F mercantil Commercebank team and m-dcps board Members gather with amc dade Partner Student Leaders (l-r) Belen Mella, Sunny Isles Beach Community School k-8; Pablo Rosero, Ojus Elem

FP1. Mercantil Commercebank team and M-DCPS Board Members gather with AMC Dade Partner Student Leaders (l-r) Belen Mella, Sunny Isles Beach Community School K-8; Pablo Rosero, Ojus Elem.; Julia Kingsley, Aventura Waterways K-8; ________; Ean Schwartz, David Lawrence Jr. K-8; Supt. Alberto Carvalho; Andrew Waxman, Mercantil Commercebank; Mayrav Lapidot, Aventura City of Excellence School; Alejandra Martinez, North Miami Beach Sr. High; M-DCPS Vice Chairman Dr. Lawrence Feldman, Danielle Kozavchinsky, Krop Sr. High; Carmena Allen, Highland Oaks Middle; Samantha Kwan, Greynolds Park Elem. Matthew Hunt, Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Sr. High; M-DCPS Ass’t Supt. Enid Weisman; ______, Mercantil Commercebank; M-DCPS Board Member Dr. Wilbert “Tee” Holloway; Dr. Mickey Krop;
FP2. M-DCPS Superintendent Alberto Carvalho with Andrew Waxman, Mercantil Commercebank

50. Student Greeters from Aventura Marketing Council’s ten Dade Partner Schools welcomed AMC members to the Fairmont Turnberry Isle

51. Singing God Bless America, students from North Miami Beach Sr. High’s Spectrum Singers

52. Belen Mella, Sunny Isles Beach Community School K-8 presents host plaque to Andrew Waxman, Mercantil Commercebank

53. (L-r) M-DCPS Board Members Dr. Wilbert “Tee” Holloway and Dr. Martin Karp; Ass’t Supt. Enid Weisman; Supt. Alberto Carvalho; Dr. Mickey Krop; Vice Chair Dr. Lawrence Feldman

54. Aventura Vice Mayor Bob Diamond; Aventura Comm. Billy Joel; Aventura Marketing Council Chairman Cliff Schulman, Weiss Serota Helfman; Aventura Comm. Teri Holzberg

55. Dawn Baglos, Principal, Highland Oaks Middle and Ray Fontana, Principal, North Miami Beach Sr. High

56. North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo and FIU Vice Provost Dr. Steven Moll

57. Eric Mannis, Nature’s Best; Alan Lips, Gerson Preston Robinson; Tom Oliveri, Northern Trust

58. Ben Launerts, Parksman Parking; Jordan Laser, Northwestern Mutual ~ Laser Financial Group

59. Dr. Jose Dotres and Paul Greenfield, M-DCPS; Cathy Haga, Junior Achievement Greater Miami; Sally Alayon, Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Sr. High

60. Representing Mercantil Commercebank (l-r): _________________________

61. M-DCPS Supt. Alberto Carvalho speaks one-on-one with guests (l-r) Marcia Garcia; North Miami Beach Councilwoman Phyllis Smith; Ely Feldman; Eileen Glastein, Bnai Zion Foundation

62. Dr. Jose Dotres, M-DCPS; Sunny Isles Beach Vice Mayor Lew Thaler; Paul Greenfield, M-DCPS; Dr. Jose Vicente, Miami-Dade College

63. _____________; Aventura Comm. Michael Stern, Stern Bloom Media; Aventura Mayor Susan Gottlieb; Officer of the Month Jason Williams; Pablo Rosero, Ojus Elem.; Aventura Police Capt. Skip Washa; Aventura Commissioners Teri Holzberg and Billy Joel; Vice Mayor Bob Diamond; Comm. Zev Auerbach

64. Aventura Mayor Susan Gottlieb, Bal Harbour Mayor Jean Rosenfield and North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo (far right) present new AMC Chairman’s Roundtable members with membership plaque; Tom Smith and Terri Echarte, Atlantic & Pacific Management (center)

