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Wed., Aug. 17, 2005 MIAMI-DADE LEADERS BACK SECONDARY SCHOOL REFORM PLAN MIAMI – Several prominent political and corporate leaders praised and endorsed the school district’s plan for secondary school reform at today’s School Board meeting. The reform encompasses a framework to redesign Miami-Dade’s middle and high schools to raise the rigor of the curriculum and to allow students to apply their learning to their career interests. According to City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, “Nothing else works unless we do a good job in our schools… I strongly support this effort.” “These are great opportunities for the students and the business partners to interact, and for the students to get a taste of what the business world is like” said Scott Byrd, Vice-President of Mellon United Bank. Humberto Laguna, a former Miami Jackson Senior High School student who participated in an internship at Smith-Barney and is now employed by them, cited his mentor, Dalia Gutierrez, a control administrator with the company. “She taught me almost everything that any student could imagine at a college level or at a high school level,” he said. “The proposed approach will benefit the business community and Miami-Dade overall, as skilled and career-focused students are vital to this economy,” said Maria Alonso, Senior Vice-President at Bank of America and Chair of the Education Committee for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The reform initiative won important support in July after the U.S. Department of Education presented Miami-Dade County Public Schools with an $11 million grant. Those federal funds will be used to create small “academies” at 10 large high schools. The programs will help 9th graders make the transition to high school and will group the older students into career-themed schools within a school to provide them more individualized attention and applied learning opportunities; every senior will have the opportunity for an internship or a dual enrollment experience in college. ### 05-LJG/036/JAA |
