The kids in the third-grade class we observed at Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary go to an A-rated school, a Montessori magnet school, which has room for more students, and now a group of CEOs says that’s a marketing issue.
“So this is our down payment on the future of Miami-Dade County’s public education system,” said Raul Moas, president of the Partnership for Miami.
It’s a group made up of 23 CEOs. The Partnership is paying for six A-rated schools to promote their product to families.
“We chose these six schools because when you look at English, language arts and reading proficiency and mathematics proficiency, these schools consistently perform really strongly,” Moas explained.
The six schools are Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary, Snapper Creek Elementary, Zora Neale Hurston Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary, Crestview Elementary, and Southwood Middle School.
They have a first-rate music education program at Southwood, led by the district’s current teacher of the year. The superintendent told us, like all the schools on the list, Southwood has something unique to promote.
“Sometimes we think that schools are all the same, no they’re not, every community is different, every school is different, every school wants to promote a certain element of what they do very, very well or specialized programs,” said Dr. Jose Dotres, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
“Each of these six schools is able to engage a marketing firm that specializes in enrollment marketing for education, for schools,” Moas said.
With the proliferation of charter schools plus vouchers for private schools, enrollment in Miami-Dade’s public schools has dropped from 364,000 in 2003 to 241,000 this school year. Dotres says informing the public about the district’s magnet and choice programs is crucial.
“So we’re doing a lot to create awareness of the incredible value and relevance that our public schools have in Miami,” the superintendent said.
Dotres is a strong supporter of the Partnership’s initiative. In the process, he says, principals and the district as a whole are learning the marketing skills needed to break through the noise and inform the public about the opportunities available for students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
