Original Research by School Decision on Doral Performing Arts & Entertainment Academy
Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy is a small charter high school in Doral, Florida, serving grades nine through twelve as part of the Miami-Dade district system. Its enrollment is quite small for a high school, with students spread across all four grade levels. The school sits on NW 27th Street in a city that has grown rapidly from what was once an industrial and commercial hub into a densely layered South Florida community with a strong Latin American cultural identity, particularly Venezuelan influence. Doral is publicly reported as one of the fastest-growing cities in Florida, and that growth context shapes everything from housing costs to the makeup of the student body.
The school's student population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, reflecting Doral's broader demographic character. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, though it is below what many Miami-Dade schools see. Data on English learner enrollment and students with individualized education programs was not available in the records reviewed.
State assessment results were not available for this school. That gap may reflect the school's specialized arts and entertainment focus, its small enrollment size, or how Florida reports charter results, but the data here does not explain the reason, and a parent wanting to understand academic proficiency would want to ask the school directly. Graduation rate data was similarly not present. Chronic absenteeism data was also not reported. This leaves the academic performance picture largely empty from the data available, and while comparisons against other Miami-Dade county districts are technically possible on those measures, none applied because the underlying figures were absent.
What the data does show is a high school organized specifically around performing arts and entertainment, which signals that its purpose is not a general college-prep pathway but a focused, arts-integrated one. Families who are drawn here are typically seeking that kind of specialization for a student whose interests run toward music, theater, dance, film, media, or related fields. The school's small size means that peer relationships are likely close-knit, and the community is almost entirely drawn from Doral and the surrounding area. Program details beyond the school's stated focus were not available in the data reviewed.
Housing in Doral right now sits in a market that, while still above national averages, has seen home values pull back over the past year. Rents have dipped slightly as well. The estimated monthly cost of carrying a home in the area at current mortgage rates is substantial, and the rent-to-income ratio in the zip code sits noticeably above what financial planners typically consider comfortable. Doral's publicly reported walkability varies considerably depending on where you live: the Downtown Doral and CityPlace Doral districts were purpose-built for pedestrian life, while most of the city's gated residential communities follow a car-dependent pattern.
At the district level, Miami-Dade passed a property-tax referendum in late 2022 that funds teacher pay and campus safety, adding a cost for homeowners that runs through 2027. The district is also managing a sustained enrollment decline, with school closures and consolidations proposed across all three of its regions in spring 2026. Because this school is a charter, boundary reassignment decisions affecting traditional public schools are less likely to directly affect enrollment here, but families should confirm that directly with the school.
Doral's employer base includes major media and logistics corporations, and the city's proximity to Miami International Airport has made it a center of import-export activity. Those industries, particularly media and entertainment, are arguably aligned with what the academy is preparing students to enter. Parents considering this school will want to ask the school directly about what its graduates pursue after graduation, what industry or college connections exist, and what the specific coursework and production experience looks like.
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