Greater Miami Adventist Academy, Miami | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

The songwriter says, “Jesus loves the little children; all the children of the world; red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” I quoted this song because, in my personal experience, Greater Miami Adventist Academy staff do not have the best interest of black children at heart. There have been several issues, including my son’s lunch box being stolen without him being offered any food by staff for lunch, as well as him being called a “monkey” with no accountability from staff or the bullies. A clear disciplinary process for bullying and racial slurs is noted in the student handbook, but in the instances of my son and another when my daughter was bullied by girls in her class, the bullies were only spoken to “off-record.”

However, I shouldn’t have been caught off guard, considering my prior challenges with enrollment and registration. Communicating with school staff over the summer proved nearly impossible. Despite numerous attempts via phone calls, voicemails, and emails, I eventually had to resort to having my dad visit the school in person for further information. While I diligently completed all admission paperwork, my children were still not fully enrolled by the start of the school year. This initial experience left me with the impression that the school lacked both organization and effective communication.

I frequently reached out to the principal, assistant principal, and staff concerning enrollment, registration, and my son’s academic challenges. Initially, my inquiries were disregarded by the principal until I escalated the matter to the superintendent. However, the subsequent email exchanges were disappointing, displaying a condescending and unprofessional tone. With my prior knowledge of navigating school systems, I advocated for necessary accommodations. Regrettably, these accommodations were implemented without my input and were poorly managed by the staff. Despite raising concerns with the teachers, many continued to neglect communication and adherence to the accommodations. Even after elevating the issue to the superintendent, there was no noticeable improvement.

The teachers seem to lack competency in accommodating diverse learning styles and addressing disabilities effectively. Their heavy reliance on technology for instruction is concerning. My experience with this Seventh-Day Adventist Academy has been disappointing, as I believe my children wouldn’t thrive in this environment. There’s a notable absence of focus on spiritual growth and academic excellence. I believe these issues trace back to the administration, particularly the principal, whose priorities seem centered around financial gain rather than fostering spiritual and academic development.

Despite the predominantly negative experiences, I want to extend my appreciation to Mrs. Ovalle and Mrs. Tamara Amich-Montero. They were receptive to my concerns and facilitated effective communication, which I found invaluable.

I’ve been going to GMAA since I was in 3rd grade. At first I began liking the place. In elementary and some of middle school everything is slightly decent. But when I hit high school, I began developing a passion for spirituality. I am currently a junior about to be a senior in August of 2021, and so far my high school experience hasn’t been well. This school visits SDA churches and claims that GMAA is probably the most spiritual school in all of Miami, but I think otherwise. I believe the administration could do a better job in prioritizing spirituality. Yes the education is what they’re mainly therefore, but it’s never a bad idea to keep you’re word and actually try to connect to the youth and have spiritual activities to their liking. “Chapel” as they call it for our school spiritual gatherings, isn’t what other people used to tell me. They have no interest in improving chapel. The front office expects chapel to live up to their expectations when they do not even take part in leading it out or offering help to the student body when it comes to improving and making it more meaningful to all the students. Before class, we do have prayer and devotionals, but constantly just reading off a book or phone isn’t always the solution to make the students feel connected. That is why we must all come together as one and start off fresh in “chapel” and make it meaningful to the students by organizing it better and not being close minded about “music style” or the setting in which chapel takes place.

Another thing that bothers me is the education. I feel like they don’t teach the way they should. I’m not saying that they don’t give enough work because believe me they give plenty. For example, they have a teacher teaching a subject who I am sure didn’t even study in college to teach the subject that he is teaching now. The subject I am referring to is Bible. In my current Bible class, all we do is listen to the teacher talk and always do the same type of work. And it gets old and it doesn’t feel interactive at all.

I give 2 stars because at least at this school there isn’t as much drugs and bad influence as there is in another public school out there. And I have had some kind of meaningful interactions with some of my friends and maybe 1 or 2 teachers.

GMAA, please be better and do better. I want to be proud to attend this school, but I cannot if we do not prioritize the spirituality the way we say we do.