Acceleration Academies_Spring2023_Pathways Magazine

MIAMI DADE ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
MDAA Grad Christian Johnson
Tunes Up for Success
From the time he was young, Christian Johnson
has been a gifted trumpet player. That spark grew
into a flame when he was in fourth grade and got
invited backstage to meet the legendary Wynton
Marsalis.
Marsalis encouraged Christian to practice every
day, and the young musician took it to heart,
picking up the horn for hours on end day in and
day out. As the end of his high school career
drew to a close, the practice yielded results —
Florida A&M University offered him a full-ride
music scholarship.
But Christian was unable to take advantage
of it. The long hours practicing music and the
academic momentum lost during the Covid
pandemic combined to leave him short of the
credits needed to graduate with his class in 2020.
The news hit him hard. “I completely gave up.”
But then, via Facebook, he found out about
Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, which
works in partnership with the public school
district to provide a flexible, personalized path
to graduation — including for students like him
who had missed the chance to graduate with
his class.
He only had two classes to go. “I could have been
at college. I could have been playing trumpet,” he
says. “Instead, I wasted all this time.”
When he enrolled, MDAA
Director Marcus Moore was
the first to greet him. “The
first time I walked in, he
said, ‘I’m glad you’re here.
Welcome in.’ ”
Christian is the first to admit
that, at first, he didn’t put in
“He pulled me to to the side, he said, ‘Hey man, half
a credit, you should have been finished by now,’ ”
Christian recalls. “I was like, man, he’s right.”
much of an effort. He had found a job that paid
decent money and school no longer held much
of an appeal. His momentum sagged — but
Moore did not give up.
“He pulled me to to the side, he said, ‘Hey
man, half a credit, you should have been
finished by now,’ ” Christian recalls. “I was
like, man, he’s right.”
Moore, along with other members of the MDAA
team, stayed right there with Christian as he
built the study skills and self-disclipline needed
to finish strong. And in January, the young man
reached his goal and earned his diploma.
He’s on to college and, some day, his
name and music in lights. Christian gives
Moore much of the credit. “He’s one of
the people who put me back on the path.”
14 Pathways | Spring 2023