65. Max Marion, Duffy’s Sports Grill receives AMC Trustee level membership plaque
66. Rhonda F. Gelfman, Law Offices of Rhonda F. Gelfman, P.A. receives AMC Chairman’s Roundtable plaque
67. Fred Stock and Judith Lieber, Jewish Community Services of South Florida receive AMC Chairman’s Roundtable plaque
68. Mayor Rosenfield, Mayor Gottlieb and Mayor Vallejo present new AMC General Members: Jarret Reinhartz, Advanced Footcare and Steve Martin, Alliance, C.A.S.
69. New AMC General Members: Dr. Adam Gropper and Candice Ryan-Lederman, North Beach Vascular & Aesthetics; Stephen Sugar, Miami Gardens Care Centre; Sabrina Cohen, The Sabrina Cohen Foundation for Stem Cell Research
70. M-DCPS Vice Chair Dr. Lawrence Feldman; Grizzel Gonzalez, Mercantil Commercebank; Supt. Alberto Carvalho; Frank Collado, Mercantil Commercebank
APPROVED w. changes

Mercantil Commercebank hosts Student-Run Breakfast featuring Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

By Bari Auerbach

On the day exciting headline news proclaimed “Third graders shine on new FCAT,” Mercantil Commercebank hosted the Aventura Marketing Council’s annual Student-Run Breakfast Meeting. The event, highlighting the benefits of school / business partnerships, featured special guest speaker Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Hundreds of business, community and education leaders gathered at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle were impressed by “best and brightest” students who expertly ran the meeting representing the AMC’s ten Dade Partner schools: Mayrav Lapidot, Aventura City of Excellence School; Pablo Rosero, Ojus Elementary; Julia Kingsley, Aventura Waterways K-8; Ean Schwartz, David Lawrence Jr. K-8; Samantha Kwan, Greynolds Park Elementary; Belen Mella, Sunny Isles Beach Community School; Carmena Allen, Highland Oaks Middle; Danielle Kozavchinsky, Krop Sr. High; Alejandra Martinez, North Miami Beach Sr. High; and Mathew Hunt, Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Sr. High.

Following an inspiring rendition of God Bless America sung by talented vocalists from North Miami Beach Sr. High’s Spectrum Singers, appreciation was expressed to Mercantil Commercebank, members of the AMC’s Education Committee chaired by Eileen Glastein of Bnai Zion Foundation; School Board members, principals, teachers, guidance counselors, parents and AMC members supporting the goal to help students achieve success.

The AMC has won the annual Dade Partner of Excellence award four times and has been inducted into the Dade Partners Hall of Fame for four consecutive years.

On behalf of Mercantil Commercebank, Aventura Banking Center Manager Andrew Waxman commented, “We are proud to sponsor an event that provides such a positive impact to the students within our community."  He added, "this event gives students the chance to demonstrate their talent and potential, and provides valuable experience they can apply to their future endeavors."

MDCPS Superintendent Carvalho leads the fourth largest school system in the nation with over 53,000 employees and 345,000 students.

“It’s time to celebrate the ‘community’ of public education – what other sector of our country is so embedded in the rich history and tradition of our nation?” Carvalho said.

Commending students’ success, Carvalho noted third graders continued to perform well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) despite tougher standards; and for the fourth time, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a finalist for the 2011 Broad Prize for Urban Education – one of the nation’s most prestigious education awards honoring districts demonstrating the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement. “I’m so incredibly proud of this district for not only beating the odds, but for outperforming everybody else, not only in the state, but the country,” Carvalho said.

Addressing budget cuts, Carvalho spoke about the importance of working with the School Board to maintain a strong commitment to local classrooms; preserving art, music, language, and physical education programs; and introducing a new performance pay plan for teachers.

Carvalho closed by encouraging the community to support and invest in public education. “The one element that pulls us all together is the public classroom where every kid is recognized only by how high the sky is and how far the stars are - and that is their ambition and right to fulfill their dreams. This will be ‘the greatest generation’. They’ll get to do it all - if we do right by them.”

For more information about Mercantil Commercebank’s Aventura Banking Center, phone [phone] or visit mercantilcb.com