FIVE M-DCPS SCHOOL LEADERS AMONG FLORIDA’S ELITE PRINCIPALS

The Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance & Accountability and the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University announced today that five Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) principals are among the top six principals in Florida’s high-risk schools. The principals are being honored as recipients of the inaugural Florida TaxWatch Elite Principals Award. The principals were selected based on analysis of student achievement gains in reading and mathematics at high-risk schools.

The five M-DCPS school leaders who served as principals during the analysis period include: Tangela Goa, Van E. Blanton Elementary School; Dr. Linda Amica-Roberts, Coconut Palm K-8 Academy; Anna Hernandez, M.A. Milam K-8 Center; Guillermo Muñoz, Westland Hialeah Senior High School, and Dr. Verena Cabrera, Hialeah Senior High School. Three of the schools have new principals this year: Dr. Carmen Jones-Carey, Coconut Palm K-8 Academy; Giovanna M. Blanco, Westland Hialeah Senior High School, and Heriberto Sanchez, Hialeah Senior High School.
 
“I am incredibly proud to share that five of this year’s most effective principals come from the Miami-Dade school district,” said Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent. “Many of our district’s principals are faced with difficult challenges, but no matter how unlikely success may seem, they consistently strive for student success. It is an honor for our entire district to see their hard work rewarded.”

To be eligible for the Elite Principals Award, candidates must have been at their schools for a minimum of three years to ensure their policies were impactful. Department of Education data was analyzed to determine the winning principals. The principals will be incorporated into a five-year longitudinal study performed by the Learning Systems Institute to identify a principal’s role in recruiting, retaining and developing outstanding teachers. The Elite Principals Award is the only Florida honor given to those who exceed expectations in learning gains for at-risk students in high-risk schools.  

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