Mary Annaliese Dehner-Muniz ’20 brings arts and academics together in her new Dehner Elite Arts Academy, creating a personalized learning experience for K-12 students.
Mary Annaliese Dehner-Muniz ’20 has always been passionate about two things: the arts and teaching children. Today, she’s transforming both into a new educational approach that blends creativity, academic support and individualized learning.
Dehner-Muniz, a graduate of UCF’s bachelor of science in elementary education program in the College of Community Innovation and Education, recently founded Dehner Elite Arts Academy (DEAA) — a hybrid homeschool enrichment program that offers arts-integrated academic tutoring for K-12 learners.
The journey to DEAA began years ago. When Dehner-Muniz was 18, she gained hands-on experience by volunteering as a substitute teacher at Sanford Middle School. While studying at UCF, she participated in the Honors Undergraduate Thesis program and wrote a thesis focused on arts integration in education. After graduating with honors, she managed a classroom at Wicklow Elementary during her first year of teaching before transitioning to lead K–5 dance classes at Midway Elementary School of the Arts.
However, she found herself in search of something different.
“I had the revelation that public school just wasn’t for me,” she says. “But I always knew I wanted to get back into teaching somehow. And once I decided to take that leap, it paid off.”
In 2023, Dehner-Muniz founded Dehner Elite Arts, a Deltona-based program where she teaches acting, singing and dancing to nearly 60 K-12 students. Two years into the program, she started tutoring students who came to her for help in academic subjects — especially reading and English language arts. Before long, Dehner-Muniz says parents asked about her plans to expand that academic support.
“One parent told me, ‘You have a gift for this, and you need to follow your calling,’” she says. “At first, I wondered if it would be worthwhile. But then I thought, ‘If all these kids are coming to me, let’s do it.’”
Now, while continuing to lead Dehner Elite Arts, Dehner-Muniz also directs DEAA in the same space. With small class sizes and interactive lesson plans, DEAA encourages autonomous learning while creating a personalized educational experience that nurtures students’ curiosity and creativity. Classes bring together learners of different ages and grade levels, giving older students opportunities to develop leadership skills as they help their younger peers.
She describes her instructional approach as a combination of guided learning and relationship-building.
“I build a relationship with each child to understand his or her learning style,” she says. “I see the curriculum their parents bring me, give feedback on how we can help him or her become a strong critical thinker, and I guide it from there. It’s working really well for them.”
Dehner-Muniz credits much of her approach to the guidance of Lee-Anne Trimble Spalding, senior lecturer in the School of Teacher Education and the chair for Muniz’s undergraduate thesis. She says she considers Spalding not only a foundational influence but a personal role model.
“Dr. Spalding walks into a room and commands attention in the best way,” Dehner-Muniz says. “When I took her class, I loved how she didn’t just throw information at us — she modeled it and had us practice it ourselves. I realized that was how I wanted to teach.”
Spalding says she looks up to Dehner-Muniz for her commitment to the students she serves.
“Mary has taken the foundation we provided in the Elementary Education program and used it to positively impact so many young learners in her community,” Spalding says. “Her focus on educating the whole child makes me so proud.”
Looking ahead, Dehner-Muniz plans to develop DEAA further in response to growing interest. With more students applying, she says she intends to spend more time tutoring and is searching for a new location to better accommodate the program’s expanding services.
“I have about 20 kids at the school right now, and it’s growing every day,” Dehner-Muniz says. “I’m currently tutoring two days a week, but in the fall, I’m going up to five. I’m also hoping to find a larger space because I’m currently working within only 1,200 square feet. I’d like to buy a building and turn it into a much bigger learning facility for arts and academics.”
Dehner-Muniz says a larger space would allow her to deepen her impact in the community and to continue helping students connect art and academics.
“I look forward to watching these kids take what I’m teaching them and go out into the world with confidence,” Dehner-Muniz says. “It’s so rewarding to help them explore what they’re good at and how they’re going to make a difference. I feel like I’ve found my purpose.”