with a strong Latin American and European community; a causeway or short drive to school.
Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay
Houses, gardens and highly rated public schools, further south with a longer commute into the city.
Aventura, Sunny Isles and Miami Beach
Coastal and international, popular with families from Latin America and Russia-speaking communities, with a mix of public and private options.
Moving to Miami with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Miami.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Miami are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Answers side by side
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Shared in answer
Shared in answer
Shared in answer
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
Register interest for January
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Miami
Public schools are free and assigned by address, with magnet and choice programmes that families apply to separately. Private schools set their own admissions and accreditation. Florida also operates state scholarship programmes that some families use towards private tuition, subject to eligibility.
The school year and hurricane season
The year opens in mid-August and closes in late May, earlier than in most northern-hemisphere systems, so a July move is well timed and a September arrival is already late.
Hurricane season runs June to November. Closure days are built into the calendar and schools switch to remote learning when needed. Ask each school how it handles closures and make-up days.
Public, magnet and private
Your address determines your assigned public school. Magnet and choice programmes — including IB and language immersion — accept applications from across the district, usually in the winter for the following August.
Private schools run their own cycle, most opening applications in the autumn for the following August. The best-known schools fill early at entry grades.
Bilingual and international programmes
Spanish is widely spoken and several schools run genuine dual-language programmes rather than Spanish as a subject. French programmes serve families expecting to return to a French system.
If you plan another international move, ask how the school's leaving qualification travels — AP, IB Diploma and the French baccalauréat are treated differently by universities abroad.
Fees and what sits outside them
Private tuition is billed annually or in instalments, with deposits due on acceptance. Application and re-enrolment fees, technology, lunch, buses, athletics and trips are separate.
Ask about annual increases and whether the school participates in state scholarship programmes, which can change the effective cost for eligible families.
Documents, immunisation and enrolment
Florida requires a state immunisation certificate and a recent physical examination before a child can start, and these must be issued by a Florida-licensed provider.
Book that appointment in your first week. Along with transcripts and proof of address, it is the most common reason a start date slips.
What families get wrong in Miami
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Planning around a September start
The year opens in mid-August. Arriving in September means joining a class already several weeks in.
Skipping the Florida immunisation form
Enrolment needs the state certificate from a local provider. Foreign records alone are not enough.
Assuming your address gets you into any public school
Assignment is by zone. Magnet and choice programmes need a separate application in the winter window.
Underestimating distance
Miami is spread out and traffic on the main routes is heavy. A twenty-kilometre school run is not a short one.
Ignoring hurricane-season closures
Ask how closure days are made up and how the school runs remote learning.
Official Miami resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Miami
One request. We ask relevant Miami schools whether they have places for your children and what happens next.
- 1
Create one request for Miami
Where you are moving, each child's age, the curriculum you prefer and when you want to start. One request covers the whole family.
- 2
We ask relevant Miami schools
We start with schools that serve your children's ages in Miami. Curriculum, budget and area help us decide which relevant schools to ask first.
- 3
Schools answer for each child
Availability, fees, timing and what happens next. Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Schools cannot pay to be prioritised, and we do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Miami
Find out which Miami schools have places for your children
One request, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Go deeper on Miami
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Miami compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From one request to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can create a request for any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Miami information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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