53 Students Flunk Address Verification Inquiry at MAST Academy
Key News ContributorApril 15, 2019
Students walk to class at the MAST Academy high school, April 15, 2019 (Key News/Tony Winton)
By ANNALI HAYWARD
Key News contributor
With demand still outstripping available seats, a Village committee wants to build on a program that so far has identified 53 students whose addresses didn’t entitle them to spots at the Cambridge program at MAST Academy. Fourteen students were told to leave this past academic quarter alone, officials said.
The Village-funded address verification effort is in its third quarter and aims to identify students who are not permanent residents on Key Biscayne. The Village funds a part-time clerical position at MAST to handle the bulk of address verification duties and reporting. At a meeting this week, the Village Education Advisory Board discussed expanding the role to further alleviate pressure on MAST staff. In some cases, MAST Principal Derick McKoy has made withdrawal notifications to ineligible students himself.
It’s a “painful process,” he said.
Board member Jeffrey Gonzalez praised the magnet school’s endeavors as “a huge reward for a very small cost.” The program was funded at about $32,000 for the current year, according to a published report.
Vacated spots are filled by the district with students from existing waitlists, rather than offered to new applicants or automatically given to incoming 6th-graders. For the coming academic year, address verification has already been carried out on new applicants.
“Word is getting out,” McKoy said.
Vice Mayor Allison McCormick advised the board to focus on getting the Village Council to renew the existing program before seeking an expansion. Without renewal, the incumbent will leave the post in June.
Although McCormick noted a general feeling of support among the Village community for the project, she said there’s no guarantee the Council will agree to renew.
If one thing is certain, it’s the school’s continued desirability. For 250 places in grades 6 and 9, McKoy said the school received over 4,000 applicants, including many from overseas. This makes the task of communicating to anxious parents the child’s position on an ever-changing waitlist very challenging, McKoy said.
Responses
Ceci Sanchez
Apr 15
Key Biscayne agents should act as ambassadors and explain to prospective investors, and tenants the school rules.
Cheating parents getting away with such scheme is unfairly preventing our KB children the space they are entitled to.
Annali
Apr 16
Thanks for your comment, Ceci, I guess you mean real estate agents – are there any restrictions around what agents can and cannot mention with regards to this and the fairness laws that regulate the area?
Angel Martin
Apr 16
LOL. Ceci, you were one of the most anti-KBHS in the community. You were so much against finding a solution for the so much needed HS for KB kids so your opinion is worth nothing.
Angel Martin, ex-Key Biscayne Education Foundation Chair.
Manuel Cambo
Apr 17
Kudos to Angel’s efforts in 207-2008 to bring a High School to our village long before I got involved. When I picked up the batton 2009-2013. Parents only have themselves to blame. I took a different approach with the Charter conversion campaign merely as a political threat to Village to commence the negotiation ILA with MDPS or I appeal Oceana site plan on the basis of lack of student station impact study in the site plan approval. The $9 Million developer’s contribution to building a 9-12 high school at K-8 site was my implied intent. My effort was undermined Mayor Caplan’s and then-Councilmember Davey as school liaison whose both desired to see a 6-12 MAST. The ILA was an expensive ill-conceived idea more commonly known as bussing to reduce overcrowding at K8. As I predicted and well stated in articles and in my guest commentaries in the Islander News, the $23 million for essentially a middle school is bamboozling of great proportional cost to KB Taxpayer not to mention additional funds to monitor false addresses for admittance. Notice how property buyers motivated to buy in Key Biscayne in order to get their children into MAST is now a strong impossibility. So much so, it has stalled the sale of real expensive single-family homes today for those purposes. Mayoral candidate De La Cruz suggestion that the grades 6,7,8 grade be returned to our village in a newly constructed facility at the K8 site is the correct decision. Think about that in the next election. The baseball field is the perfect location to build the middle school to make hundreds of student station available at the MAST high school students (only). Razing the renovated K8 and the wasted $2 million in resources spent is a reality. Much more depressing is the four teachers and past principals diagnosed with breast cancer since the 2014 renovation as well as two parents that I a familiar with also diagnosed. Sorry, I told you so. You know and I know it.
Manuel Cambó
Apr 18
Excuse my typos ^^^^^^^^ above. I am a 1982 GED Graduate from MDPS. If you would like to view the VKB Zoning site plan approval meeting of Oceana development and my suggestion that the $9 million developer’s voluntary contribution be dedicated to K8 redevelopment instead of more green space, it can be seen at WSQF 94.5 FM website at wsqfradio.com
Arthur
May 2
MR Cambo has some very good pints which should be taken into consideration.
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