November 2008 Update

Nov. 7, 2008

Entertainment artist and educational advocate Gloria Estefan will be the special guest speaker at the Council’s 6th Annual Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award Event. Principals Douglas Rodriguez (Miami-Dade), Terry Strong (Polk), and Dr. Rosann Sidener (Miami-Dade) are the three finalists and Gold Medallion Award winners.  One of these finalists will become the Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award winner at a special event on Nov. 19th. More information follows in this UPDATE.

The Council will hold its Annual Board Meeting on Nov. 19th on Star Island, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and preceding the Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award Event.  The meeting will review progress towards the Council’s mission and plans for 2009.

On Nov. 13, Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson has invited and is hosting a meeting to match Principals and business leaders and initiate the Council Executive PASS© model at all schools in her municipality.  The Executive PASS model is designed to hone leadership skills and increase student achievement.  Council President and Executive Director Dr. Elaine Liftin, Executive PASS Coordinators Boots Richards and Dr. Gail Quigley, and PASS Coordinator Dr. Pat Dixon, will attend.  There are more than 40 Executive PASS models in Miami-Dade, Orange and Hillsborough Counties.  In Miami-Dade, Executive PASS is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the South Florida Youth Foundation and the Florida Legislature.

Many of the Council’s Executive PASS business leaders participated in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Principal for a Day  on Oct. 21.  Area business leaders are invited to schools to “walk in the shoes” of the Principal in the morning and then share reflections at an event following, hosted by the Merrill Lynch Foundation. Council for Educational Change leadership, including Council Co-Chair Jeffrey Miller and Dr. Elaine Liftin also participated.  Mr. Miller addressed the group of more than 300, sharing  information about PASS© and Executive PASS.  He is a PASS CEO at Holmes and Hialeah Elementary schools.

Executive PASS business leader Pedro Munilla of MCM Corp. donated $10,000 to the South Miami Middle Community School Center for the Arts for an auditorium renovation project, including upgraded sound and lighting systems.  Mr. Munilla partners with Principal Dr. Lisa Robertson in Executive PASS.  He is helping to raise $125,000 for the project through contributions.

Thank you to Council partner Akerman Senterfitt for hosting an Executive PASS networking breakfast for some 30 attendees on Oct. 10th in Miami.  Akerman Senterfitt  President Robert Zinn is a Council Board Member and member of the Council’s Lawyers Circle—a group of leading attorneys and legal firms who support the Council’s educational improvement programs/activities. 

The Council welcomes Lynn Roberts, new Principal at USF/Patel Partnership school, to the Council’s PASS partnership family.  The USF/Patel Partnership school in Hillsborough is supported by Drs. Kiran & Pallavi Patel. Council Vice Chair Gene Marshall serves as the CEO PASS mentor for the partnership.  Mr. Marshall has been instrumental in spreading PASS in Hillsborough.  Mr. Marshall and Ms. Roberts have already started meeting and discussing PASS focus areas and activities for the coming months.
 
The Accelerated School Administrator Program© (ASAP), developed by the Council for Educational Change in partnership with Etraffic Solutions, has renewed their agreement with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).  NAESP praised the high quality and cost-effectiveness of the online ASAP which develops aspiring Principals.  ASAP modules are available at the NAESP website.  The FLDOE has licensed ASAP to provide Florida educators free access to this valuable tool.

Etraffic Solutions and its CEO, Wayne Poncia, were featured in a major article distributed in prestigious Canadian news outlets.  The Canada-based firm is the Council’s education technology partner.  Some recent joint projects which benefit Florida include: Teacher Essentials-- online instructional development for teachers;  StudyBUZZ--FCAT aligned Science homework help for students; and School WAX & SchoolWAXTV-- free websites with information and resources for students that support academic success, and knowledge exploration.  More information about Etraffic’s programs can be found at: www.etrafficsolutions.com.

A complete, printable version of the Update is available for download below.