“We've been working with the Town of Miami for a long time; one of the things we envisioned is making Miami a hub for learning,” Miami Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Richard Ramos said in a recent interview with the Arizona Silver Belt.

To bring that goal to fruition, the district and the town are following a pair of related tracks: establishing innovation labs in Miami schools and opening discussions with a potential new partner in Arizona State University.

On October 28 ASU Provost Dr. Nancy Gonzales, who was born and raised in Miami, came back to her hometown for a meeting with town and district representatives including Ramos and Town Manager Alexis Rivera.

“What's happening here is a very unique experience,” Ramos said to Gonzales during their discussion, referring to an innovation lab started this school year at Miami Jr./Sr. High School. The district also envisions a second lab at Lee Kornegay Intermediate School.

Ramos told the Silver Belt they were inspired by a trip he and Rivera took to the ASU Innovation Center in Chandler. “What we saw was an opportunity for people to develop small businesses as entrepreneurs, and Arizona State University provided the space for that, whether the space be for creativity, to brainstorm ideas, or to utilize equipment such as laser printers, 3-D printers, screen printing for T-shirts. So we thought, 'What if we brought back a similar idea to Miami and we used Miami Unified School District as the hub for learning?'”

The thought, Ramos said, is to create a collaborative makers' space environment where students can work together to define a problem, develop a model or prototype solution, design a presentation, and present their solution to an audience for feedback. “That way, teachers can schedule a time for their kids to go in there.” Miami's innovation lab comes with dry erase boards, a TV monitor, 3-D printers, scanners, and mobile furniture.

“Our goal is to help our kids be competitive in the 21st century, so that way once they leave high school they know they can go and get a job with skills that might call for teamwork, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, personalization, and real-world engagement,” Ramos said.

Since the lab is new, teachers are still being trained how to use it. Most recently, Ramos said, thirty-six teachers from Miami, Globe, Superior and Hayden attended a session on using artificial intelligence in the classroom. He said the lab should be fully functional in 2025-2026. “This idea is so new to teachers that we need them to develop effective teaching strategies in order to prepare to use the lab,” he added.

The district recently applied for a $130,000 Freeport McMoRan Community Investment Fund grant, with which they hope to fund the second innovation lab at Lee Kornegay. “If we get funded we will have a continuity of learning from pre-K all the way through 12th grade,” Ramos said.

“What we want to do is involve ASU in this partnership as well, to support us in this venture whether it be through name or financial support,” he told the Silver Belt. “We know there will have to be a proposal, but we just wanted permission to go ahead and develop that proposal. That's the reason we had the meeting with Dr. Gonzales.”

During their meeting, Gonzales appeared receptive to exploring the possibility further. “I'm really excited about what you're trying to do,” she said. “I think what we need to do is make a case for this, to see what ASU can do. I have to learn more and then we can decide how ASU could engage. I look forward to continuing our conversation.”

“I felt like the invitation was there and the door was open,” said Ramos. Now he and Rivera will work on a partnership proposal with the university. Ramos said that proposal should be submitted by Dec. 31, 2024. He also said that if the partnership comes through, they would like to name Miami's lab the ASU Innovation Lab.

Rivera said they are now collecting data on how many students will be impacted. “We anticipate more than 10,000 students we can impact in addition to the students of Miami,” he said. “We're blessed to have that opportunity and continue the conversation. In the process of growing a municipality, education is a very important element.” Rivera said the meeting with Gonzales left him with “hope for the municipality and the students of the Copper Corridor.

“We want to be the pipeline for education for this area – Superior, Hayden-Winkelman, Mammoth, San Manuel, Payson, even touching Oracle if that's possible,” Rivera added.