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Betty Riera’s vision for The Grove Academy, extends far beyond traditional classroom walls. With her school garnering a reputation for excellence and innovation in the community, Riera’s vision has now become a reality – and due to a dramatic uptick in enrollment, the school found itself needing to expand to meet unprecedented demand.
By January of this academic year, the newly minted “The Grove Academy” faced a remarkable challenge: enrollment applications for the following year had already grown by 100 percent. “We were basically forced into expanding,” explains Riera, the school’s founder. “Parents were telling us, ‘If you’re expanding, we want our children here next year.’” But sometimes a little push is all it takes.
This explosive growth led to the school’s third floor expansion, with elementary students now housed on the second floor and middle and high schoolers occupying the third floor. But the physical expansion tells only part of the story. The real transformation has been the school’s deepening integration into the Coconut Grove community itself.
A Name That Resonates
The choice of rebranding as “The Grove Academy” was strategic, purposeful, and ultimately inspired by the students themselves. “We wanted something that could apply equally to elementary, middle, and high school students,” Riera notes. “The kids gave us some feedback, and we realized they wanted a logo that represents Coconut Grove’s lush landscape.
The name captures something timeless yet immediate about Coconut Grove. “It has this established feel,” Riera observes. “People tell us it sounds like it’s been here for quite a while. It gives that classic, foundational feeling we wanted, something that resonates with the Coconut Grove community.”
The response from local businesses and residents has been overwhelmingly positive. “I think having the name ‘Grove’ tied to it has taken everything to another level,” Riera says. “It’s almost like the community has been looking for this.”
Community as Classroom
What truly sets The Grove Academy apart is its innovative approach to education through community partnerships and real world experience. For example, students don’t just learn about cooking through a basic home ec course, they work alongside professional chefs at local notable restaurants like Jaguar and Mr. C’s.
They also don’t just take a music course and learn Green Sleeves on the recorder, they receive instruction from real musicians on a variety of instruments at nearby School of Rock.
“I want to bring experts in their field to our students,” Riera explains. “When you go to school to become a music teacher, you learn to be an educator. But here, students get the best of both worlds, they’re learning from actual musicians, actual artists, actual chefs.”
“Every opportunity we have, we try to make learning a hands-on experience,” Riera says. “The businesses started reaching out to us, saying ‘We see your kids all the time, would you like to get them involved here?’”
Innovation Meets Tradition
The Grove Academy has also embraced cutting-edge educational technology while maintaining its commitment to tangible learning experiences. Students participate in an 18-week artificial intelligence (AI) program through their partnership with Minds of Tomorrow, a local program offering hands-on activities in coding, robotics, engineering, and design. Yet they also regularly visit the Coconut Grove Library, checking out physical books every two weeks, a practice that librarians say truly “makes their day” in an increasingly digital world.
The school’s entrepreneurial program exemplifies this balance. Students work with the Coconut Grove Kids Marketplace, developing products from concept to sale, learning both digital marketing tools and traditional business principles. The profits from their sales? The students voted to give 5 percent of their profits to the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry and to use proceeds to fund their windsurfing field trip, as well.
Looking Forward
As The Grove Academy continues to grow, Riera is committed to maintaining what she calls a “concierge approach to education,” personalized, individualized attention that ensures no student becomes just a number. For example, the school’s FLEX program accommodates professional young athletes and frequently traveling families, offering flexibility without sacrificing academic rigor.
“We want to keep a boutique feel,” Riera emphasizes. “It’s about getting to know our families and working with our students individually.”
The Grove Academy’s rapid growth reflects more than just educational excellence, it represents a community finding its educational identity. In choosing a name that honors its location while embracing innovation, the school has planted itself firmly in Coconut Grove’s future while respecting its established character.
For Riera and her team, the expansion is just the beginning. “We’re poised to move forward and establish our identity,” she says. “We’re already here, it’s just a matter of giving that extra push to get the word out to everyone in the community.”
In Coconut Grove, where authenticity and community matter, The Grove Academy has found the perfect balance of both.
