In January 2008, the City of Miami Beach entered into an Education Compact with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to enhance learning opportunities for youth. The Compact reflects the desire of the Miami Beach community to support excellence in the City’s public schools and currently addresses and supports the following priority areas: Teacher Recruitment/Retention; Communication; Parental Involvement/Family Support; Youth and Community Engagement; Health and Well-Being; Student Achievement; Safety; and Technology.
On April 15, 2015, the Mayor and the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2015-28997, which directed the Administration to expand the Compact to address the following areas: Early Learning; Extracurricular/Choice Offerings; and Afterschool Programming.
On January 16, 2019 the Mayor and the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2019-30690, authorizing the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a grant agreement with the Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. for the implementation of a Beta Test for a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Plus program with all six Miami Beach public schools (kindergarten - 12th grade) and six local cultural institutions. The program is referred to as a STEAM Plus initiative and is intended to inspire students to engage and prepare in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics to work with cultural anchors to infuse theatre, visual arts, dance, and music in traditional class offerings. The “Plus” component of the STEAM Plus initiative is the City’s program to promote career and college readiness. The participating cultural institutions included the Bass Museum, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, the Jewish Museum, the Wolfsonian, and Young Musicians United; and, the schools including Biscayne Beach Elementary, Miami Beach Feinberg Fisher K-8, Miami Beach Nautilus Middle School, North Beach Elementary, Miami Beach Senior High School, and Miami Beach South Pointe Elementary.
In September 2019 the Mayor and the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2019-30955, amending Resolution 2019-30906 to include the addition of cultural institutions and one additional public school, Treasure Island Elementary. The amendment also approved a partnership with North Bay Village to fund fifty (50) percent of the cost to implement the program at Treasure Island Elementary School. During the 2019-20 school year, 2,915 students participated in the STEAM program, there were 32 partnerships serving 121 classrooms/teachers, 451 classes visited, and 220 online interactions due to COVID restrictions.
On July 23, 2021 the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2021-31776 extending the current agreement with the Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. for an additional year through September 30, 2023, in the total sum not to exceed $372,000 annually, for an initial term of one (1) year, with two (2) one-year renewal terms, at the option of the City, and subject to funding appropriation and approval by the City Commission during the budgetary process for each fiscal year. In the 2021-22 academic school year the program provided 4,982 students providing 1,398 instructional hours. STEAM Plus partners offered 407 unique interactions and visited 178 classrooms.
On September 14, 2022 the City Mayor and Commission adopted Resolution No. 2022-32285 amending Resolution No. 2021- 31776 to add the We The Best Foundation to the pool of approved cultural institutions for the Miami Beach Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts, And Mathematics (" STEAM") Plus Program for public schools (kindergarten - 12th grade) for School Year 2022- 2023; and
authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute all required agreements for the Program in the 2022- 23 school year.
The Bass has requested the addition of O’ Miami to the pool of approved cultural institutions for the program, bringing the total number of cultural institutions participating in the Program to fourteen (14); and the annual budget of $372,000 will remain the same.