The Miami Beach Adult & Community Education Center (MBA), located at Fienberg-Fisher K-8, Treasure Island Elementary, Biscayne Elementary, Miami Beach Senior, and North Miami Beach Senior, as well as selected community centers, is proud that one of its teachers nominated Ms. Chantal Osborne, Principal, as a candidate for the LifeChanger of the Year Award, a national program, sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation. Each year, the Foundation seeks nominations for school administrators, teachers, and staff who have performed at exemplary levels. The nominator for Ms. Osborne was Dr. Mary Joan Connors, a part-time adult education teacher at Fienberg-Fisher.
As the consummate “life changer”, Osborne oversees a multicultural and multiethnic population of students in the North and South Beach areas of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The local newspaper often refers to this area as part of the most complex county in the United States. MBA accommodates a diverse population, enrolling students from around the world, speaking a host of different languages. Evening classes take place at one elementary, one K-8 center, and one senior high. High school recovery and GED classes are located at two senior highs and one community center.
Inherent in Osborne’s responsibilities is a sensitivity to the students who enroll in the main and satellite centers for the rapid acquisition of English. Osborne speaks English, Spanish, French, Haitian-Creole, and the rudiments of Portuguese. She has familial ties to numerous cultures and she uses her skills to change the lives of hundreds of newly-arrived immigrant learners. She takes personal and professional responsibility for helping students to bridge language barriers and adjust to a new and unfamiliar culture.
Osborne’s mission reaches beyond adult learners. She oversees the only afterschool care programs run by an adult center. She can often be seen reading to early childhood learners and she inspires them to become lifelong learners. A 24-year veteran employee of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district (the fourth largest in the United States), Osborne has moved, with a quiet confidence, from classroom teacher to district and school administrator. Her belief in the potential of each learner serves as a catalyst for the students, teachers, and staff. She is a true “life changer”, whose expectations are firm, but fair. These are augmented by her charismatic presence, sense of humor, and consistent support for her students and employees.
