Miami Expands Magnet Access

Kathleen McGrory:

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudy Crew rolled out a proposal Thursday to provide students throughout the county with greater access to specialty programs such as magnet schools, International Baccalaureate programs and K-8 Centers.

The proposed plan, dubbed the Equity & Access Plan, will create rigorous, specialized academic programs in areas that don't yet have them, Crew said. It would run for three years, beginning in 2008, and cost about $6 million.

''When you look at the map, what you'll essentially see is that the distribution [of programs] here has been at best, or possibly at worst, random,'' Crew said. ``This conversation was based largely on the need to change that map so you have more children having access to high-demand programs.''

Currently, most K-8 centers are clustered in the southern half of the county or near Aventura. Many urban neighborhoods, other than downtown Miami, do not have magnet programs nearby.

And the lone specialty school for math and science, the Maritime and Science Technology Academy, is tucked away on Key Biscayne.

Among Crew's recommendations:

• Develop 10 new International Baccalaureate programs, to join the 14 existing programs. Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior, Miami Carol City Senior, and Miami Beach Senior would be among the host schools.
• Open two new mathematics and science senior high school programs. One would be a senior high school for medical technologies at the former Homestead Hospital. The other would be in northwest Miami-Dade County.
• Develop six new magnet programs, four of which would be housed in schools in the southern part of the county.

While Crew said he is prepared to raise money to fund future projects, likely through federal and state grants, he said his initial goal was to take a strategic look at the placement of academic programs.

One of the three finalists for the Madison Superintendent position, Steve Gallon, hailed from Miami-Dade.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 8, 2008 7:20 AM
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