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Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida, and the Greater Miami Area. It is the largest school district in Florida and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 414,128 (as of February 15, 2006). The district is also the largest minority public school system in the country, with * 60% of its students being of Hispanic origin, 28% African American, and less than 3% non-white of other minorities. M-DCPS is also one of a few public school districts in the United States to offer optional bilingual education.

History

Beginnings

The first meeting of school board, known then simply as the Dade County school board, took place in June of 1885, eight years before the city of Miami was created. At the time of this first school board meeting, Dade County encompassed nearly the entire southern part of Florida, from Lake Okeechobee south towards the Florida Keys; its population was reported as being only 400, however, this number probably did not include its native populations.

The county's first school opened in the Fall of 1885 in the town of Lake Worth, Florida, located in what is now Palm Beach County. A year or two later, the first public school within Dade County's current boundaries opened in a palmetto-thatched log house near Dinner Key in Coconut Grove. The school's student enrollment on the first day was only ten.

In 1893 the unincorporated hamlet of Miami was created, and with it came its second school, segregated as per Jim Crow Laws for its black population. The school was also located in present-day Coconut Grove. Between 1885 and the arrival of the railroad in 1896, the school board created and ran a total of fifteen different schools around Southern Florida.

1900s - 1930s

The turn of the century launched Miami and its school system into decades of growth. By 1924, the county lines had shifted with the creation of Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, and Hendry counties. Despite losing jurisdiction over many of its schools in just twenty years, the school system still boasted thirty-three separate schools and a student population of nearly 5,000.

Following the 1926 Miami Hurricane, many schools were destroyed. The hurricane ended the 1920s land boom in Miami, and ushered in the great depression to the area long before the actual market crash occurred in 1929. The crash forced many more schools not destroyed by the hurricane to be closed. Beginning in 1930 the school board faced its first overcrowding and funding problems.

In 1939, the original Booker T. Washington Senior High School building opened in what is now the Overtown district. It was the only secondary black high school at the time in South Florida, having students from as far as Broward and Palm Beach counties attending the facilities.

1940s-1970s

World War II brought another population boom for Miami. Between 1945 and 1975, sixteen high schools, thirty middle schools, and forty-five grade schools were opened. Miami Senior High, the school district's first secondary school, received a new, larger campus, and Miami Edison Senior High School, the district's second all black secondary school, was expanded.

On the morning of September 7 1959, twenty-five African-American students stepped onto the grounds of Orchard Villa Elementary and Air Base Elementary schools officially ending segregation within the school system. By the end of the academic year, nearly half the schools in the county had been desegregated when parents were given the option of enrolling their children in any school in the district, providing the child would have the proper transportation. Despite this law, many schools in Dade County did not become fully integrated until the late 1960s.

In 1975, school boundaries were created, forcing students to attend the schools located within their area. This law allowed for any student to attend the school located closest to them, regardless of race or ethnicity.

1980s - 2000s

Beginning in 1962, Dade County schools began to receive its first influx of Hispanic students, mainly from Cuba. This event was very significant in shaping the school system to what it is today. Throughout the 1980s, the school district received merits for expertly assimilating wave after wave of new immigrants, particularly children from Nicaragua and Haiti, and from Cuba's Mariel Boatlift. It was also highly regarded for its handling in displacing students after the 1982 Miami riot, in which 14 schools were badly damaged due to fire and vandalism.

Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Dade County was also commended for its quick action at rebuilding and reopening schools. Most schools had reopened within two weeks of the storm, and students that attended schools that had been completely destroyed were quickly displaced with free and efficient bus transportation. The district also used funding from the disaster to redo its entire curriculum, adding music education to elementary schools, and foreign language programs to middle schools. It also opened its first fully funded magnet schools such as Coral Reef High School and Southwood Middle School which do not take in students from surrounding areas, but rather from all over the county based on school performance. The district also re-opened Coral Way Elementary as its first bilingual school, which teaches its curriculum in both English and Spanish.

In 1996, the school board revamped itself under pressure to boost minority representation, expanding from seven to nine members, all elected for the first time from single member districts. Due to this, the number of black members doubled, and the number of Hispanic members quadrupled. The school board also began a new program to create K-8 Centers as a way of relieving overcrowding in middle schools.

In 1997 Dade County formally changed its name to Miami-Dade County, and the school board subsequently changed its name as well.

Overcrowding and corruption

School populations had flourished throughout most of the 1960s and 70s, but in the late 70s, a teacher walk-out forced a sudden drop in school population; ending rampant overcrowding, and forcing the closing of 11 schools. The sudden drop didn't last very long, as students that had left the school system for private schools began to return by the mid 1980s.

Beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, school population became a problem yet again, with schools such as G. Holmes Braddock High School, Barbara Goleman High School, and Miami Springs High School reaching student populations of over 4,500. The sudden influx in student population has forced the school system to build and open nearly 40 new schools in newly incorporated areas - an ongoing project today. Controversy arose in 1998 when the school board voted to name one of the new high schools, Dr. Michael Krop High School, for sitting school board member Michael Krop.

