School districts

Re the Jan. 23 story, Florida lawmakers propose citywide school districts: More than 20 years ago, Miami-Dade school board members had the vision to break ground on a unique school in Key Biscayne.

MAST Academy was born from a commitment to offer our students a new approach to high school. In doing so, school board members had the foresight to position Miami-Dade Public Schools to be bold.

I’m a graduate of MAST and share this story because it sheds light on why the proposal to dismantle our existing school districts is wrongheaded and shortsighted.

By limiting our school districts to a city region, legislators would be stifling bold visions and new opportunities for all students.

Beyond that, the proposal will undoubtedly create further divisions in a county that already shows fractures in resource allocation. We cannot legislate our way to maximizing student achievement.

We empower students to reach their full potential by giving our teachers and school personnel the resources they need to foster learning. If legislators want to see how we can strengthen our school system, they should use MAST Academy’s early days as a case study for success.

We are at a point in our community where bold vision is needed and less bureaucratic sound bites that offer no hope for sincere student achievement.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 8:17 PM with the headline "School districts."