As we work toward becoming a global hub for opportunity, Miami needs to double down on its education system.\u00a0 Education attainment has a direct correlation with employment rates and the quality of our schools is a core factor for developing, attracting and retaining quality talent in our city.\u00a0 Thankfully, Miami refuses to allow the typical \u201cbarriers\u201d to lower our collective expectations of our students.\u00a0\u00a0 High levels of poverty, high volume of students transitioning in and out of schools and a high number of second language learners would typically translate into lowered expectations and, consequently, low results. Yet Miami boasts some of the most impressive progress in the nation.<\/p>\n
We are the winners of the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education for narrowing our achievement gap faster than the rest of the country.\u00a0 We lead the nation in student participation and performance on AP exams. \u00a0We are home to the national<\/em>Superintendent of the Year.\u00a0 Our city passed a $1.2 billion bond to modernize and advance the technology of our schools.\u00a0 Our State Board of Education just recommended significant increase to the educational budget, including the highest amount of per-pupil funding in Florida\u2019s history.\u00a0 We have come a long way, and it\u2019s time for our reputation to catch up with our performance.<\/p>\n But instead of breaking out the champagne glasses, we must remain focused on constant and rapid improvement.\u00a0 Income levels still largely dictate the access children have to an excellent education. And although school grades have risen dramatically, reading proficiency rates for low-income students remain unacceptably low. As our graduation rates rise, our local colleges are still sharing the feedback that students arrive unready. \u00a0We must hear this feedback and continue to pour resources and strategies into improvements where they are needed most.<\/p>\n With the adoption of a new set of Florida Standards that are more rigorous and rich than ever before and new assessments to match our new bar of excellence, educators and students face new challenges and opportunities this year. The stakes are high as school grades motivate our school communities, and student performance is factored into teacher evaluations and compensation.\u00a0\u00a0 As our teachers and students stretch to reach the new bar, we must stand beside them as partners, leveraging data as a tool for improvement and not as a weapon for critique.<\/p>\n