Charter School Coming To Liberty Square Housing Project

Miami FL

09 March, 2022

2:03 PM

Description

By Johania Charles Miami Times Staff Writer (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) (NewLibertySquare.com) (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) (Wikimedia Commons) (Johania Charles for The Miami), the Miami Times Mar 8, 2022 A furniture company truck sits outside the new Liberty Square apartments for a resident's scheduled delivery. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Miami-Dade County and Related Urban Development Group (RUDG) are one phase closer to completing a multimillion dollar plan to revitalize one of the oldest and largest public housing developments in the country – Liberty Square. Phase three of nine, located at 1224 NW 67th St. and named "Harmony," was unveiled with much excitement at a ceremony last Wednesday. Among the new perks the revitalization project is bringing to the residential area is an on-site charter school run by Mater Academy, a nonprofit charter school network with at least 30 tuition-free schools throughout Florida and Nevada, according to its website. "The transformation of Liberty Square goes beyond the brick-and-mortar buildings, but touches upon improving the lives of the people that make up this community," said Michael Liu, the Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development [PHCD] director who announced the charter school plan, in a statement to The Miami Times. "From the start, we envisioned bringing an education component to the children of this neighborhood so that from preschool through late elementary, the residents of Liberty Square and the surrounding community will have access to yet another school and the opportunities that come with it." The new school, likely to attract many students, would be less than half a mile from Holmes Elementary School and a three-minute drive from Liberty City Elementary School. "Underserved communities like Liberty City are where Mater seeks to serve," said Alexander Cordoves, Mater Academy's facilities administrator, at the event. "Mater has proposed [creating] a 600 student K-5 [here]. The proposed renderings are currently going through the standard permitting and approval processes and we're hoping to complete this in two phases." Once constructed, the school would usher in its first 300 students and bring in the second half during its second opening phase. The redeveloped Liberty Square apartments in Liberty City. (NewLibertySquare.com) Mater serves an 89% minority population, with schools predominantly located in Hispanic neighborhoods. Holmes, a pre-k through grade 5 school, serves a 99% minority population, 85% of which is Black, according to U.S. News. "I think we'll have somewhat of an impact," said Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, District 2 Miami-Dade County Public School board member, about the district she taught in and now represents. "But at Holmes Elementary School, which is a historic school in the neighborhood, I believe that the school will maintain its enrollment in a positive way … They have a good rapport and good relationship with parents and the community as a whole." Bendross-Mindingall said that Holmes, like many other schools, serves students who have encountered educational barriers – such as access to resources, COVID-induced learning loss and community issues – that fed into a period of low performance. She assures that the school's staff, including teachers, her office and parents, have worked hard to bring students along. Liberty Square's phase three includes a newly built playground for residents. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Liberty Square's charter school would receive the School of Hope designation, usually given to a charter school within a 5-mile radius of one or more persistently low-performing schools, making it eligible for additional educational funding. As reported in The Miami Times last April, M-DCPS board members said they were forced to vote in favor of a motion (D-66) that allows Mater, one of five designated School of Hope operators recognized by the Florida Department of Education, to create seven such schools in neighborhoods where traditional public schools have struggled. Brownsville Middle, Earlington Heights Elementary, Lorah Park Elementary and Madison Middle were the low-performing schools identified in the motion. "I could not say specifically whether [Liberty Square's school] is something different from [motion D-66] because we even have charter schools going up in North Dade," said Bendross-Mindingall. "It's all over, but in my district we might have a few more than others. We're going to have charter schools because that's just something we can't control, but I will say this – no one does it better than [M-DCPS]." Up to $1.5 million from a federal replication grant given to Mater has been committed to the Liberty Square project, Cordoves announced Wednesday. Mater failed to make someone available for interviews, despite agreeing to respond to questions from The Miami Times. Michael Liu (center), director of Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development, walks alongside former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and local community leaders during a tour of the original Liberty Square. (Wikimedia Commons) "Having this school here is a plus," said Monecia Carson, a Harmony resident and mother of four with two elementary school-aged children. "I'm not looking to enroll my kids there because they already have things going on at their schools, but if push comes to shove, I can take advantage of it because it's right here." The proposed charter school is not the only thing Carson admires about the new Liberty Square. Building amenities, a playground, heightened security, workforce development opportunities and a pledge to revive the local economy are what residents like her say make the project worthwhile for Liberty City. One of the primary goals for redevelopment, according to county officials who named the effort Liberty City Rising, was to improve the standard of living in a neighborhood historically plagued by gun violence and poverty. For phase three, 100 existing housing units were demolished to create six new buildings containing 192 units, 71 of them reserved for public housing. Carson said her children were excited to see their new home and overjoyed to know that they will be living in a luxury-style apartment at an affordable rate. "We've never stayed somewhere like this so it's really nice," she said. "The process to move in was a very good experience. [PHCD] assisted with our deposit while we were staying at the temporary location waiting for the unit to be ready and move back in. I didn't have to worry about a moving truck or anything." Rent remains at the same rate, 30% of an individual's monthly gross income for longtime Liberty Square residents despite rising rent costs, while the remaining 121 units are priced at market value. A one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit for someone earning 60% of the county's area median income (AMI) would be rented at $956 a month, compared to a monthly rent of $1,296 for the same unit for those at 80% AMI. Crystal Corner, resident of Liberty Square and president of its resident council. (Johania Charles for The Miami) "[PHCD and the developers] made a commitment to not displace any families from the original Liberty Square," said Crystal Corner, Liberty Square's resident council president who moved in from the old buildings during phase one. "That was a promise they made and kept. And the rent won't change every year as you see in some communities, where it goes up by $100 or $50 when you renew the lease." The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2026, will result in the creation of 2, 290 jobs and 1,455 public, affordable and market-rate units, and contain a national grocer, other retail stores, health care facilities and a renovated Liberty Square Community Center. Close 1 of 4 Liberty Square Liberty Square Site Plan (NewLibertySquare.com) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Liberty Square Monecia Carson, a resident of Harmony at Liberty Square, pictured inside a model unit. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Liberty Square A model bedroom at Liberty Square. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Liberty Square A model kitchen at Liberty Square is outfitted with new appliances. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Liberty Square Phase 3 1 of 4 Liberty Square Liberty Square Site Plan (NewLibertySquare.com) Liberty Square Monecia Carson, a resident of Harmony at Liberty Square, pictured inside a model unit. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Liberty Square A model bedroom at Liberty Square. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) Liberty Square A model kitchen at Liberty Square is outfitted with new appliances. (Johania Charles for The Miami Times) "I've benefitted from resources like increased job opportunities because of the project," said Carson. "I was able to get a job at the community center because I was a resident of the new Liberty Square …The only conflict so far is people having to adapt to using modern appliances, because it's not something we're used to." The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.