A Story of Courage

04/04/2003

"He who wants to blame sometimes finds the sugar sour."
–German Proverb

A STORY OF COURAGE

A story in the Miami Herald (February 23, 2003) introduces us to Santiago Corrada, principal of Miami Edison Senior High, known for having the worst high-school test scores in Florida. Last spring, when Edison became one of two high schools to receive a second failing grade from the state, Corrada took it personally. Corrada, the overachieving son of poor Cuban immigrants, had battled for every perfect report card he brought home from school. He had never gotten an F in his life. Now he had two. The state doesn't take into account that three out of every four Edison students speak Creole at home, the highest concentration of Haitian students in the nation. It doesn't handicap for each drive-by shooting on Martin Luther King Drive or adjust for poverty so severe that students faint from hunger or the burn of a rotten tooth. A single standardized test has branded this school -- its teachers, its students, its principal -- a failure. But the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which students take again next month, doesn't measure pride or resolve. It doesn't measure the hope in students' eyes as they rock the bleachers of their double-F school. Beginning last fall, heartbreak would test Corrada's endurance, his determination, and his will. In this article, Daniel Grech tells the story of the struggle of one school's struggle to increase student achievement in the face of obstacles that injure the spirit. We urge you to read this story by going to:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5242625.htm

It does take special people such as Santiago Corrada to be leaders in the education world. To learn more about the craft of leadership, check out On Being a Leader at https://secure.ccie.com/catalog/cciecatalog.php?cPath=1

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.