TRICOUNTY SUMMIT FOR SCHOOLS PLANNED
Miami Herald, The (FL) - Tuesday, January 18, 2000
Author: SUSAN FERRECHIO, sferrechio@herald.com
By most accounts, the Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County school systems have little in common.
But Broward School Board members want to meet with their neighbors to the north and south in a first attempt to formally exchange ideas and solutions to problems that are becoming increasingly common in schools - like overcrowding, low test scores and teacher shortages.
Broward County School Board Chairwoman Darla Carter and Superintendent Frank Till sent an invitation last week to the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county school boards requesting a March 14 meeting at Nova Southeastern University.
Carter and Till have proposed the two school boards bring along their superintendents and supporting staff.
``Perhaps some. . .issues can be resolved or alleviated by our joining forces,'' said Carter and Till in a joint letter to the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county school boards.
The meeting, according to the letter, would also include a discussion on ``mutual investment possibilities.''
All three districts have been struggling to boost student performance, alleviate overcrowding and hire enough qualified teachers.
The smallest of the three districts, the Palm Beach County school system, enrolls 149,000 students, compared with 240,000 students in Broward and 345,860 students in Miami-Dade.
In December, the Palm Beach School Board fired Superintendent Janet Kowal amid accusations that she mismanaged the system's costly special education and alternative education programs.
Miami-Dade has struggled less with its leadership but fared the poorest on student test scores, teacher recruitment and funding for new schools.
Out of 78 schools that recently earned failing grades under Gov. Jeb Bush's A+ Plan for education, a third are in the Miami-Dade system. The stigma of poor performance has made it difficult for the system to attract new teachers.
Seven schools each in Broward and Palm Counties received an ``F'' grade.
Broward schools, like those in Miami-Dade, are overcrowded and the overflow of students pile into portable trailers.
``Basically this is just a meeting of the minds,'' said Carter. ``The other school districts have had some of the same problems we have had.''
Miami-Dade School Board Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman said she had not yet received the invitation but is open to the idea.
``To exchange different thoughts and ideas with different people is always beneficial,'' she said.
But Broward School Board members want to meet with their neighbors to the north and south in a first attempt to formally exchange ideas and solutions to problems that are becoming increasingly common in schools - like overcrowding, low test scores and teacher shortages.
Broward County School Board Chairwoman Darla Carter and Superintendent Frank Till sent an invitation last week to the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county school boards requesting a March 14 meeting at Nova Southeastern University.
Carter and Till have proposed the two school boards bring along their superintendents and supporting staff.
``Perhaps some. . .issues can be resolved or alleviated by our joining forces,'' said Carter and Till in a joint letter to the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county school boards.
The meeting, according to the letter, would also include a discussion on ``mutual investment possibilities.''
All three districts have been struggling to boost student performance, alleviate overcrowding and hire enough qualified teachers.
The smallest of the three districts, the Palm Beach County school system, enrolls 149,000 students, compared with 240,000 students in Broward and 345,860 students in Miami-Dade.
In December, the Palm Beach School Board fired Superintendent Janet Kowal amid accusations that she mismanaged the system's costly special education and alternative education programs.
Miami-Dade has struggled less with its leadership but fared the poorest on student test scores, teacher recruitment and funding for new schools.
Out of 78 schools that recently earned failing grades under Gov. Jeb Bush's A+ Plan for education, a third are in the Miami-Dade system. The stigma of poor performance has made it difficult for the system to attract new teachers.
Seven schools each in Broward and Palm Counties received an ``F'' grade.
Broward schools, like those in Miami-Dade, are overcrowded and the overflow of students pile into portable trailers.
``Basically this is just a meeting of the minds,'' said Carter. ``The other school districts have had some of the same problems we have had.''
Miami-Dade School Board Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman said she had not yet received the invitation but is open to the idea.
``To exchange different thoughts and ideas with different people is always beneficial,'' she said.
Caption: photo: Darla Carter (a)
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