RE Log Spring 2023

SPRING 2023 Ransom Everglades LOG 19 In one classroom, the day begins with reflection on gratitude. A teacher asks: “What does this quote mean to you: ‘I am happy because I am grateful’?” Hands pop up around the room, students eager to share their thoughts. “Instead of being taught and spoken to, this is about engagement,” Krinzman said. “It is very interactive. We did not want to have kids sitting all day long listening to lectures.” The starting point: Respect for everyone It’s also about respect. One of the school’s cardinal rules is no yelling. Ever. “We don’t yell at kids,” Miller said. “We don’t manage the school with a strong arm; we do it with a soft tone. We have created a culture that’s very unique, very positive, very uplifting.” Miller wanted students to have a common identity and pride in their school, and a clear understanding that they are going places. The local artist Cory Evans turned one wall of the cafeteria into a colorful showcase for historically significant Black people including Athalie Range (Patrick Range’s famous grandmother), Ralph Ellison, bell hooks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, Alice Walker, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson and others. Evans developed the morning routine – Miller called it a “pep rally of affirmation” – after traveling the country to visit schools on an educational grant in the year before Beacon College Prep opened. “Structure doesn’t mean discipline,” Miller said. “Discipline can be almost punitive. Structure means something positive. Kids, they respond positively to a positive structure.” All involved with Beacon College Prep acknowledge that the pandemic was a near-calamitous period for the school. At-home learning proved nearly impossible, and school administrators directed attention to making sure basic needs were met, delivering meals to homes and checking in on students. They set up vaccination sites at the school and provided skeptical families with education on vaccine safety. There was a silver lining: once students returned to classrooms, the structure school leaders had built helped Evans and his teaching staff stabilize the student body and relaunch their learning. “The pandemic set us way, way back,” Miller said. “We’re still playing catch up … But there is no question we have changed the culture. We have made the learning environment a positive one, and kids want to come to school.” Miller has long been passionate about improving access to high-quality education in Miami; he has worked with and supported the University of Morning assembly at Beacon College Prep The Beacon College Prep courtyard