(PRWEB) JULY 24, 2015
Understanding the quality and depth of school programs offered by Miami-Dade County is paramount to successfully marketing and selling properties to today’s home buyers, according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI), the nation’s largest local Realtor group. MIAMI and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the nation’s fourth-largest school system, are working together to educate consumers on local school choices. Recently, more than 100 MIAMI Realtors participated in a conference featuring award-winning Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaking about the district’s myriad choice programs in a co-branded event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
M-DCPS offers 460 choice programs in all grade levels, which is the most of any Florida school district and among the top in the country, Carvalho said. The Miami school district, which has 392 schools and 345,000 students, has 102 magnet schools. A whopping 56.3 percent of Miami-Dade students attend non-traditional and advanced school programs.
“Most individuals who are of child-bearing age or who have children make a decision on where to buy a house by the quality of schools,” Carvalho told MIAMI members during the Coral Gables event. “We are the largest fully-accredited school district in the country. We are recognized by the College Board for academic achievement. M-DCPS leads the country in students taking Advanced Placement classes.”
MIAMI created and distributed new co-branded marketing materials to all MIAMI members in attendance, highlighting the school district’s impressive statistics and featuring the quality and variety of available programs. The Realtors can use this important information in working with consumers who are increasingly thinking about schools when purchasing a home.
According to the 2015 National Association of REALTORS® Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, 30 percent of home buyers cited the quality of the school district as an influencing factor in their home purchase. About 44 percent of home buyers who are 34 and younger said a quality school district was important. A strong school district was key for 44 percent of home buyers in the 35-49 age range.
Buyers are also extremely interested in the availability of international programming in schools that will teach their children the language skills and knowledge they need to work effectively in today’s increasing interconnected, global economy.
MIAMI Realtors and the public can get more information about M-DCPS’ choice options by visiting: http://yourchoicemiami.org. The website has information on MDCPS Magnet Schools, public/private partnerships, school transfers, career academies, and Cambridge International Examinations. The latter is a part of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and is the world’s largest provider of international education programmes and qualifications for 5 to 19 year olds. M-DCPS was the first major school district in the United States to build such a relationship.
In 2013, M-DCPS announced a three-year plan to roll out 80 Cambridge Programs in 70 schools, including the Cambridge Primary Program in elementary schools, the Cambridge Secondary 1 Program in middle schools, and the Cambridge International General Certification of Secondary Education (Cambridge IGCSE) and the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (Cambridge AICE) Diploma Programs in senior high schools. These new Cambridge Program schools will complement the 20 existing Cambridge programs currently in 16 M-DCPS schools.
Realtors and home buyers can visit http://www.dadeschools.net/guidek-12.asp to learn more about the boundaries for Miami neighborhood schools. M-DCPS has added new features to the map that allow consumers to also search for nearby Magnet schools, International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, Cambridge International programs, and College Board /AP Capstone programs. IB is a non-profit educational foundation offering four highly respected programmes of international education.
Visit http://miamire.com/mdcps/video for a video of Carvalho’s complete schools discussion with MIAMI members. Photos from the event are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rambmiami/sets/72157652767759165
About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS
The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 95 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of five organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward County Board of Governors, the YPN Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 36,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with more than 125 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is http://www.miamire.com.
About Miami-Dade County Public Schools
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.
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