Greater Miami Adventist Academy (GMAA) is a co-educational Pre K-12 day school located on a five-acre campus at 500 NW 122nd Ave in Miami, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is accredited by the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges, and Universities, which is a member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation. The school is supported by several constituent churches in the South Florida area. The earliest records of the school date to 1912, after the Miami Temple congregation officially became a church. Miami Temple began in 1910 with 20 charter members and decided to start a school to teach all of their children. They named this new school Greater Miami Elementary School. Their first teacher, Miss Grady Lee, initially had between 20-25 students. The group met in a tent behind the church building while the rest of the property on the corner of NW 8th Street and Miami Avenue was being constructed. Once the building was erected, two school rooms were built in the back of the church with a porch to protect the children from the rain. The school grew, and in 1922 was moved to a suitable building which housed a three-room school, covering eight grades at 333 NW 30th Street. By 1923, Miami Temple had 170 members and Greater Miami Elementary had its own building. Classes were later moved to the church building and continued meeting here until the building was sold in 1925. From here, the school and church moved to a newly constructed church property at 862 SW 4th Street. In 1950, the school was a 2 classroom, 2 teachers, and 86 student school. At this time, there was renewed interest to build a new school because, for a period of time, classes were held in a church-owned property on NW 30th Street and 3rd Ave. Pastor W.O. Reynolds approached the Deering Estate, a prominent environmental, archaeological and historical preserve in South Florida, on the price of a four and one-half acre plot of land owned by them at 3200 NW 18th Ave. A Seventh-day Adventist church member by the name of Mr. Bell had worked faithfully as an accountant for the Deering Estate but had passed away a short time before. Though two other buyers were offering as high as $45,000 for the land, Elder Reynolds was able to secure it for $15,000 because of the appreciation on the part of the Deering Estate for the services of this hardworking church member. Thus in 1952, the name of the school was changed to Miami Junior Academy and they began operating in this property with two new buildings. One building housed the six elementary classes and the other housed the seventh and eighth grades, and the Principal’s office. The need to enlarge prompted the Miami Temple, Miami Springs, and the newly built North Miami church to undertake a monthly giving program which built the gymnasium and eight classrooms and a library room. In 1960, the academy added 6 new classrooms, a music studio, a large auditorium, and the Senior High School Level. The name of the school was changed to Greater Miami Academy to coincide with the new accreditation. The first Senior class graduated in 1961. Plans for 1962-1965 included new elementary classrooms, also full teacher certification and academy accreditation. In 1970, a library and vocational building were added to the school plant. More land was needed for a playground. Two and one-half acres of land, adjacent on the west, became available. Hialeah Hospital, a prominent hospital in South Florida which was started in part by members of the Miami Temple church, purchased this land for the school from the Exotic Gardens Nursery. In 1970 air conditioning was placed in each room. A new room for the library, an additional classroom, and a combination garage and shop were also built. As the constituency grew, and enrollment increased, two trailers, housing two classrooms each, were purchased to accommodate all the students. In 1989, the school moved to a dedicated new academy building at 500 NW 122 Ave, Miami, FL 33182. The open house for this new building was held on July 30, 1989. In 2006, the school changed its name to Greater Miami Adventist Academy to emphasize its connection with the Adventist church. For a number of years, the school had two principals who were in charge of the Academy and Elementary schools respectively. During the 2006 school year, the schools were reunited to form one K2-12 Academy. Shortly after, a three-phase master plan of construction was prepared in order to improve the physical appearance of the campus. As of 2018, phase one was completed. The improvements included new soccer and softball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, elementary playground, perimeter fence, pre- school play area, and cafeteria. Renovations for the school are ongoing, as of publication, which includes new security systems, doors and gates; updated bathrooms in the second floor and gym, new floors for all classrooms (including the gym and music departments), and landscaping. Post-2018 plans for the school include the construction of a 700-seat auditorium/chapel, a dedicated elementary wing separate from the High School, a track, and pool.