Palmer Trinity School is an independent, college-preparatory,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

Episcopal day school located on 60 acres in Palmetto Bay,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

suburb). The school currently enrolls 800 students in grades 6–12. Palmer Trinity is the only Episcopal middle school and secondary school in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

, and along with Saint Andrew's School in

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, is one of two secondary schools in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. The school is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Florida Council of Independent Schools.

History

Palmer Trinity School was formed in 1991 when Palmer School (founded in 1972) and Trinity Episcopal School (founded in 1981) merged. The school was formerly located in the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

of Cutler until the incorporation of Palmetto Bay on September 10, 2002. Palmer Trinity was badly damaged by

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

in August 1992, but one building was used to host the 82nd Airborne for 6 weeks in the aftermath. After the merger, Palmer Trinity gradually grew from 300 to 650 students. A Humanities Building, Music Center, Fitness Facility, Math/Science Building, and expanded Library were added to the original three buildings. Palmer Trinity's campus incorporates South Florida flora and fauna, including gumbo limbo trees, royal poincianas, palms, ferns, orchids, iguanas, and peacocks. It has the largest grounds of any independent school in

. It has encouraged the use of wireless laptop computers since 1999, and has 50 athletic teams. Today Palmer Trinity’s students, over 50% of whom are bilingual, come from 37 countries. Students come from Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu religious backgrounds.PTS At A Glance
" Retrieved on August 26, 2012. Palmer Trinity has expanded its campus to almost 60 acres, including 33 acres to the south of the original campus, and a Head of School home. The school's mascot is a falcon, and it takes its logo from the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. The school's current head of school is Patrick Roberts; the middle school principal is Peter Tolmach and the upper school principal is Ashley Chapman.

The Coral Lab

The school's Coral Lab is an interdisciplinary center for education, training, and research in marine biology engaging in research in the laboratory and in the field, studying ocean organisms and environmental problems. Many students ultimately choose a career in marine science, biology, or policy. Courses offered include marine conservation, biology of corals, coral propagation, aquarium fish breeding, and mangrove ecology.

Breakthrough Miami partnership

Starting during the 2009–2010 school year, Palmer Trinity School partnered with Breakthrough Miami, an academic enrichment program that uses a student-teaching-student model targeted towards under-resourced scholars. Their partnership with Breakthrough Miami gave way to Breakthrough's first expansion site into Southwest Miami-Dade County. During the summer more than 150 rising 5th-, 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students visit the school for Breakthrough's Summer Institute at PTS, and it hosts sessions throughout the school year as well, where Palmer Trinity students can volunteer as Teaching Assistants or Teaching Fellows. Breakthrough Miami is modeled after the Summerbridge (later Breakthrough Collaborative) program founded in San Francisco, California, by Louis Loufbourrow in 1978.

Notable alumni

* Patrick Murphy (Class of 2001), US congressman (18th congressional district) *

Ciara Michel Ciara Kathleen Michel (born 2 July 1985) is a British-American volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker. Born in Taunton, Somerset, she learned to play volleyball in Miami, Florida after her parents moved there when she was 10 years old. ...

(Class of 2003), member of 2012 British Olympic volleyball team * Alejandro Melean (Class of 2005), member of

Bolivia national football team The Bolivia national football team (), nicknamed ''La Verde'', has represented Bolivia in men's international Association football, football since 1926. Organized by the Bolivian Football Federation, Federación Boliviana de Fútbol (), it is o ...

* Tim Hardaway Jr. (freshman year only), professional basketball player * Shea Adam (Class of 2008), sports commentator * Angela Guzman, graphic designer best known for designing the Apple Emoji

References

External links

Palmer Trinity School
{{authority control Private schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida High schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida Private high schools in Florida Private middle schools in Florida Episcopal schools in the United States Christian schools in Florida