Vision and Tradition

Learning and Leading: Globally Connected and Culturally Inspired

The world needs Pine Crest students and graduates.

Our 2024-29 Strategic Plan entitled "Learning & Leading: Globally Connected, Culturally Inspired" reinforces our School’s mission and outlines how we intend to prepare students for a fluid, artificial intelligence-driven future. Pine Crest educators equip students with a strong academic foundation complemented by design thinking experiences and entrepreneurial perspectives to distinguish them as the sought-after leaders of tomorrow.

We believe in the power of intellectual curiosity and in creating learning environments where various cultures, perspectives, and experiences foster a deep understanding of our world's interconnectedness. Through learning rooted in collaboration, identification of problems and solutions, and meaningful action on important issues, we inspire our students to make a positive impact in all that they do.

Pine Crest School Mission Statement

To develop the character, independence, and leadership of each student; to prepare our students to meet the global challenges of our future by offering an exceptional academic experience complemented by excellence in arts and athletics; and to build a collaborative, inclusive, and open-minded learning community that respects, appreciates, and encourages those with diverse cultures, backgrounds, talents, experiences, and opinions.

History of Pine Crest School

In the early 1930s, Dr. Mae McMillan ("Dr. Mae") began tutoring children of winter visitors to Fort Lauderdale. The high caliber of Dr. Mae’s teaching soon attracted full-time local and boarding students, and in 1934 she founded Pine Crest in rented rooms in the old Elks Club Building in downtown Fort Lauderdale. In 1939, she moved her 100 students to an eight-acre site on East Broward Boulevard.

To better serve the needs of the expanding community's population, the school was incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1959 and moved in 1965 to an entirely new 49-acre campus in northeast Fort Lauderdale. The boarding program continued until the end of the 2000-01 school year when Pine Crest transitioned to a day school.

In 1987, the Pine Crest Preparatory School Corporation acquired Boca Raton Academy and established the Pine Crest School Boca Raton campus, encompassing pre-kindergarten through grade eight. Graduates of the Boca Raton campus eighth grade complete their college preparatory education in the Upper School on the Fort Lauderdale campus.

Pine Crest School is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), and numerous other professional groups.