An innovative Miami preschool is on track to become a national model.

The United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education, a demonstration school for educators and parents, has partnered with a national network that aims to put into practice the best research on how kids learn.

``The harder we looked at investment opportunities, the quicker it became a no-brainer that that's where you get the most investment return,'' said Daniel Pedersen, president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, which with other national organizations is funding efforts to build such early childhood schools. ``Brain science has had a breakthrough that public policy has not caught up with.''

The Buffett fund is part of the Bounce Learning Network, which has partnered with the Miami school, a move that will further raise the school's standards and make it a national model as one of nine ``Educare centers'' in the country.

``We can't afford to fall behind just because we're the richest country on earth,'' Pedersen said. ``Understanding how children learn is how we remain globally competitive.''

The Bounce Network awarded the Coral Gables school, which opened in 2007 at 3250 SW Third Ave., a $1.3 million grant. The Educare center designation also applies more rigorous standards to the school, which dropped its teacher-student ratio to three adults for every eight children.

Windows and observation decks allow parents, teachers and researchers to watch the kids as they learn.

Hallways exhibit the kids' artwork. In one display of an American Indian painting of a black-and-white labyrinth, the kids made lookalikes.

``They learn about the artist, they learn to replicate their art, and in the process they get to expand their vocabulary,'' said Gladys Montes, the center's vice president.

The center serves more than 30 families -- with 200 kids on a waiting list -- but its goal is to improve the education system as a whole by training educators and getting the business community involved.

``Having the accreditation of an Educare means a lot for us to be able to talk about early education,'' said Harve A. Mogul, president and CEO of the Miami-Dade United Way.

Tuition is based on income levels. Parents must also do volunteer work while their children are enrolled at the school.

With the partnership, the Bounce Learning Network wants to send a message that education is a business that creates intellectual capital.

``We cannot in our country have an educational system that creates products at the end of the line that can't compete in the global economy,'' Pedersen said. ``If we are going to change the country there needs to be local major centers in our communities.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@