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July 4, 2009
Carvalho: I'll open migrant schools
A day after two schools for migrant children were padlocked, Miami-Dade
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho vowed to do everything in his power to
reopen them.
''I have decided that it is not our intention to leave,'' Carvalho said
outside The Redland Education Center, surrounded by 100 parents,
educators and members of the Florida Farmworkers Association.
Turning to the farmworkers who bring their children to The Redland and
the South Dade Education Centers after school and during the summer for
care and tutoring, Carvalho said in Spanish: ``I don't have any
intention of abandoning the Homestead community or your children.
Blocking the access is not only unjust, but illegal.''
The two centers in South Miami Dade were closed Thursday by the
Homestead Housing Authority after a three-year spat with the school
district. The Housing Authority, which operates the camps where the
programs are offered, wants the school district to enter its
``network.''
The new arrangement would create a better environment for the migrant
families, Ed Carrera, the director of the Homestead Housing Authority,
said after the protest.
''As of right now this is not a good environment to raise a child, so
I'm putting together a network where we all talk to each other,''
Carrera said. ``It works 12 months out of the year and not this
piece-meal approach.''
The school district has said it is willing to join the network, but it
couldn't let the Housing Authority supersede the Miami-Dade School Board
and the state and federal Departments of Education.
NO ALTERNATIVE
Carrera said the Housing Authority plans to replace the school
district's programs with educational offerings of its own. They would
remain free.
But school officials say there is no alternative to what the school
district can provide.
The Miami-Dade school system has run programs for migrant children for
nearly four decades. Students in all grades can attend after-school
programs during the school year and enrichment camps over the summer.
Teachers help them prepare for FCATs and SATs, and also offer social
events.
The programs, which are supplemented by federal funds allocated for poor
students, serve more than 600 students and scores of parents.
At Saturday's rally was Beatriz Vidales, a teacher at The Redland Center
for the last 13 years.
Vidales said she came to this country as a toddler with her parents, who
were migrant workers. She, too, worked picking tomatoes and peppers, and
attending at another school for migrant children.
''If it wasn't for the education that I received, I wouldn't be where I
am,'' Vidales said. ``Education is not a privilege but a right.''
On Saturday, Carvalho said if the two sides don't come to an agreement,
he would start a new school close by -- maybe even just across the road.
Currently the children get their lessons in portable trailers on
property leased by the housing authority.
A PROMISE
''We have a promise to have the program here. They want to continue the
education of the community on a permanent basis,'' Moreno said.
School board member Larry Feldman said he spoke with Rep. Lincoln
Diaz-Balart and representatives from the Florida Farmworkers Association
on Thursday to discuss a solution to the spat.
At Friday's rally, he lifted up 6-year-old Angelica Jimenez, who
squinted from the sweat drenching her eyes.
''Children should not be out here in the sun if it's not because they're
playing,'' Feldman said. ``Let these children have a school and not have
to cross the street.''
Carvalho said he would like to meet with Carrera to continue to work to
find a solution, but Carrera said his plans remain unchanged.
''I'm responsible for giving these parents and children safe sanitary
housing and that can only be done if all providers are working in a
network,'' Carrera said. ``It's a time for change.
``If I have the same program 100 yards away from the trailers in a
permanent building, what's the big deal?''
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