Alberto M. Carvalho
Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools
September 2009
THE JOURNEY TOWARD A NEW YEAR
A new school year is time to reflect on where we have been, while preparing to move forward to the journey ahead. This past year was full of both challenges and triumphs. We faced a difficult financial situation but with sound policy guidance of the School Board, shared sacrifice of the workforce and support from parents and the community we were able to save 3,700 jobs, protect important educational programs such as art, physical education, languages, and music; and build reserves, including a $50 million Employee Protection Fund, that if not drained by further cuts to education in Tallahassee, will provide the mechanism by which we can honor the Board’s long standing commitment to the viability of our entire workforce. Let this be our call to action in the coming year. Together, we must send a clear and unmistakable message to the Florida Legislature that appropriate funding of educational programs and classrooms is not a choice, but a moral imperative.
Without the need to advertise a tax increase, we have a balanced budget, including $38 million that will be used to pay employees back who gave up days through the Employee Partnership Plan, proving that a promise made is a promise kept. With the support of groups such as our PTA and guidance from business leaders like Adolfo Henriques, Chair of the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council, we have done our work, tightened our belts and prepared for economic uncertainty and we are ready, but we must not let these funds be depleted by the failure of those with the power to make decisions to meet their Constitutional obligation to fund education as the paramount priority of this state.
Just as we fought back against tremendous odds in the financial arena, so too did our teachers and students, who scored remarkable victories in the classroom. More than 90 percent of our schools are now graded A, B or C, and for the first time a majority of our 10th-graders passed the FCAT on their first try. Some of our most fragile schools faced state sanctions including potential closure. However, as with the budget crisis, our community came together to take this challenge on as well. Of the 9 schools that faced the most serious sanctions 8 improved by one letter grade or better, including Liberty City Elementary that went from an F to an A. Each of the teachers, administrators, parents, students and community partners that believed in these schools and invested their time, talents and resources in support of these children are nothing short of heroes.
A key to the turnaround in these schools, the Success Academy, a program of intensive instruction in math and reading delivered on weekends and over winter recess to thousands of students will continue this year at selected schools; and all schools will have access to a turnkey package of curriculum, lessons, and Professional Development—everything needed to replicate this success¬—online.
The community stood with us again, shoulder to shoulder when the state threatened Merrick Education Center with possible closure, and when the children of migrant farm workers found the gates to their education center padlocked to fight for what was right and together we prevailed. We won these fights and therefore the children won.
2009-10 will usher in an ambitious agenda of new initiatives designed to prepare all our students for success. We will launch Cultural Passport to expose children across the district to an array of cultural opportunities in our community. Despite the fiscal challenges, art and music education was spared from cuts last year, and this year we’re expanding it, because a public education without the arts is not a complete education.
We will unveil the Edison Edu-Plex: a reinvention of Miami Edison Senior High and its feeder schools into a world-class educational campus. Edison High will be remade with four colleges, each with a global focus. Craig Robins and Dacra Development will redesign the physical environment, volunteering his company’s resources to the effort without remuneration. Lead by Provost Pablo Ortiz and staffed with a new faculty of top-notch professionals, including our first Artist-in Residence, Daniel Bottero, visiting professors from FIU and guest lecturers such as Philippe Cousteau, Jr. through a partnership with Discovery Learning; the educational experience at the Edu-Plex promises to exceptional.
These and other new programs such as Everybody Teaches, Beyond the Bell, and Eco-Sustainability will pave the way for the future of education in Miami-Dade. Yes the coming year is sure to be filled with promise. But just as surely as there will be opportunities, there will be challenges. We still face an uncertain economic landscape. Our District and State have been bolstered by the federal stimulus dollars, but these funds will sunset September 30, 2011. The loss of this funding, without a defined plan to replace it puts at risk nothing less than our capacity to continue to provide the quality education that every child has a right to. We need to challenge our leaders to identify sustainable funding solutions right now. Shame on those who can see the cliff but fail to build the bridge.
Every success we have achieved, and every achievement we will accomplish from here, has been and will be together. Let us not be distracted by the noise of politics, or allow ourselves to be sidetracked by demands, which if granted would lift only some, while leaving others behind or worse causing harm. What unites us is, and must remain stronger than what divides us. Let us stand strong together, knowing that with one unified voice directed at those in the seats of power, we will be heard and we will all benefit.
As we begin our journey this year we are committed to putting our students first in all we do; to treat them and each other with respect; and to work for the common good, and to do it, when necessary, in uncommon ways. Together, we hold the keys to a brighter tomorrow and to an exciting school year.