Thursday, April 23, 2009

Miami Edison High student honored for race-relations work (from The Miami Herald

I am so proud of Tranette. This initiative was born out of our collaborative work between FIU and the local public schools. --Dr. Louie F. Rodriguez
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The Miami Herald
Posted on Tue, Apr. 21, 2009
Miami Edison High student honored for race-relations work
BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
kmcgrory@MiamiHerald.com

When Tranette Myrthil was arrested after a racially charged melee involving hundreds of students and dozens of police officers at Miami Edison last spring, she was left dispirited.
''At first, I was thinking negatively about everything,'' Myrthil recalled. ``My mom wanted to take me out of Edison. I had to beg to stay for my senior year.''

But in the months that followed, Myrthil decided to do something positive: She designed a curriculum to help teachers-in-training understand the needs of urban students.

On Wednesday, Myrthil will be named this year's recipient of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations. She'll receive a $1,000 cash prize Wednesday -- and next month will fly to the New Jersey campus for a student symposium on race.

''I'm really proud,'' said Myrthil, 18, who is headed to the University of North Florida this fall. ``I'm glad something good came out of that whole situation.''

The Princeton Prize is awarded by the Princeton University Club of South Florida. It honors high school students who have worked to further racial harmony in their communities.

Myrthil was selected for her efforts to build bridges between students and teachers, said Princeton Prize committee member Jonathan Colan.

''The more understanding there is between those two groups, the better schools can be in improving the school community,'' said Colan, an assistant U.S. attorney in Miami.

Nikisha Valdez, an American history teacher at Edison and Myrthil's mentor, applauded Myrthil's efforts.

''She's going to have a great career in advocacy, or maybe even education reform,'' Valdez said.

The melee at Edison made headlines last spring -- and underscored tensions between police and the Little Haiti community.

The clash was born from a student protest. Students said they had gathered in response to allegations that an assistant principal had manhandled a student.

Tensions escalated when some of the students threw food and water at the school police officers. Police say the students then threw chairs and fire extinguishers, prompting the officers at Edison to call for help.

At one point, as many as 60 police cars encircled the campus.

An all-out brawl ensued inside.

In the end, 10 police officers were treated for minor injuries. Six students were hurt. And more than two dozen teens were arrested -- among them Myrthil.

She says she wasn't involved in the scuffle, but happened to be in the outdoor lunch area at the time.

The charges against her and all of her peers were later dropped; prosecutors had determined the arrest reports wouldn't hold up in court.

At the time, Myrthil was enrolled in Valdez's American history class. She and her classmates were working on a project to better the lines of communication between students and teachers.

Valdez encouraged Myrthil to seize the opportunity and make positive changes in the community.

''She helped me to realize that I could do more positive things than just sitting around here and being negative,'' Myrthil said.

After the melee, Myrthil and her classmates spoke directly to teachers-in-training at Florida International University. The teens made suggestions about how to engage students -- and how to make them feel part of the school community.

''After the presentation, some of the teachers said they didn't know students from a school like Edison could be intelligent,'' Myrthil said. ``We changed their mind-set. We broke down the stereotype they had of us.''

Colan, who sits on the Princeton Prize committee, said the group was happy to see this year's winner come from Edison.

''It shows that people are dedicated -- even in the face of what had been a bad situation last year,'' he said.

Myrthil has not slowed in her efforts to help the Edison community.

This year, Myrthil and her peers on the Mayor's Youth Council have been working to eradicate hopelessness among students.

As part of the project, Myrthil has helped bring Edison students to college fairs and teen leadership conferences, she said.

Myrthil isn't sure what her future will hold, but she hopes to one day start a foundation to aid homeless children.

''Whatever I end up doing, I just want to make sure I help people,'' she said.

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