Conflict when deciding: Public, Magnet, or Charter School.

By Dominique Barba.  

Like we have repeatedly stated, education is a right. It is a duty of parents to choose which is the best option for their kids, they must choose between the multiple options offered by the school board. Keeping in mind that none of these schools qualify as private, we take the time to paint the panorama with additional information with the goal of helping you in your decision.

Traditional Public School: Administered 100% by the government through the school district. Aside from basic programs, public schools offer (varying by school) special programs such as AP, Honors, IB, Cambridge, etc. Each school has a predetermined radius of locations that determine automatic acceptance once all pre requisites are completed. (With the exception of over populated schools).

 Magnet School: Far from traditional schools created to offer a curriculum tailor made for the each child’s individual interests, be it arts, sciences, technology, languages, etc. The goal is to attract students from different areas to obtain diversity and seek an integral education in a specific topic. It is vital for students to know their attributes and interests when choosing. Admission into one of these schools consists of meeting several pre requisites including academics, experience, portfolio, etc. It is only mandatory to live within the school district, not the school. Selection is done by lottery.

Charter Schools: Administration is shared between the government and a private firm. The differences in requisites in respect with the public system are explained in chart 1. Location is not a requisite for these schools; they have the right to choose their students, whether by lottery or specific selection. They comply with the public school regulations but not 100% as they have their own set of rules. They generally do not have special needs educations on their staff and are not forced to accept any given student.

Important Information:

• Magnet school applications are due on January 15, 2012
• For 2011-2012, 18 new magnet schools were created in Miami Dade County.
• The majority of magnet schools are high schools, but there are some middle and elementary schools. For information visit www.MIAMIMAGNETS.org
• 4 Miami Dade County High Schools were selected in the top US schools according to U.S News & World Report. The magazine recently published its annual list of high schools across different categories, including gold medal schools, top magnet schools, and top charter schools. On the list of America’s Best High Schools:
  • Coral Reef Senior High
  • Design & Architecture High School (DASH)
  • Maritime & Science Technology Academy (MAST)
  • The New World School of Arts

  • Comparisons	Miami-Dade County Public Schools	Charter Schools
    Principal Training/Certification	Principal must be FLDOE Certified / extensive training	No training, educational background or Educational Leadership certification required
    Teacher Training/Certification	Teachers Certified by FLDOE	Teachers Certified by FLDOE
    Facilities	Facilities – Built to State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF)	Compliance with Florida Building Code & Fire Prevention Laws
    Union Contracts Teacher/Staff Salaries	Must follow Union Contracts Teacher Salary schedule followed	Union organizations are rare Develops salary schedule
    Budget	Central Office directed and monitored	Oversight of budget(governing Board) & School Based Budgeting

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    School Choice & Parental Options is pleased to introduce Miami’s Newest Magnets:

    Arthur & Polly Mays 6-12 Conservatory of the Arts ?Phone: 305.233.2300

    Booker T. Washington Senior High – Academy of Engineering ?Phone: 305.324.8900

    C.O.A.S.T. at Centennial 6-12 ?Phone: 305.235.1581

    Cutler Ridge Middle – Criminal Justice & Forensic Science Academy?Phone: 305.235.4761

    Hammocks Middle – Hammocks Academy of Legal Studies (HALS)?Phone: 305.385.0896

    Homestead Senior High – Practical Nursing Magnet Academy?Phone: 305.245.7000

    Howard D. McMillan Middle – Cambridge Robotics Engineering & Technology Education (CREATE)?Phone: 305.385.6877

    iPrep Academy @ Felix Varela Senior High ?Phone: 305.752.7900 x 5320

    iPrep Academy @ Miami Killian Senior High ?Phone: 305.271.3311

    iPrep Academy @ North Miami Beach Senior High  Phone: 305.949.8381

    José Martí Mathematics & Science Technology 6-12 Academy Phone: 305.557.5931

    Miami Central Senior High – Engineering & Robotics ?Phone: 305.634.2621

    Miami Jackson Senior High – Architecture / Digital Design Phone: 305.634.2621

    Miami Norland Senior High – Bio-tech & Forensic Science? Phone: 305.634.2621

    Miami Southridge Senior High – Criminal Justice Academy & Scholar’s Academy ?Phone: 305.238.6110

    Riviera Middle – Science Technology and Investigative Research (STIR)?Phone: 305.226.4286

    W. R. Thomas Middle – Cambridge Academy Phone: 305.995.3800