Miami-Beach-Moves-Full-STEAM-Ahead
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City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, Tel: 305.673.7575 PRESS RELEASE
Tonya Daniels, E-mail: tonyadaniels@miamibeachfl.gov
Melissa Berthier, E-mail: melissaberthier@miamibeachfl.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2019
Miami Beach Moves Full STEAM Ahead
— Expanding Arts Integrated Programing and Funding in its Public Schools —
Miami Beach, FL – Starting this past January, the City of Miami Beach positioned its
cultural institutions center stage in the public-school curriculum. Through its STEAM Plus
program in collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the arts and culture
infused concept brought six of the city’s prestigious institutions — The Bass, Jewish
Museum of Florida-FIU, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, Wolfsonian-FIU and
Young Musicians Unite — into the daily school curriculum of over 2,000 Miami Beach
students.
“Over the years we have lost the arts in public schools to high stakes testing,” noted
Mayor Dan Gelber. “Through STEAM Plus, we’ve made an unprecedented move as a
municipal government to infuse our renowned cultural scene directly into our classrooms
— and within the existing subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts and
mathematics.”
This school year, the city expanded its commitment by increasing funding by $372,000
for this fiscal year and expanding the program to Treasure Island Elementary and Ruth
K. Broad Bay Harbour K- 8. It also introduced seven new cultural anchors to the program
— Holocaust Memorial, Perez Art Museum, Miami Beach Bots, Miami Theatre Center,
Miami Beach Conservancy Inc., Common Threads and Hack Shack.
The program’s rapid success has resulted in a STEAM designation for Miami Beach
Senior High, Miami Beach Nautilus Middle, Miami Beach Fienberg/Fisher K-8 Center,
North Beach Elementary, Miami Beach South Pointe Elementary and Biscayne Beach
Elementary – marking an official STEAM designation for all 6 public schools on the
urban island out of 121 schools districtwide.
Taught by some of the world’s greatest talent from museum curators to music prodigies,
the STEAM Plus program animates children’s imaginations through art, music, drama
and more. The Bass, for example, led biology classes that created three-dimensional
beaded bracelets to teach students about DNA strands. Miami City Ballet has also taken
over science classes by teaching students about push and pull physics via dance
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant, tropical, historic
community.
movements at Biscayne Elementary, while Young Musicians Unite has introduced a
coding class in which students create music through code.
“We are introducing unconventional and effective learning — making our schools more
competitive and continuing to invest in our children’s future,” added Mayor Gelber.
Click here to view the city’s STEAM Plus video and get an inside look on how arts-
embedded teaching has made a difference in the lives of Miami Beach students.
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