I Did It My Way

And now the end is near

And so I face the final curtain.

My friend I’ll say it clear

I’ll state my case of which I’m certain.

I’ve lived a life that’s full

I traveled each and every highway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way.

Frank Sinatra-“My Way”

Greetings folks! I come to you with mixed emotions as I pen this post. I come to with a heavy heart filled with sadness and joy, pain and pride, tears and laughter. I write this to say that I’m moving on.

In the Spring of 2010 I decided to relocate back to South Florida to take a post as the Lead Teacher and Director for the Center for Legal and Public Affairs Magnet at Miami Carol City Senior High School, my alma matter. I made this decision in part because of my desire and need to be close to my family during a time when they needed me most and because the program was in need of new leadership.  While this was never a career move I saw myself making at the outset of my career, it was the perfect opportunity at the perfect time.

I loosely chronicled this adventure through my blog posts over the past two years but these posts only tell a fraction of the story. My friends, family and former co-workers truly know the pain, anguish, trials and tribulations I experienced at the outset of being a fresh face in an old place and trying to inspire, teach and lead. There were some challenges. Replacing the outgoing director, no matter how well liked or unliked this person may have been, is always a challenge.

The beginning was tenuous, stressful and quite frankly rough. The first few months I worked from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. faithfully. On Fridays I would reward myself and leave no later than 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. Over time the hours didn’t shorten much.

When I took over the program it was on the verge of being cut. The program had taken in very few applications, there was no excitement or fervor surrounding the program from the surrounding community, faculty, or staff and it was relatively unknown even amongst people who worked there. I’m reminded of a visit one of the magnet liaisons made to the school to monitor my progress. When she got to the office and asked for the magnet lead teacher, many of the front office staff were unaware of both my presence and my program. The liaison, Ms. Davis, a person I count as a friend and mentor to this day, quickly informed me of what my first point of action was. It was to buy the front office staff doughnuts so that they would know my name. From that day forward I stopped by the front office every morning, whether I needed to or not, to say “hello”, smile and inquire about what was new. This informed them of who I was, what I looked like and that I cared.

Over the next two years myself, the faculty, staff, administration, and most importantly the students, would venture down the path of improving our magnet program.

The Situation/The Plan

When I came on board in August 2010 the program was given a decree to “get right or get left.” In response to this, we decided to undertake a very aggressive and targeted recruitment campaign to: 1. Get our overall enrollment numbers up; and 2. Get the right type of students to ensure the success of this program and help raise the school’s grade; and 3. Get the good news out about Miami Carol City.

Grisham Book Project

Last year, our magnet program was selected by Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Schools of Choice/I Choose Program to take part in a wonderful and innovative project. The project featured John Grisham’s book “Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer.” A team of some of our best faculty and I took the book and implemented it into the English/Language Arts curriculum in conjunction with the magnet curriculum.

On February 1, 2011 we conducted a mock trial based on the book. The facts were supplied by the students who read the book, the jurors were selected from another class, and the attorneys for the case, coached by myself and a friend of mine in private practice, Attorney Adres Jackson, were students in the magnet. Attorney Scott Mager, a well respected attorney and motivational speaker, served as our judge for the trial. The trial was professionally filmed and broadcasted on the company’s website. The trial was a success and something the students and I both looked forwarding to doing again.

41^st Annual Legislative Conference

On September 23-25, 2011, I was fortunate to be able to take students from the Miami Gardens Junior Council to attend the 41st Annual Legislative Council in Washington, D.C. The Junior Council is comprised of students from Miami Norland Senior High and Miami Carol City Senior High. Many of the students in Junior Council are members of the law magnet.

On Friday 9/23/11 the students attended a session entitled “The High School Class of 2012” hosted by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. The Mayor and Vice-Mayor of the Junior Council were both participants on this panel, which moderated by Rev. Al Sharpton. The discussion centered on the state of education and what awaits the high school graduating class of 2012.

The students had the wonderful opportunity to attend a reception in honor of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek and see a few of the sights the nation’s capital has to offer. The students were given an in-depth tour of the U.S. Capitol and met Rep John Lewis (D-GA) and Democratic Party Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL).

Class of 2012 Top 50

The law magnet makes up less than 10% of school’s total population and 28% of Top 50. Fourteen of the top 50 students in the graduating class of 2012 were in the magnet.

The Word is Out!

We had visits from the Mayor of the City of Miami Gardens, the Superintendent of Schools, and many key members of his staff. Additionally we’ve been featured three times in major publications during my tenure. Once in the Miami New Times, and twice in the Miami Herald (Miami Herald, Neighbors Section-“From Courtroom to Classroom” January 1, 2012; Miami Herald, Local & State Section- “Learning from Trayvon” April 3, 2012).

Applications Increase

In 2009 the magnet received just 84 applications. In 2010 applications doubled to 165. In 2011, we received 225 applications (online only). Add the more than 50 paper applications we took in 2011 as well and we surpassed the combined 2009 and 2010 numbers. At the end of the 2011-2012 school year applications were still filing in, due to the fact that we had not yet met our seat maximum. At the conclusion of the school year we had surpassed last year’s application total.  

Silver Knights

The Silver Knight is one of the most prestigious academic/service awards awarded in Miami-Dade and Broward County. It is an award that honors not only academic achievements but contributions to the community as well. In 2012, 5 of the 8 nominees and both Honorable Mentions were members of the magnet program.

