Alpha Charter Of Excellence

Alpha Charter Of Excellence is a small K-5 elementary school in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, serving 262 students within the Miami-Dade school district. Despite having a low student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1 and spending slightly above the district average per student, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-20% of Florida elementary schools over the past decade, currently sitting at the 9th percentile statewide.

The most striking contrast is with nearby schools like Ada Merritt K-8 Center (99th percentile, just 0.6 miles away) and Mater Academy Kiwanis (70th percentile, 0.3 miles away), which achieve dramatically better results. Even Mater Preparatory Academy (24th percentile) outperforms Alpha Charter. This is particularly notable because Mater Academy Kiwanis serves a much higher poverty population yet achieves far stronger outcomes, suggesting Alpha's challenges go beyond demographics. The school's test scores show extreme volatility from year to year—for example, 5th grade ELA proficiency jumped from 24% to 56% over three years—indicating inconsistent instructional quality. However, the 5th grade class is a bright spot, with 56% proficient in ELA and 50% in math in 2025-2026, suggesting a specific teacher or program is making a difference.

Chronic absenteeism is a major, persistent problem at Alpha Charter, hovering around 23-25% for the last three years—far higher than Ada Merritt (5.3%) and Coral Way K-8 Center (17%). The school's spending of $12,484 per student is comparable to top-ranked Ada Merritt ($12,403), showing that funding alone isn't the issue. For parents, the key takeaway is that while Alpha Charter offers small class sizes and adequate resources, it has not translated these into consistent academic success, and addressing attendance and instructional quality will be critical for improvement.