
At the upcoming School Board Meeting on March 15, District 1 School Board Member and Role Model, Dr. Steve Gallon III, will salute 62 Miami-Dade County Public School students who comprise the 2017 graduating class of the 5000 Role Models known as Wilson Scholars. He will also recognize the invaluable contributions of school social workers and March, as National Social Work Month.
The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, founded in 1993 by then-Miami-Dade County School Board Member, Dr. Frederica S. Wilson, now a member of the United States House of Representatives. A dropout prevention program, the mission of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project is to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth and provide them with alternatives to dropping out of school and self-destructive behaviors. The program pairs male students, ages 9-19, with successful professional adult mentors, who provide them with advice, guidance, and educational assistance.
This year, Wilson Scholars in Miami-Dade County include students from the following senior high schools: Booker T. Washington, Coral Gables, Coral Reef, Felix Varela, Miami Beach, Miami Carol City, Miami Coral Park, Miami Jackson, Miami Lakes Educational Center, Miami Norland, Miami Northwestern, Miami Palmetto, North Miami Beach, South Dade and William H. Turner Technical Arts. Since the inception of the program, over $10 million in scholarships have been awarded to graduating seniors.
The primary mission of the School Social Work profession is to enhance well-being and help meet the basic needs of all students, especially the most vulnerable or at-risk. School Social Workers embody the theme of this year’s National Social Work Month Theme, “Social Workers Stand Up!, and School Social Work Week on March 6-10, 2017, “Be The Change” by working with students, parents, schools, and local entities to improve and maintain a safe learning environment and empowering students to reach their academic and social/emotional potential.
For over 100 years, school social workers have provided services to students who face serious challenges to school success, including poverty, disability, discrimination, abuse, addiction, bullying, loss of a loved one, and other barriers to learning. School Social Workers also advocate ensuring equal rights for all students, including females, African-Americans, Latinos, people who are disabled, people who are LGBTQ and various ethnic, cultural and religious groups.
The next School Board Meeting is Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at 11:00 a.m., in the School Board Administration Building Auditorium at 1450 Northeast Second Avenue, Miami, FL 33132.