Educational Initiatives
The City of Miami’s Education Initiatives is a division that works closely with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), The Children’s Trust (TCT), and other agencies identifying gaps of services/programs which will prepare children and youths for their future. The program is a city-wide initiative managed by the Office of Grants Administration.
Education Initiatives identifies and promotes large-scale programs that help educate and empower children, youth, and/or families within our community. We develop a wide variety of presentation materials and resources to help inform eligible residents and families about the various beneficial programs they may be able to participate in.
Families First Program
The City of Miami Families First Parenting Program (FF) is funded by The Children’s Trust. This is a year-round parenting program serving 105 parents/caregivers and supportive family members of children ages 3 to 12. These include families with children ages 3-6 for Preschool Basic and families with children ages 6-12 for School Basic.
FF uses the http://www.incredibleyears.com/ evidence-based curriculum. The Preschool Basic Program is comprised of 18 sessions and The School Basic Program is comprised of 12 sessions. Both curriculums provide workshops to parents to enable them to develop advanced competence and confidence as caregivers. By building parenting competencies and encouraging involvement in children’s school experiences and everyday activities, Families First strengthens parenting skills and fosters a foundation for children to achieve their full potential.
The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their future.
The Children’s Trust emphasizes collaboration and partnership in order to provide the programs and services needed by children and families and to effect community-wide change. The Children's Trust encourages creative approaches to coordinating, integrating and funding services across and within the areas of health, safety, development and to promote increased parental and community involvement on behalf of all our children, while stressing accountability and results.
Since May 2006, The Children's Trust has provided annual funding support to the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and has awarded over $20 million in grants to expand cultural arts programs for children and youth in Miami-Dade County. This generous funding has enabled the Department to expand cultural arts programs for children and youth in Miami-Dade County significantly, more than doubling the Department’s investment in arts education and outreach programs, and enabling us to expand our reach to over 300,000 children and families annually. By combining resources and efforts this way, The Children’s Trust and the Department are able to coordinate and advance our shared goals of strengthening families and seeking ways for all children to achieve their fullest potential.
For more information, visit The Children's Trust at www.thechildrenstrust.org
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the fourth largest school district in the United States, comprised of 392 schools, 345,000 students and over 40,000 employees. Located at the southern end of the Florida peninsula, the school district stretches over 2,000 square miles of diverse and vibrant communities ranging from rural and suburban to urban cities and municipalities. A truly global community, district students speak 56 different languages and represent 160 countries. http://dadeschools.net/