What happens when a school treats arts education as more than an elective?
A new case study examining a South Dade Title I school suggests it can become part of a much bigger transformation, one that includes stronger academic performance, increased student engagement and a healthier school culture.
The Arts Access Miami case study, A Diamond in the Rough: How a Vision for Arts Education Transformed Leisure City K-8 Center, follows the school’s progress from the 2018-19 through 2024-25 school years as it expanded from a STEM-focused school into a STEAM school.
The report does not attribute the school’s academic progress to arts education alone. Instead, it points to a combination of school leadership, district support, family trust, community partnerships and a broader schoolwide vision, with arts programming becoming an important part of that strategy.
By the 2024-25 school year, the South Dade school ranked in the 94th percentile for seventh-grade math learning gains among Florida Title I non-charter schools and in the 93rd percentile for sixth-grade English language arts learning gains.
The school also increased its third-grade promotion rate from 86.8% in 2018-19 to 100% in 2024-25.
English language arts proficiency rose from 39.5% in 2022-23 to 49.1% in 2024-25, while math proficiency increased from 48% to 54.6% over the same period. The school also exceeded county averages for learning gains among students in the lowest-performing 25% in both subjects.
The academic gains were accompanied by changes in how students experienced school.
According to the case study, the school’s annual School Climate Survey showed the percentage of students who said they liked attending the school increased from 48% in 2023-24 to 100% in 2024-25.
Building a Different School Experience
When principal Walter C. Hall arrived in 2019, the school had limited elective options and no middle school music program.
Hall and his leadership team began working to expand opportunities beyond core academic subjects, including through schedule changes, schoolwide planning and partnerships designed to give students more ways to engage with school.
Arts Access Miami became part of that effort in 2022.
Through partnerships with organizations including Young Musicians Unite, Guitars Over Guns, Vocal Youth Miami and Save The Music, students gained access to music instruction, instruments and performance opportunities.
“Arts Access Miami gave us the instructional tools we needed, from instruments to teachers,” Hall said in the case study. “We saw suspensions and office referrals decline, and students started buying into the larger vision of the school. They wanted to come to school, participate and be part of something.”
The case study’s findings come from interviews with school leadership, Miami-Dade County Public Schools regional leaders, Florida TaxWatch and a parent, as well as an analysis of school grades, attendance, student behavior, School Climate Survey results and Florida Assessment of Student Thinking data.
From STEM to STEAM
The school’s arts expansion eventually grew beyond traditional music offerings.
In 2025, it launched Florida’s first and only mariachi magnet program, giving students the opportunity to study the traditional Mexican ensemble format featuring brass, strings and vocal harmonies.
Sammy Gonzalez Zeira, CEO of Young Musicians Unite and president of Arts Access Miami, said the school demonstrates what can happen when arts education becomes part of a school’s larger strategy.
“The arts gave students more than a class. They gave students a reason to show up, a way to belong and a chance to see themselves as part of something bigger,” Gonzalez Zeira said in the case study.
The school’s broader transformation has also received recognition. Hall was named Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ 2024-25 Principal of the Year by the Dade Association of School Administrators, while Florida TaxWatch named the school one of Florida’s 15 most successful high-risk public schools that same year.
Martin T. Reid, administrative director of the South Region for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, said the school’s growth demonstrates the potential impact of creating more meaningful experiences for students.
“Normally, you see one or two percentage points of incremental growth, but to see gains of this nature is a testament to the leadership of the school and the role the arts can play in creating more meaningful student experiences,” Reid said in the case study.
Arts Access Miami is part of a larger effort to expand access to arts education across Miami-Dade County through partnerships among schools, nonprofits, funders and civic leaders.
For the 2026-27 school year, the initiative includes 31 partner organizations working across more than 88 schools and community sites, serving more than 17,000 students annually. Since its launch, the initiative says it has reached more than 40,000 students through music, visual arts, dance and other creative disciplines.
The full case study is available through Arts Access Miami.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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