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With an unprecedented 100 years of education behind it, The Cushman School is marking its centennial this September with the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Much more than a well-established hub for learning excellence, the school’s commitment to instilling its students with integrity, kindness, inclusivity and social responsibility has cemented its critical value to not just its scholars and parents, but to the community and world at large. Through global wars, social/political upheaval, financial crises and technological advancements, Cushman has been a constant, agile and relevant presence, steered by the tenets of its namesake founder, Dr. Laura Cushman. Cushman, an educator from Iowa who arrived in Miami in the early 1900s and first opened the school’s doors on her home’s front porch in 1924, eventually set up a permanent campus at 592 NE 60th St.
Her vision of a representative, joyful and ambitious environment where children develop “mentally, physically and in character growth” through “happy surroundings” has remained steadfast, and today it continues to inform the school’s impressive educational and social legacy.
“As a citizen of our city, it is our responsibility to care for and educate one another. I’ve often said it takes a village to comprehensively educate all students, and we’ve always taken advantage of our school’s ideal location in international Miami and the vast opportunities in our community to provide hands-on, experiential learning to our students,” said Dr. Arvi Balseiro, Cushman’s third and current head of school.
Cushman leadership focuses on a personalized and holistic approach starting in preschool and continuing through 12th grade. The result: a curriculum of high standard academics enhanced by performing and visual arts programming, daily physical education, global studies and a plethora of traditions, handed down from generation to generation.
After decades of serving as an elementary school, Cushman expanded into the middle school grades and then – due to demand – created a curriculum for highschool students in 2016, which includes more than 30 Advanced Placement courses and a unique Society and Me (SAM) challenge allowing significant community engagement. One hundred percent of its seniors graduate and go on to top colleges such as the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Tufts, Boston College and Babson College. Notable alumni also include Sailing World Cup champion Sarah Newberry Moore, NFL-ers Joey and Nick Bosa, MLB player for the Philadelphia Phillies Nick Castellanos, fashion designer Esteban Cortazar, and singers Emily Estefan, Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias Jr.
“In the ’60s and ’70s the now-historic campus was in a very dicey area – Cushman was really the only quality establishment for a long time,” said noted Miami historian Dr. Paul S. George. “Yet Laura Cushman remained ensconced in the neighborhood, families kept coming, and a vision was cast for an expanded campus that corresponded with a revitalized Upper East Side. With all these changes in motion, the long-held traditions of the school – like May Day, morning flag time and handshakes – remained. Longevity and innovation have set the school apart; small student/teacher ratios and an almost ‘euphoria of joy’ among the students will propel it for the next 100 years.”
“I am thrilled to see our wonderful school grow and still stay with the strong principles which have worked for 100 years,” said Dr. Joan Lutton, Cushman’s second head of school. “Dr. Cushman would be proud as I am.”
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