Residents can voice their opinions on high school with online survey
Published in The Islander News March 19, 2009
kjosephsen@islanderews.com
Key Biscayne residents have another means of providing their opinion about a charter high school - in this case, school proponents want to know what type of curriculum and educational model the community favors.
Charles Viscito, who is facilitating a Key Biscayne Charter High School Education Task Force that is researching curriculum and model, said the survey will help the group gain understanding about where the public feels on several key issues.
"The questions that we're asking all go toward curriculum," he noted, "and we tried to make it generic enough that the respondent could be a student or a parent, or a general person."
Residents can participate in the anonymous survey by visiting www.hs4kb.com. There is a link to the survey on the home-page.
Viscito said the survey will probably be available for several weeks in order to generate as many responses as possible. Then, the Task Force will consolidate the information and share it with interested residents at a pair of public forums later this spring.
After the public forums - one focused on curriculum and one on educational model - the Task Force will ultimately share its findings with the Village Council in hopes of helping local leaders make a decision about the charter high school initiative.
With that in mind, Viscito encouraged as many residents as possible to weigh in via the survey, and provided a preview of the information respondents will be asked to provide.
Parents and pre-college students are first asked about their goals for higher education - whether they hope to attend a top-25 university. a small or large American college or a foreign college.
Other respondents skip that question and go to the main body of the survey.
There, participants are asked to weigh in on what a Key Biscayne High School should offer.
First, the survey focuses on what type of curriculum theme or specialized academics the community would be most interested in. Options include business, technology, sciences and the arts; as well as the popular International Baccalaureate college-prep program.
From there, the survey asks about learning structure, as there has been a lot of discussion so far regarding project-based learning, where students are taught via individual hands-on projects; verses class-based learning, where students take typical courses like math, English, science, etc.
"We're trying to get some level of understanding on how significant is the interest in project-based learning," Viscito explained. "We're trying to understand where people feel they are with regard to a more traditional structure as opposed to project-based learning."
He noted a mixture of the two types of learning is also an option.
After looking into that issue, the survey moves onto exploring which elective programs are most desired. Choices include everything from the culinary arts to environmental studies to foreign languages; as well as club sports and performing arts.
Next up is a question about learning opportunities, where respondents weigh in on the so-called "added value" programs like Advanced Placement, IB, dual enrollment, etc.
From there, the survey strives to get a sense of how the public feels in general about two options: going to high school off the Key and attending a school in the Village.
Regarding schools outside Key Biscayne, respondents can weigh in on whether they think such schools and their classes will be too big, whether the commute will be overly time-consuming and dangerous, and whether they'll be exposed to security concerns and safety problems like teen sex and drug abuse. They're also asked whether students will learn in a diverse population.
Meanwhile, in regards to attending a school in Key Biscayne, participants are asked if the school should be limited to local kids or open to teens from off the island, whether they think the school will provide opportunities to go to any college a student selects and whether the school will be able to offer after-school partnerships within the Village.
Participants can also voice their opinion on the diversity and security/safety concerns in regards to an on-island high school.
Viscito said he hopes the pair of questions will help the Task Force compare how people feel about what he sees as a clear dichotomy: the desire to nurture teens close to home and the desire to expose young people to real-world diversity.
From there, the survey seeks some basic demographic information and offers an opportunity for general commentary.
Viscito said any and all information is appreciated, as the Task Force's overriding goal is to see what the public envisions as the ideal curriculum and educational model for Key Biscayne.
"That's what we're trying to key on at this point. We want to go through a process where we're getting the community's input," he said.
Meet the Education Task Force
A dozen residents are lending their experience and expertise to the Key Biscayne High School Education Task Force, which is studying what type of curriculum and educational model would be best for a potential municipal charter high school on the island.
The group typically meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at the Village's police/administration building, barring scheduling conflicts. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meetings, and are encouraged to cheek www.hs4kb.com to confirm times and dates.
Charles Viscito, a charter high school advocate who is facilitating the task force, said the group is currently researching various types of curriculum, educational models and value-added programs, like dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement classes.
The Task Force has also put a survey on www.hs4kb.com to get a sense of what type of education Key Biscayne residents would like to see a local high school provide.
He said he expects the group's findings to be relevant, as all of its twelve members bring some level of background in the education world. Task Force participants include: Stephanie Almirola; Carolina Burelli; Gretchen Clark, Ph.D.; Carlos Coto; Mariana Framinan, Ph.D.; Maria Paula Garces, M.B.A.: Jacqueline Keenan; Jacqueline Kleis Pasarell; Michelle Manjarrez, M.Ed.; Josefina Moran, M.A.; Maria Claudia Thorne; and Viscito.
Almirola is a product of the Miami-Dade Public School District. She attended Sunset Elementary and G.W. Carver Middle School, and graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School with an IB Diploma and the AP Scholar with Honors Award.
She is currently an honors student at the University of Miami.
Burelli has a bachelor of arts degree in education and languages from Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela.
She has 20 years experience as a private school elementary, middle and high school teacher. She spent the last 13 years in international schools in Caracas, with the last six in the IB program.
Clark holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan and a master's and bachelor's from Stanford University. She currently works for Black River Asset Management, a subsidiary of Cargill, and previously spent 12 years working on Wall Street.
Coto earned his bachelor of science degree from UM and also completed additional coursework in school administration and counseling. A past president of the Key Biscayne Elementary School PTA, he spent 25 years in the public schools teaching general science, chemistry and biology and six years as a guidance counselor before retiring.
Framinan holds a doctor of philosophy degree in physical oceanography from UM as well as her bachelor and master of science degrees in oceanography from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires. She boasts 20 years of experience in the world of oceanography.
Framinan is currently doing research in coastal oceanography, specializing, in the application of satellite image data, at UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
Garces earned her M.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University and has a bachelor's in industrial engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia She has four years of experience as a public school teacher, and 10 years of experience in sales and customer service and as a financial analyst.
Keenan holds a master of science in reading, education from Florida International University, as well as a bachelor's in elementary education from NU. She is a National Board Certified Professional Teacher in Early Education/Generalist, with 13 years experience with the Miami-Dade School District in multiple subjects.
Kleis Pasarell graduated Brown University with a bachelor of arts degree in French Civilization. She spent 25 years in the professional culinary business and is owner, executive chef and creator of three culinary business companies. She is an active member of the Brown Alumni Schools Committee, which is responsible for interviewing prospective students.
Manjarrez earned her master of science degree in education from UM, plus a bachelor of arts in special education from the Universidad de las Americas in Mexico City. She has 15 years of experience as an educator.
Moran holds a master of arts in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland as well as a bachelor of science in business and management from the University of Maryland.
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