Mater Academy Of International Studies

Mater Academy Of International Studies is a K-5 elementary school in Miami, FL, serving 465 students within the Miami-Dade school district, where over 88% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school stands out as a significant outperformer compared to its immediate neighbors, despite serving a student population with a much higher poverty rate. While nearby schools like Paul Laurence Dunbar K-8 Center, Lenora Braynon Smith Elementary, and Santa Clara Elementary School consistently rank in the bottom 10-20% of Florida schools, Mater Academy consistently ranks in the 45th percentile and has even reached the 62nd percentile. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate has been remarkably low, hovering between 15.9% and 18.2% over the last five years—dramatically lower than the district average of 28.2% and the state average of 31.4%. In contrast, nearby schools like Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School suffer from a chronic absenteeism crisis with rates as high as 52.8%.

Mater Academy has established a clear strength in mathematics, with 5th-grade math proficiency reaching 70%—8 points above the state average and 3 points above the district average. The school is also a model of fiscal efficiency, spending just $9,952 per student, the lowest amount of any school in the comparison group and roughly half of what Early Beginnings Academy spends per student. The only nearby school that rivals Mater Academy’s performance is Bridgeprep Academy Of Greater Miami, a charter school with a similar ranking and strong test scores, particularly in 5th-grade Science (71%) and ELA (73%).