The best public K-12 school in the United States, by Niche's newest count, is on Glades Road in Boca Raton. A.D. Henderson University School and Florida Atlantic University High School, which together make up the FAU Lab Schools, were ranked No. 1 in the nation and No. 1 in Florida in the 2027 Best Public K-12 Schools list, ahead of 1,903 schools Niche evaluated across the country.

It is the first time the lab schools have held the top national spot. A year ago, on the 2026 list, they finished No. 2 out of 1,847. FAU announced the jump on Oct. 1, and the result puts the schools at the top of a list many families check when they compare schools before a move.

What moved, line by line

The headline number is the K-12 ranking, but the detail underneath shows where the gains came from. FAU High climbed eight places in Niche's national Best Public High School category, from No. 23 to No. 15. In the Best College Prep Public High School category it rose 12 spots to No. 5 in the country. Inside Florida, it placed No. 2 in both of those categories, up from No. 3.

Teachers drove a big share of the result. Niche ranked the lab schools' educators No. 1 in Florida for Best Teachers at all three levels: elementary, middle and high school. A.D. Henderson, the elementary and middle school, carries an overall A+ grade from Niche, with A+ marks in administration, academics, teachers, college prep and diversity.

Niche builds its rankings from U.S. Department of Education statistics combined with millions of reviews, so the list reflects both hard data and how people who know the schools describe them.

Not a district school, and not a private one

Plenty of Palm Beach County residents drive past the campus without knowing how these schools work. According to A.D. Henderson's own description, it is a public laboratory school operating under the State University System and governed by Florida Atlantic University. It is not part of the School District of Palm Beach County, and it does not charge tuition, though families pay an annual activity fee, with a reduced rate for those who qualify.

Admission to A.D. Henderson runs by lottery. The school says it aims to enroll a student body that mirrors the state's annual demographic profile, which is one of the requirements that comes with being a Florida lab school. The mission is also different from a typical public school: the lab schools are expected to model teacher education, test new curriculum and support educational research, which is why they sit on a university campus in the first place.

The campus is FAU's main Boca Raton site at 777 Glades Road, about half a mile east of the Glades Road exit off Interstate 95.

How FAU High works

FAU High is the more unusual half of the pairing. The school opened in 2004 as a public dual-enrollment high school. Ninth graders spend the year in a dedicated classroom setting taking advanced coursework. Starting in 10th grade, students move onto the FAU campus, finish their high school requirements through university classes and begin working toward a bachelor's degree in a major they choose.

The numbers that come out the other end are striking. FAU High says its graduates earn an average of 95 university credits by the time they finish, roughly three years of a bachelor's degree, and some complete the degree before they receive a high school diploma. Tuition, lab fees and book costs are waived; families cover an activity fee, an FAU parking and transportation fee, an orientation fee and a ninth-grade iPad rental. The school has held an A rating from the state every year since it opened.

The Niche result also follows a strong showing on Florida's own measures. In July 2025, the lab schools ranked first in the state on the 2025 statewide assessments in reading and writing for grades 4 through 10, math for grades 3 through 9, science (including the Biology end-of-course exam) and the Civics end-of-course exam.

Who runs it

Joel D. Herbst, Ed.D., is superintendent of the FAU Lab Schools and also serves as FAU's vice president for PK-12 and pre-baccalaureate programs. Lauren Robinson, Ed.D., is principal of both A.D. Henderson and FAU High. The ranking lands during the tenure of FAU President Adam Hasner, and FAU now describes itself as a top 100 Carnegie R1 research university.

What it means if you live here

For Boca Raton families, the practical point is that a nationally top-ranked public school is not hidden behind a private tuition bill. It is a public option, reached by lottery for the younger grades and through a separate admissions process for ninth grade. FAU High's window for prospective ninth graders opened Sept. 1 and runs through Jan. 15, according to the school, so families with eighth graders this year are inside that window right now.

The odds of getting a seat are another matter, and a No. 1 ranking will not make them better. But for a city that already leans on its schools as a reason people move here, having the country's top public K-12 program on Glades Road is a point of pride that belongs to the whole community, not just the families with a child enrolled.