Dade County Schools Experiment : Teachers Talk and Miami Listens

When school administrators sit up and pay attention to what teachers have to say, students learn better.

That’s the theory behind a pilot program in Dade County that has educators across the country taking notes.

“We people on the front lines--and we really are on the front lines--have a real contribution to make,” said Linda Lentin, a first-grade teacher at North Miami Elementary with 30 years experience as a classroom instructor. She is Dade County’s teacher of the year.

School-based management and shared decision-making are the cornerstones of changes being tested by the Dade County School Board and United Teachers of Dade The Miami-area school district is the fourth-largest in the country, with enrollment of 255,000 in 260 schools.

The program also will try involving inner-city schools in community organizations, Saturday classes and operating a kindergarten at an insurance company.

Teachers Submitted Plans

The decision to give schools more say in their own management, through teacher committees, is the most fundamental of the reforms, but all have the enthusiastic support of the teachers’ union.

Last spring, 53 schools designed programs detailing how they would make decisions usually handed down from a central or regional office concerning such things as budget, curriculum and schedules.

Eighteen elementary schools, 10 middle or junior high schools, four high schools and one adult-education center were chosen to participate in the 4-year program that began this school year.

“The people that are the closest to making the decisions as to what needs to be done to educate the kids--we’re talking about the teachers--are actively involved in that process,” said Elliott Berman, principal of Southwood Junior High.

The concept of teachers’ committees participating is revolutionary, said Pat Tornillo, executive vice president of the teachers’ union.

Pioneers of Reform

It has put Dade County on the cutting edge of educational reform, said Joseph A. Fernandez, superintendent of schools.

“People across the country are looking on in amazement,” Berman said recently, just before he left for Acapulco with three other Dade County educators to discuss what’s happening here.

Dade officials have been invited to cities across the United States to explain the program, and interest has been expressed from as far away as Japan, said Lynn Shenkman of the Dade school district. Educators from elsewhere also come to Dade to see the innovations, she said.

“We have a lot of people that come in and marvel,” said Larry Feldman, principal of Palmetto Elementary School.

Feldman said that since the program began, enrollment at Palmetto has jumped from 360 to 480, the school’s volunteer staff has grown and businesses are proposing school projects.

Palmetto, which was 25th in attendance among 178 elementary schools, moved up to first place, with a 97.4% average daily attendance record.

Berlitz Instructors

Because parents had complained about that school’s Spanish program, the teacher committees proposed hiring instructors from the Berlitz language school. That was one of the most widely publicized changes. The teachers also decided that it would be better to spend money on classroom aides than to hire a part-time assistant principal.

The most important change so far, members of a five-person steering committee agreed, is a scheduling innovation they call “flip-flopping.” Classes are grouped into thirds twice a day. One group might go to music class and another to the library. The classroom teacher then can help the remaining third work on basic skills.

“We’re able to really work with them and give them the individual help they need,” said Bobbie Z. Davis, a fourth-grade teacher on the steering committee.

“When we’re flip-flopping, we don’t have discipline problems,” said Mercedes Hunter, the school’s union steward who chairs the steering committee and teaches third grade.

Carole Wiener, chairwoman of the school’s scheduling and curriculum committee, praises the flip-flop for another reason: It enables her to teach “Social Studies Through Art,” a special course she developed under school-based management.

Changes Vary Widely

The changes initiated by teachers have varied widely from school to school.

At Lentin’s school, a common dismissal time was adopted for all grades for the security of younger children who previously had to wait for older brothers or sisters to get out of school.

In Berman’s school, teachers outlined major objectives for the school year, such as closing the minority achievement gap, infusing critical thinking throughout the curriculum, increasing teacher expectations, encouraging handicapped students to stay in school and improving scores on standardized tests.

In Bunche Park Elementary School, Opa Locka, mildly handicapped students now have a housekeeping lab where they can learn how to take care of themselves, and elaborate report cards come out every six weeks instead of every nine weeks.

Teachers Hire Teachers

Charles Hadley Elementary in western Dade County came up with a new way of hiring good teachers: Let the faculty do the hiring.

“Our current teachers interview prospective teachers,” said Hadley Principal Menia Stone. “Oooh, they’re tough! They ask questions I wouldn’t dare ask.”

Six new teachers have been hired so far, and Stone has not gone against her teachers’ recommendations once.

Hadley is also offering sixth-graders two elective courses. On Friday afternoons, students can take drama, advanced computers, video productions, geography and other courses not usually offered.

“School-based management is the kind of program teachers have dreamed about for years,” said Merri Mann, a professional issues specialist with the teachers’ union.