Brucie Ball Educational Center

Brucie Ball Educational Center in Miami, FL, is an alternative school within the Miami-Dade school district serving 435 students in grades PK through 12, where over half of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

This school is defined by its role as a high-need institution, spending an extraordinary $72,614 per student—nearly three times more than nearby Blue Lakes Elementary School and six to nine times more than high-performing charters like True North Classical Academy. This high spending reflects intensive, likely small-group instruction and significant support services. While academic test scores are below district averages, the school has shown dramatic improvement in its graduation rate, which more than doubled from 29.6% in 2021-2022 to 72.7% in 2024-2025. Chronic absenteeism is a managed challenge at 26.2%, which is lower than the state average and far better than the 65.3% rate at the nearby Secondary Student Success Center 801.

Brucie Ball shares a campus with Ruth Owens Kruse Education Center, another alternative school with similarly high spending ($79,946 per student) but serving a population with even greater challenges, as reflected in its 75% chronic absenteeism rate and 58.3% graduation rate. The contrast with nearby True North Classical Academy—which spends only $11,953 per student and has a 100% graduation rate—highlights how resources are allocated differently to serve vastly different student needs. For parents, Brucie Ball represents a specialized safety net focused on keeping students in school and earning diplomas, with the improving graduation rate being the most important measure of its success.