In the early 2000s, much corruption amongst school board members, school principals, and teachers was discovered. In 2003, the head of the district's teacher's union was arrested for having embezzled union funds, and that same year many teachers were discovered to have been on the state's sexual predator list. Problems regarding school safety began to surface when a sudden spike in urban and gang-related shootings occurred. More problems continued in 2004 when 45 schools were found to contain mold and asbestos in the walls. The problem was so harsh at some schools, that it forced the closing of two elementary schools for an entire school year, and another six schools were partially closed while crews cleaned up and replaced insulation in walls and roofs.

During a statewide drought in 2001, several schools were infested by rodents that had gone to the school campuses in search of water. The school district was forced to spend district funds in order to clean up schools that had been left littered with dead rodents after fumigation took place at 29 of the 31 current high schools, and up to 150 other schools during spring break 2002.

In 2005 it was discovered that hundreds of teachers working in Miami-Dade County had acquired false degrees from a Californian school that did not exist. The state education board was forced to step in, and new measures for hiring teachers were implemented statewide.

Beginning in the Fall of 2005, the school year was started three weeks earlier in order to synchronize the school district with the rest of the state. Until this point, Miami-Dade County Schools was the only district whose students began school the last week of August rather than the first. This measure was also implemented to allow schools more time to ready themselves for the state's rigorous FCAT exam.

In accordance with measures set forth by the State, schools that were graded as a D or F on the FCAT the previous academic year were put on an academic probation by the school board, giving the administration three years to bring the school's grade up to a C or higher before taking drastic measures, such as firing all teachers and administrators or removing funding for extra-curricular activities. As a result of the new grade requirements, one school was forced to shut down in the Fall of 2005 due to its extremely low FCAT results. However, it is speculated that this was done as a warning to other schools.

District enrollment breakdown

(as of February 15, 2006)

  • Active Students: 353,039
  • Pre-K Students: 6,444
  • Part-Time Students: 801
  • Current Adult/Vocational Students: 43,053
  • Co-Enrolled High School: 11,191

School Board members

  • Superintendent: Rudolph F. Crew, Ed.D

  • Mr. Frank J. Bolaños (Chairman) - District 5
  • Dr. Robert B. Ingram (Vice Chairman) - District 1
  • Dr. Solomon C. Stinson - District 2
  • Dr. Martin Karp - District 3
  • Ms. Perla Tabares Hantman - District 4
  • Mr. Agustin J. Barrera - District 6
  • Ms. Ana Rivas Logan - District 7
  • Dr. Marta Pérez - District 8
  • Ms. Evelyn Langlieb Greer - District 9

Schools

The district covers a total of 392 institutions, including:

Elementary schools

There are 195 elementary schools at M-DCPS that normally run from Pre-K to 5th or 6th grade.

Middle schools

There are 54 middle schools serving the M-DCPS that run from grades 6-8 with noted exceptions.

K-8 Centers

There are ten Kindergarden-to-8th grade (K-8) Centers that are generally setup to serve communities with limited building space for two separate campuses. They are run as both an elementary and middle school out of the same campus with joint administration, staff, and schedules. Middle school-aged students generally have separate buildings dedicated to them.

High schools

There are 31 high schools serving the M-DCPS that run from grades 9-12.

Magnet high schools

There are eight (8) Magnet High Schools at M-DCPS that run from grade 9-12, but do not take in students from their area. Instead, students must apply and test into these schools which offer a specific course of study.

Adult/Vocational Centers

There are 23 Adult/Vocational Centers, more commonly referred to as night schools that are set up for adults to earn their G.E.D, or for students older than the age of 16 to make-up classes they have failed and have no slots for in their daytime schedules. Some night schools also offer vocational programs and free English classes for non-native speakers. They are generally housed at high school campuses with classes taking place in the evening hours.

Charter schools

There are 50 charter schools that are set up as publically funded, but are privately operated. Students that attend charter schools must pass an examination before being considered for a spot at the school. Students must also maintain specific grades and behavioral standards to maintain their spots at the school.

Alternative schools

Alternative schools are set up for as a last resort for students that constantly have behavioral or extreme academic problems. Also, any child released from juvenile hall must attend an alternative school until he or she is deemed ready to return to their area school. There are 16 schools which serves the district.

Specialized Centers

Specialized Centers are set-up for students that have extreme mental or learning disabilities which would impair them from attending classes with students that do not have such disabilities. It is becoming more and more common for regular schools to set-up their own specialized education (Special Ed) programs. There are five centers serving the district.

See also

External links

School districts in Florida | Miami-Dade County, Florida | Miami-Dade County Public Schools

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Miami-Dade County Public Schools".

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