The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mater Preparatory Academy
Mater Preparatory Academy is a public charter school located on NW 12th Avenue in Miami, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. The enrollment data shows students spread across kindergarten through fifth grade, with no students reported in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, so in practice this operates as a K-5 school at present. Enrollment is small relative to what the grade span might suggest.
The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with nearly all students identifying that way. Almost all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the higher-concentration economically disadvantaged populations you would find in Miami-Dade. Data on English learner status and students with IEPs was not available in what was reported to us. For a family thinking about peer environment and school culture, this is a school deeply embedded in the Latino community of western Miami.
On the Florida state assessments, the picture is mixed and a parent will want to look into this further with the school. In third grade math, the school performs solidly, with well over half of students reaching proficiency, which is a genuine strength at that grade level. Math proficiency in fourth and fifth grade falls below that, and by fifth grade sits around the midpoint or below. ELA results are lower across all three tested grades, with third grade ELA being the softest point. Fifth grade science, measured on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, comes in below the levels seen in math. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible from what we have to say whether these results are improving, holding, or declining. The comparison framework for proficiency against other Miami-Dade County districts flagged too small a cohort to produce a valid ranking, so we cannot place the school against its neighbors on that measure.
A graduation rate does not apply here, since the school does not serve high school grades. No program offerings data was provided, so we cannot speak to enrichment, electives, or extracurriculars.
The school sits in the broader Miami-Dade County Public Schools district, which is navigating sharp enrollment declines and publicly reported proposals to close or consolidate up to nine schools heading into the next school year. As a charter school, Mater Preparatory Academy operates separately from the district's attendance boundaries, so closure decisions affecting traditional public schools would not directly restructure this school. Still, families should be aware that the district landscape around them is shifting. Miami-Dade voters approved a property tax increase a few years ago to fund teacher pay and campus safety, and that levy is set to expire in the near future unless renewed.
The neighborhood context matters here. The school's address puts it near downtown Miami, one of the most walkable parts of the city, with access to Metromover service, the main branch of the Miami-Dade Public Library, and a dense mix of civic and commercial life within a short walk. Miami overall is a large urban environment with deep Latin American and Caribbean cultural ties, particularly pronounced in the neighborhoods close to this school.
Housing near this zip code has seen home values come down modestly over the past year, and rents have edged down as well, though both remain well above national medians. Affordability is genuinely strained in this market: the ratio of home prices to income sits substantially above typical national levels, and estimated rent costs consume a large share of a household's income. Families renting in this area are spending a meaningful portion of their budget on housing.
For a family choosing this school, the relevant questions are whether the academic results at the tested grade levels are trending in the right direction, what the school offers in fifth through eighth grade programming as enrollment fills those grades, and what support exists for students who may need additional academic help. Those details were not available in what we reviewed, and reaching out directly to the school would fill those gaps.
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