The old school library has evolved over the years – modern media centers are places students go for access to new technologies and collaboration, as well as books.
Now the Miami Lakes K-8 Center’s media center – or Innovation Space, as it’s now known – has more opportunity for that thanks to an ongoing $2m project.
Miami Lakes K-8 Center is one of 18 Miami-Dade County public schools to get a new Innovation Space thanks to a partnership between the school district, the College Football Playoff Foundation, the 2026 Miami Host Committee and the Orange Bowl Committee. The Innovation Space will give students access to different STEM technologies and other new learning methods, provide teachers with the tools they need to incorporate them into lessons, and offer redesigned spaces like big collaboration tables where students can work together.
Speaking at the Innovation Space ribbon cutting, principal Yanelys Ferrer spoke not just of the facility but of the philosophy and opportunities it represents.
“This Innovation Space stands as a powerful symbol of our progress,” she said. “It represents more than a physical transformation; it reflects a mindset—a commitment to creating environments where students can collaborate, think critically, explore boldly and bring their ideas to life. It is a space designed not only for learning, but for imagining, creating and leading.”
Miami-Dade County School Board member Roberto Alonso attended the event and spoke afterwards about balancing traditional learning with giving students access to the latest technologies.
“Media centers are evolving,” Alonso said. “We integrate technology together with reading; we’re not removing the books from the media centers. But what we do is we create these creative spaces where students get to blend together reading and the fundamentals of technology. It’s so important that technology and innovation be paired with the foundational basics of school.
“You’re impacting the future leaders of the world,” Alonso said. “We have the opportunity to give them the best of the best when it comes to their future.”