Charter School Struggling to Stay Open

By Tania Valdemoro, The Miami Herald

Dec. 21–Gladys Palacio started thinking about establishing her own charter school three years ago after watching her daughter, Tatiana, 14, grow frustrated at Nautilus Middle School.

“One day she asked her math teacher for help and he told her he had too many students and didn’t have time to meet with her,” she said. “I wanted something smaller, where she would get personal attention. My vision was to bring a school to the area that could serve the community.”

But Palacio’s new school, Charter on the Beach Middle School, at 1211-1219 Marseille Dr. in North Beach, could soon be without a campus if she doesn’t come up with $50,000 in the next few weeks to pay rent and other expenses.

Charter on the Beach — Miami Beach’s first charter school — opened in August for seventh- and eighth-graders. It faced problems from the start, and things got worse Tuesday when Palacio got an eviction notice from Galie Marseille, the company that manages the property, she said.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the money,” Palacio said.

Still, she is not planning to close down. She is soliciting donations and brainstorming with parents about ways to raise funds for the school, which has four full-time teachers and a part-time yoga instructor for 47 students. Her contract with the Miami-Dade public school system runs through 2014.

Ellen Wright, administrative director for charter schools with Miami-Dade Schools, said the school district wouldn’t revoke Palacio’s contract if she loses her lease because state law allows charter operators to move to another facility.

More than 22,000 students in Miami-Dade attend charter schools, and the School Board is considering 18 applications for new charter schools.

Palacio attributed her school’s money woes to a series of problems. The school campus, formerly two apartment buildings totaling 11,556 square feet of space, were not ready when classes started on Aug. 20. She had to rent classroom space at Parrot Jungle, the Ronald W. Shane Watersports Center rowing facility in North Beach and a charter school in Opa-locka while renovations were finished.

Also, at least 20 students have left the school since August. Some parents complained about the renovations and the kids being bussed to temporary sites. Other students have moved from Miami Beach.

The campus opened in mid-November, said Palacio, who has a master’s degree in counseling from Nova Southeastern University and previously worked at a shelter for abused children and ran a medical supply company.

Those who stuck with the charter school through its ups and downs say the rewards have been tangible.

Hector Tavarez, 13, said he slacked in class at Nautilus Middle School last year, earning an F in math and C’s in science and English. Even worse, he had a bad attitude toward his classmates and school in general, he said.

But now, Hector said, he earns B’s and C’s. And he’s been inspired by his new teachers to strive to attend a magnet high school next year, where he can take engineering classes.

“The teachers here help you,” Hector said of his new school. “They’re always there and they treat you like family. If you’re having a bad day, they’ll let you chill, but the next day, you have to do your work.”

Sabrina Barnett, whose son Shane, 12, is enrolled, said the school is a “blessing from the universe.”

“Whatever the transitions the school has had to go through, we’re patient because we know the kids are happy. My son likes the school and the environment and he’s learning,” she said.

Barnett said Palacio and the teachers have shown students the importance of positive thinking and treating each other well.

“There’s no bullying here. When two kids are fighting, Gladys brings them together. They have to sit knee to knee, look at each other and say five positive things about the other person,” Barnett said.

Miami Beach has six public schools and eight private schools. The city is a tough place to open a charter school because of a dearth of land and buildings that could be used for a school, Palacio said.

She hopes that more students will enroll. She has room for 92 seventh-graders and 80 eighth-graders next year, and says she is already registering new students.

“Every day, I see kids growing and learning. I’ve got to keep doing this,” Palacio said.

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