October 8, 2010

Wonderful News:

• The Council for Educational Change has received a two year grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to be used to develop a “curriculum” to assist principals assigned to schools with challenging student populations. Successful business and education leaders will be partnering with principals in 13 schools in Miami-Dade County to improve student achievement by bringing proven business strategies to school situations. Orientation sessions have already been held, and the strategic planning session will be held on Oct. 16th.

• The Carnegie Corporation of New York has made a one-time gift to the Council of $200,000 to fund, in part, a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Leadership Academy during the summer of 2011.  Further details will be forthcoming.

• Frank MacBride, Principal of Holmes Elementary School, was recognized by the Urban League of Miami as their 2010 Outstanding Principal of the Year. The ceremony was held at the annual meeting, where they also honored students and schools for their outstanding academic achievement.  Jeffrey Miller and Karen Fryd are the PASS© partners for the school.

• James H. Bright Elementary earned its third consecutive “A” for the 2009-2010 school year, and celebrated in grand style. In keeping with the school’s theme of “Staying On Track”, the welcome back for staff was held at the re-opening of Hialeah Race Track in their beautiful facility overlooking the lake and 100 pink flamingos. Principal Maritza Garcia discovered that the land where the track sits was donated to the City of Hialeah by none other than James H. Bright. The PASS Partner for the school is Eleonel Lorenzo from Waste Services, Inc.

• Jordan Zimmerman of Zimmerman Advertising is pictured here with members of the Student Government Association, welcoming him to Piper High School for a motivational speech to over 700 juniors and seniors.  Mr. Zimmerman opened with music from radio station Power 96. Also pictured is Piper’s Principal, Enid Valdez.

The deadline to apply for the Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award has been extended until October 13th.

October is National Principals Month – The Council extends a very special “Thank You” to all Principals for their meaningful and tireless efforts as they support their students, staff, and community.  We value your leadership, service, and commitment to student achievement.

PASS and Executive PASS© News:

The first Executive PASS Networking Breakfast of 2010 - 2011 will be held on Tuesday, October 26, at Sabadell United Bank, (30th Floor) 1111 Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami from 9:00 until 11:00. All Executive PASS participants are cordially invited.

New Executive PASS partnerships and participants include:
Seminole Elementary — Lourdes Lopez, Principal – Alex Hernandez, Sabadell United Bank N.A.
Doral Middle — Tatiana de Miranda, Principal – Eugenio Jaramillo, MCM.
Pine Villa Elementary — Renny L. Neyra, Principal – Daniel Alonso, John Hancock.
Leisure City K-8 Center — Dr. Kelli Hunter, Principal Brenda Hill-Riggins, MARS Contractors, Inc.
Broadmoor Elementary — Linda Klein, Principal – Robert Cheetham and Fred Morley, Hialeah-Miami Springs Rotary Club.
Citrus Grove Elementary — Sharon Johnson, Principal – Beth Czeskleba, Miami Today.
Brownsville Middle — Gregory Bethune, Principal - Beth Czeskleba, Miami Today.

On Sept.  13th, Brenda Hill-Riggins the CEO of MARS Contractors, Inc. presented Dr. Kelli Hunter, Principal of Leisure City K-8 Center in Homestead, Florida with a $1,138.00 donation to open  a school supply store for students.  Boots Richards from the Council for Educational Change happily facilitated the development of this new PASS Partnership.

This is the second year of participation in the Executive PASS program by BankAtlantic. Newly added schools:

1. Biscayne Gardens Elementary — Maria LaCavalla, Principal – Marianella Solis, partner.
2. Miami Central Senior — Rennina Turner, Principal – Julio Llanes, partner.
3. Westland-Hialeah Senior — Guillermo Munoz, Principal – Patricia Lefebvre, partner.
4. Coral Springs Senior — Susan Leon-Leigh, Principal –Valerie Toalson, partner.
5. Deerfield Beach Senior — Jon Marlow, Principal – Lewis Sarrica, partner.
6. Western Senior High — Scott Fiske, Principal – Gary Jenkins, partner.

On Sept. 14th, BankAtlantic sponsored an Open House at Deerfield Beach High School. Participants included Marcia Barry-Smith, Lewis Sarrica, members of the CRA Department, and the Deerfield branch. A prize of two tickets to Disney On Ice was presented to 10th grade student Peterson Eliezaire, by Monica Ribeiro, Deerfield Market Manager, and Pierre Glezil, Deerfield Team Leader. Also pictured is Principal Jon Marlow.