Mater International Academy

Mater International Academy is a small K-5 elementary school in Miami, FL, serving 179 students within the Miami-Dade school district, and it stands out for serving a highly economically disadvantaged community with over 98% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

This school presents a unique story of resilience amid resource challenges. It has the highest student-teacher ratio (22.3:1) and the lowest per-student spending ($9,951) compared to nearby schools like Kelsey L. Pharr Elementary School, which spends $15,735 per student and has a ratio of 17.2:1. Despite these constraints, Mater maintains a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 19.0%, which is better than the district average of 28.2% and far lower than neighbors like Earlington Heights Elementary School (40.8%). Academically, the school has historically performed in the bottom half of Florida elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. However, there is a glimmer of hope in early grades: 3rd graders scored 58% proficient in ELA and 67% in Math, near or above state averages. The challenge is sustaining that progress, as 5th-grade proficiency drops to 39% in ELA and just 13% in Science—a catastrophic decline from 61% just a few years ago.

The contrast with nearby Kelsey L. Pharr Elementary School (0.87 miles away) highlights how resource allocation impacts outcomes. Pharr has a lower poverty rate (64.63%), higher spending, and smaller class sizes, resulting in a 3-star rating with proficiency rates in the 50-90% range across subjects. Mater, by comparison, is a 1-star school with proficiency often below 50%. This suggests that while Mater may have effective early-grade instruction, the cumulative effects of limited funding and large class sizes create a steep uphill climb for students as they advance through the grades.