Saint Edward's School in Vero Beach, Florida

Saint Edward's School is a private, co-educational, pre-kindergarten through grade 12 college-preparatory school in Vero Beach, founded in the independent Episcopal school tradition.

The school's About page, read on October 15, 2026, describes Saint Edward's as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) located in Vero Beach. Its homepage gives the address as 1895 Saint Edward's Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963, with the main phone (772) 231-4136, and calls the grounds an Indian River Lagoon waterfront campus. Students are the Pirates, and the youngest class is called Little Pirates (PK3).

Saint Edward's sits outside the public school system. The Florida Department of Education K-12 private schools page says private elementary and secondary schools in Florida are not licensed, approved, accredited or regulated by the department, and that private schools must complete an annual online survey for the statewide Directory of Private Schools. Accreditation for a Vero Beach private school therefore comes from independent associations, which the school lists itself.

The school's campus page describes a 26-acre, open-air campus between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, where students can launch kayaks and paddleboards from the lagoon shore. It names the Waxlax Center for the Performing Arts, the Lower School Library and the Becker Aquatics Center as modern additions, along with a school store called Pirate Cove, and says the Strategic Plan includes expanding and updating learning spaces on the Vero Beach campus.

Saint Edward's began in the Riomar Club's 1930 clubhouse at 2225 Club Drive, a building the Florida Division of Historical Resources marked with a historical marker in 1991.

The state marker, titled Riomar Clubhouse and Saint Edwards School, says the Riomar Club chose the site for its clubhouse, which was completed and opened in 1930, and that the club was a center for social activities that drew many permanent residents and winter visitors to Vero Beach. It describes a Spanish-design clubhouse reminiscent of the style of Palm Beach, with a stucco exterior and interior pecky cypress beams.

The marker then traces the school. The building was purchased in 1965 to start an independent school affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and Saint Edward's School opened with 33 students in Grades 5-8. In 1972 the Upper School campus opened on A-1-A south of the clubhouse, while the Riomar building continued to house kindergarten through grade 6, adding pre-kindergarten in 1983.

The building was renovated in 1988 with its exterior kept in its original character. On November 3, 1988, Bishop William Folwell dedicated the renovated Riomar building, marking the threshold with the sign of the cross and giving a blessing, according to the marker placed in 1991 in Vero Beach.

The school's own history says Saint Edward's was founded in 1965 by a group of Vero Beach parents and opened on September 22, 1965 with 31 students in grades five through eight.

According to the About page, those Vero Beach parents wanted a strong college-preparatory education at a time when families seeking it had to send their children to boarding schools in the northeast. The school credits guidance from Rev. Hunter Wyatt-Brown and local leader John Morrison, and says the original Upper School included six classrooms, a lab, a library and a main office.

The two official accounts of the 1965 Vero Beach opening differ on the first enrollment. The state marker gives 33 students in Grades 5-8, while the school's About page gives 31 students in grades five through eight; both are stated here with their sources rather than reconciled.

Traditions date from the early decades. The About page says Homecoming has united Saint Edward's alumni, students and families since 1973, Grandparents Day has been celebrated since 1989, and Senior Buddies has paired seniors with first graders since 2001, while ABC (Anything But Cars) Day marks seniors' final day of school at the Vero Beach campus.

Saint Edward's organizes its grades as the Pirate Pathway, with a Lower School from Little Pirates (PK3) through grade 5, a Middle School for grades 6 to 8 and an Upper School for grades 9 to 12.

For more than 60 years, the homepage says, Saint Edward's has partnered with Treasure Coast families. It says the program is enriched by STEAM, Spanish and fine arts and taught through Harkness discussions and immersive projects. College planning begins in eighth grade, with counselors helping on course selection, testing, applications, essays and financial aid, and the school says over 95 percent of its seniors are accepted to their first or second choice college.

The Indian River Lagoon shapes the science program. The school describes hands-on saltwater and freshwater labs and three aquatic interdisciplinary learning environments, saltwater, brackish and freshwater, on its Vero Beach waterfront campus, and says swimming instruction in its lap pool is meant to ensure every student graduates as a confident water explorer.

The religious and moral side is set out on the Episcopal Traditions page. It describes an inclusive Christian community where every child is welcomed regardless of belief, courses such as Character Education and Ethics, advocacy programming led by on-site mental health counselors for grades 6 to 12, and age-appropriate, biblically based Chapels led by faculty, local faith leaders and volunteer seniors. The page explains that the school is named for Saint Edward the Confessor, the 11th-century English king who built Westminster Abbey, and prints a school prayer asking that sound learning grow from generation to generation at the Vero Beach school. Parents may join weekly before-school Bible studies and a parent prayer and service group known as PIPS, and families are invited to school observances such as the National Day of Prayer and the Christian holidays, which the school celebrates together.

The About page states the Vero Beach school's mission as inspiring a nurturing community of enthusiastic learners, critical thinkers and responsible leaders, with advocacy as a central component, and its menu links a Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.

As published on its homepage on October 15, 2026, Saint Edward's reports 650 students from Little Pirates (PK3) through grade 12 and a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

These are the school's own numbers, not state data; because Florida does not regulate private schools, there is no FLDOE school grade for Saint Edward's. The About page lists memberships including the Florida Council of Independent Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Episcopal Schools, the Florida High School Athletic Association, the Sunshine State Athletic Conference and the Cum Laude Society, as well as the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce and the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County. Local cultural ties on the same list include the Indian River Cultural Council, the Indian River Literary Society and the Vero Beach Museum of Art.

The Saint Edward's nondiscrimination statement, printed at the foot of each page of the Vero Beach school's site, cites Florida Statute 1002.421. That statute sets accountability rules for private schools taking part in state school choice scholarship programs, including compliance with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. s. 2000d and annual background screening certifications for staff with direct student contact.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, with the Riomar Clubhouse and Saint Edwards School marker record from the Florida Department of State, the Saint Edward's School homepage and About page, the FLDOE K-12 private schools page and section 1002.421 of the Florida Statutes, each fetched again that day.