Palm Beach Maritime Academy

We know that family life is full, and the last thing a busy parent needs is one more thing to figure out before the school day starts. That's why we built health and nutrition support directly into our time together, at no cost to families.

At PBMA, every student has access to free breakfast and lunch on campus. For families who use our before and after care program, which runs from 7am to 6:30pm, we also provide supper. Our weekend and summer food programs mean that support doesn't stop when the school year does.

We bring the same thinking to physical health. Free vision screenings, glasses, and dental care are available during the school day, right on campus. No missed work for a parent. No co-pays. No separate appointments to coordinate around an already packed schedule. We bring the care to the student, because we built this school around the whole family's life, not just the hours between 8am and 3pm.

We are one of the only tuition-free public charter schools in Palm Beach County with full-time licensed mental health counselors on both campuses. Not a check-in once a month. Not a referral to an outside provider. Our counselors are here every day as a consistent presence in the life of every student.

We also use evidence-based Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programming woven throughout the school year. Students develop the emotional vocabulary and coping skills that research shows lead to better academic outcomes and stronger relationships. When students can identify what they're feeling and communicate with confidence, they show up differently in the classroom, on the court, and eventually in the workplace.

We take campus safety seriously. PBMA was the first school in Palm Beach County to install an Active Alert campus security system, and we back it up with facial recognition cameras, Yondr phone-free pouches, and trained security guards on both campuses.

Our Yondr pouches do double duty. Students store their phones at the start of the day and retrieve them at dismissal, creating a focused, distraction-free learning environment. The impact has been measurable: test scores rose 37% in a single year after implementation. More than that, students are more present with each other and with their teachers.

Each month, we recognize one student from every classroom as our Shark of the Month, an honor that celebrates character, not just grades. We look for the student who showed up for a classmate, persisted through something hard, or demonstrated leadership that doesn't always show up on a report card.

Our community partnerships deepen this commitment. Through relationships with the University of Miami, the City of Lantana, Palm Beach State College, and local law enforcement, our students see what it looks like to contribute to something larger than themselves. Community is not a field trip. It is part of the curriculum.

We have been a 7-time Palm Beach County Choice Award winner and we are Cognia accredited. Those recognitions matter to us because they reflect what our families already know: this is a school that delivers.