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757 N.W. 66th Street
Miami, FL 33150
(305) 836 - 0012
Regional Center IV
School Location #2531
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They hardly knew what
to call it: A satellite, little school, primary school, a
Neighborhood Educational-Cultural Centerette.
The sign on the new buff and beige building at 757 N. W. 66th Street
said, “Primary School C”. The
people who worked in the building called it the “Centerette”.
They also called it a promising answer to dealing with the problems of
disadvantaged children.
Bold new approaches in instruction, administration, grouping, teaching teams,
psychological, medical and dental services and a community program were underway
or in planning.
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The laboratory school had four through seven year olds as its student body, but
with hopes to involve the entire surrounding community in education,
participation and support. “Grouping”
of students were by age, interests, sometimes by lack of interest, academic
abilities and social characteristics.
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Flexibility of the
instructional
area was amplified by the dining rooms in each
pod. Youngsters could eat at small
tables, watch films, and hold small group discussions.
For the younger children, cots were moved in for afternoon naps.
Also featured in the pods were three “quiet rooms” where youngsters
could be alone for play or study.
There were no textbooks… only the use of library materials!
The Centerette’s unique
staffing included an in-service training director, a visiting teacher-counselor,
a psychologist, a child development specialist, a nurse, dental assistant and a
part-time dentist and pediatrician. The
object was to pull together all specialties in promoting the total development
of the child.
Primary School “C” was frankly experimental, it had been cited by a U.S.
Senate Committee as an excellent use of Federal Funds.
Would it work? The first
groups of children to leave the school, entering third grade at the more
traditional school the following fall, were in the program for only one term.
Its real value would not be known for years.
But such a far-reaching approach on one of the country’s newly
recognized educational problems made this school a “NEWS WORTHY SCHOOL”.
In 1984, a proposal to rename the school known for 16 years as Primary School
“C” and unanimously voted by the School Board, to name the school Thena C.
Crowder. Mrs. Crowder was a teacher
for many years and then principal of Holmes Elementary School from 1955 until
her retirement in 1969.
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