A coalition of arts groups is working to bring more free music, dance and visual arts programs to Miami-Dade County public schools.
The initiative, called Arts Access Miami, aims to reach over 90,000 students in more than 100 schools by 2028.
They’re rolling it out in phases. So far, most of the work has been in North and South Miami-Dade.
Now, the coalition is moving into historically underserved neighborhoods in Central Miami-Dade like Brownsville, West Little River, Allapattah and Liberty City, with plans to expand to West and East Miami-Dade.
Zach Larmer is the chief operating officer of Young Musicians Unite, which is the group leading Arts Access Miami. He says arts classes can shift the way students feel about school.
“ If you had something exciting going on that day at school, you would be excited to get up and hop on the bus that morning,” Larmer said.
According to the coalition’s Donor Impact Report for 2024-2025, Arts Access students had up to 22% higher attendance rates across grade levels and middle school students in the programs scored 10% higher in Language Arts than their peers not enrolled.
Arts Access students also scored 24 points higher than the national average in positive behavioral change — a bi-annual survey that measures student growth in motivation, self-efficacy, leadership and other social-emotional learning outcomes.
“ There is a profound impact that can be had from being the person in a student's life who believes in them deeply,” Larmer said. “Who recognizes them for their talent or sees them and treats them as an individual or a human in the way that they may not have experienced on a regular basis before.”
The Central Miami-Dade expansion is expected to reach about 3,500 new students in the first year.
Selected partner organizations will receive support from $14.9 million in arts education money raised by different philanthropic groups — such as The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, The Kirk Foundation and The Children’s Trust.
“ That money is going directly to supporting teachers, whether that's in-school music or arts education or after-school music and arts education,” Larmer said. “Those dollars are being given in the form of grants to organizations that are part of Arts Access for them to deliver those programs.”
Arts Access Miami has served more than 14,500 students in over 70 public schools since its inception in 2020. They partner with MDCPS to identify where the arts gaps exist in public schools and then match arts organizations with the needs found through the research.
The list of schools that will participate in the Central Dade expansion has not been released yet.
“We're not forcing a program on a school or forcing a kid into a program, but rather providing offerings that they're already interested in,” Larmer said.
So far, Arts Access Miami comprises 24 organizations — including Teeny Violini, Guitars Over Guns and the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Larmer says their work takes a village, with philanthropic and public support.
“ This is not something that we can do as one organization,” Larmer said. “It is something that takes a broad coalition of support. It takes students being invested in the arts and their own futures. It takes parents being deeply engaged [in] the quality of education that their students are receiving and the types of opportunities that are available to them.”
For organizations interested in joining the initiative, Arts Access Miami is accepting applications through December 22nd. To apply, click here.