Junior ASA Program

The Miami State Attorney’s Office is launching a Junior Assistant State Attorney Program. The Center for Legal and Public Affairs Law Magnet has been selected as one of two pilot schools for the program. The Junior ASA program will be implemented for students in the magnet program. This program will focus on the 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grade students. The goal of the program is to provide students with an overview of the criminal justice system with the opportunity to view the process. The program would provide seminars, meetings with community leaders, field trips, observations of trial preparation, and various lessons for the students 1-2 times per month for the school year. Additionally, mentorship opportunities, internships and volunteer work are also vital aspects of the program.

Rookie Teacher of the Year

Miami Carol City Senior High Rookie Teacher of the Year (2011-2012)

In closing, I’m very proud of the accomplishments made during my tenure at Miami Carol City Senior High, but I am in no way content. There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the program’s viability and success in the future. Truthfully, I’d like to stay at least another year to graduate another class of students, lay more bricks in the construction of the ideal law magnet program and spend more time with some of the greatest students I’ve ever encountered. Alas, we don’t always get to decide when the curtains will fall on our act and rise on another. As such, it is time for me to move on.

I’d like to say thank you to everyone at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools I Choose/Schools of Choice Department. There is no way any of the success we enjoyed at Miami Carol City would be possible without you. Special thanks to the late Dr. Sherri Futch-James, who’s belief in me meant more than she’ll ever know. I’d like to thank the previous administration for given a babyfaced, teaching novice an opportunity to make a difference.

I’d like to thank my family, friends, and former co-workers, for all of the love, support, and energy you gave me. This task was truly greater than me. While my name may appear on the letterhead, it was you who made the difference.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank every single one of my students. You will never know how much these past two years meant to me. I know I was tasked with teaching you, but rest assured that you taught me as well. You taught me the true meaning of love, sacrifice and what it means to care. You taught me that anything is possible if you only believe and that power is not in the numbers but in the hearts of those who believe. I wish this could have ended differently but it didn’t. I wish we could have had one last hooray, but we can’t. I wish I could come back one more year to fulfill all the promises I made, but I can’t. Despite my absence, know that I’m here for you, day or night, if you need anything. I love you all and will miss you dearly.

I’m unsure of what the future holds for me, but what I am sure of is that I’m happy with the way things have gone so far so I’m going to let God decide. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!

Growing Pains

“He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened."
-Lao Tzu

Greetings folks! Growing up is tough to do, hence the reason why most people aptly describe the process as experiencing “growing pains.” You want to be big, strong and tall but who really wants to go through the process of buying 3 different wardrobes within the span of a year. You want to grow a mustache (if you’re a guy) but who wants to go through the process of cutting themselves on their first or 10^th shave. You want to be the best man or woman you can be for yourself and that special someone that may come into your life, but who really wants to go through the pain of self-realization? The answer is no one.

Growing up sucks, in large part because it hurts. Take a look at adolescence, that time in your life when your parents don’t know who or what you are and neither do you. For me it was the time in my life when I went from being the sweet innocent little boy my parents knew and love to the spawn of Satan they contemplated giving up for adoption or leaving in the wilderness.

For most people it’s the time where you’re growing up, out and changing on the inside. You’re experiencing new feelings, new emotions and nothing fits any more. You’re trying to counterbalance your new found feelings for the opposite sex and the fact that you now have hair in places that didn’t have hair before, which is totally freaking you out. Nothing makes sense any more, no one understands you, everyone is against you, and nothing fits!

Once you’re done going through the “adolescent changes” physically there’s still all of these emotional changes you have to endure. It’s figuring out your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses, for some, your sexuality. What’s worse and very sad to admit is that it doesn’t end with the conclusion of puberty. In fact, this period of figuring out who we are continues for most of us well into adulthood, before a brief break, then picks right back up in the fifties with a little thing called a “mid-life crisis.”

I thought that after I hit my growth spurt that I was done. Then I grew another inch in college and realized that I wasn’t. It was exciting. I also thought that I was done with the emotional growth. I wasn’t. I’m not. Apparently, I’m still growing and have some growing up to do. Quite frankly this couldn’t have come at a worse time. I’m done with college, I have a law degree, a couple of professional licenses and I’m ready to wear my big boy pants. To have to deal with the fact that I still have more growing to do as a man and a person really throws a wrench in my plans. “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Alas, I must make time. I must make time to embrace the change that I need to make in my life and realize that as fantastic of a person I think I am, and I think everyone else thinks I am, there’s still room for improvement. I’ve realized that no matter how much I grow, there’s still more room for growth. I don’t want to stop growing because it means that I’ve started dying and I’m not ready for that. While I don’t have a whole lot of room on my calendar for the growing pains I have no choice but to make room for it. I may as well embrace it, like the illegitimate child you found out about when they turned 6. It’s here now. You may as well do the right thing.

You see I’ve realized that I’m not perfect. I know what many of you are thinking “it’s about damn time.” Ha! Seriously though, I’m not perfect and I know that there are still some things I’d like to change about me before I can truly be the man my family and friends are proud to know and the man I’m proud to be. As such, I’m enduring these growing pains like a man, or post-pubescent teen, whichever one fits best. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!