REQUEST
FOR APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 00-14 OF THE SCHOOL BOARD
OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ENDORSING APRIL 11, 2000,
AS STOP DAY - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
During the 1994-95 school year, the United Teachers of
Dade and Miami-Dade County Public Schools cosponsored
STOP DAY. Through this effort, our students and staff
dramatically proclaimed that violence and weapons would
not be tolerated in our schools. Across the district,
people came together to reflect upon the causes of violence
and to devise ways to fight the problem.
The implementation of STOP DAY - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH has
received wide publicity. People recognized that this was
an innovative and promising approach to tackling the serious
problem of juvenile violence. Presentations of M-DCPS'
initiative were made to various organizations statewide
by former School Board Member and STOP DAY founder, State
Representative Frederica S. Wilson. Many groups endorsed
the concept and requested that then Florida Commissioner
of Education Frank T. Brogan pursue statewide implementation.
For the 2000 observance, a full minute of silence will
be observed at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 11 by M-DCPS'
students to reflect on the implications of violence in
our schools and community.
STOP
DAY is envisioned as a day to empower students to band
together in a unified effort to rid their campuses of
violence. This will be the sixth consecutive year of STOP
DAY -ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and activities will include a student
peace pledge, essay contest, periods of meditation, and
other activities deemed appropriate by each school site.
This item does not appear on the published agenda. The
good cause to vary from the agenda is that STOP DAY is
scheduled one day prior to the Board's April meeting,
and School Board support is necessary now to fully engage
our students in this worthwhile endeavor.
ACTION
PROPOSED BY DR. ROBERT B. INGRAM: That The School
Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, approve Resolution
No. 00-14 of The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida,
endorsing April 11, 2000, as STOP DAY -ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
