Miami Springs Senior High School senior Leonardo Rios sees the world a little differently, literally. In middle school, Rios suffered a torn retina that left him with 20/260 vision in one eye, a condition he describes as a block or wall in the center of his sight. But inside the art classroom, that wall never stopped him.
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That classroom and its teacher made a difference that changed his world. Beth Goldstein, Leo’s art teacher at Miami Springs Senior High School, accessed grants and training through The Education Fund that brought her to a felt art workshop at The Education Fund Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials.
“Through that workshop, I taught Leo the craft [felt art],” Goldstein said.
Those same resources helped Rios find his voice. Goldstein worked with him to price and market his own artwork, giving him a business foundation to pursue what he plans to make his career.
On May 18, 2026, Rios was among the student artists showcased at The Education Fund For the Love of Art Charity Auction and Honoree Celebration, presented by Ocean Bank (Member FDIC), at Jungle Island. He and other students taught guests interactive origami. He also donated a felted textile work to the auction, with proceeds going toward supplies for Goldstein’s classroom.
“As a senior, I want to pay it forward, not only to my teacher, but to those upcoming students that are transferring into my school,” Rios said. “I want them to have the same opportunities, if not more, than I had.”
Rios also contributed a mural of Florida landmarks to The Education Fund Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials, the free teacher supply warehouse that has delivered more than $32 million in donated materials to Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ classrooms since 1993.
When Rios walks across the graduation stage, he will do so as an emerging artist with a portfolio, a pricing strategy, and a plan to study art at the college level, the direct result of a public school teacher who had the tools to teach him.
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For more information about The Education Fund and all programs, visit educationfund.org.
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