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The
Cushman School reflects the personality and character of its
founder, Laura Cushman. Miami was a small frontier town in 1913
when Laura Cushman arrived to embark on a 70-year career in
education that made her one of the most respected educators
in the state. The principles on which she founded her school
are firmly in place today and Cushman is both traditional and
innovative. While the school keeps abreast of new developments
in education and technology, often anticipating new trends,
the mission, philosophy, and curriculum are firmly rooted in
principles established by its founder.
When the Miami school board decided
to close Kindergarten classes in 1923, Laura Cushman began her
own school on the front porch of her parents’ Morningside home.
Her vision soon outgrew that space so she borrowed money from
her father, bought property at NE 38th Street in 1924 and built
three little open air structures with screens for walls. Laura’s
reputation for character development and academic excellence
brought students form all over the Miami area. “Everything for
the children is our motto and desire.” She told a reporter from
the Miami News.
Within a year after opening, the
school was outgrowing its three small buildings and Biscayne
Boulevard was slated to go through the property. When Laura
was offered a sum of money to locate elsewhere, she accepted
and built her new school on its present site. That original,
two-storey, Spanish-style, “V” shaped building still embraces
all who enter its courtyard and houses Cushman’s Elementary
Division, various offices and other classrooms. The bell atop
this building once summoned the builders of Vizcaya and now
signals special events such as 6th Grade and Middle School Graduation
ceremonies.
Cushman School became a national
School of Excellence in 1993, in keeping with a far older tradition.
The school had a superior rating from the state of Florida from
1926 and for all of the years that the state accredited private
schools, including 1941 when very few schools, public or private,
achieved that standard. Laura was awarded an honorary Doctor
of Law degree from Morningside in 1941. The certificate she
received is a summary of her approach to education. It read:
“In recognition of her outstanding work in the field of education,
particularly in the humanizing of school room procedures and
the specific provision for character development.”
The Cushman School, now in its
81st year of continuous operation, still strives to be innovative
while keeping to its traditions of child-centered education
as established by its founder, Dr. Laura Cushman.
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