Dr. Robert D. Strickland
As the Administrative Director for School Choice & Parental Options within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Dr. Strickland was responsible for over 384 magnet programs in 114 schools (PreK-12), as well as leading and directing staff assigned to develop, implement, and monitor operational and programmatic aspects of the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grants. During his tenure, he managed four (4) MSAP grants, as well as facilitated seven (7) additional Federal grants, including Voluntary Public Schools Choice,Arts in Education Model Development & Dissemination, Small Learning Communities, and Secondary School Reform.
During his tenure facilitating Magnet school programs and operations, M-DCPS choice efforts and Magnet programs were:
- awarded 364 Magnet Schools of America (MSA) National Merit Awards;
- focused on expanding, enhancing, and reviving thematic programming – including STEM, Visual & Performing Arts, International Education, Virtual, and Liberal Arts;
- awarded the Donna Grady-Creer District Award for Magnet Sustainability from MSA;
- awarded multiple accolades from MSA for top honors as National Teachers of the Year, National Principals of the Year, and National Superintendent of the Year;
- consistently recognized as having some of the top Magnet schools in the country by MSA and the National Academy Foundation (NAF); and
- incrementally increased local Magnet applications from 34,000 to more than 88,000 annually.
Under Dr. Strickland’s leadership, thirty-one (31) Magnet schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools were awarded National Magnet Certification from MSA, with sixteen (16) of those schools reaching the coveted Demonstration School level of distinction.
Previously, Dr. Strickland was an Administrative Director within the Office of Professional Development & Educational Services facilitating the professional development and the Response to Intervention (RtI) initiative for fifty-two (52) transitioning elementary schools. Before being in that position, he was an Executive Director in the Division of Life Skills & Special Projects over highly awarded and recognized visual and performing arts programs for M-DCPS.
Dr. Strickland received a B.S. in Music Education degree from the University of Tennessee, a M.A. and M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Miami, and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He is a past President of the Florida Association for Theatre Education and has served as a member of the Florida Department of Education writing teams for teacher certification examination, curriculum frameworks/standards, and course descriptions. He received Administrator of the Year awards from the Florida Association for Theatre Education, Dade Association for Theatre Education, and Florida State Thespians. He has previously served on the National Board of Directors for the Educational Theatre Association, as well as on the Board of Directors for Magnet Schools of America as a Region Director and served as Parliamentarian.
Dr. Strickland is the co-author of a theatre textbook entitled, THEATRE: Art in Action that received a distinguished book award from the American Alliance for Theatre Education (AATE). In addition, he is the author of a series of textbooks for teaching Shakespeare, entitled Shakespeare–ience. Dr. Strickland was awarded the Herbert A. Drew, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Education from Nova Southeastern University, and was honored with both the Distinguished Career Award from the Florida Theatre Conference and the Founder’s Award from the Educational Theatre Association.
Mary Royce
Mary Royce has over thirty years of experience in the field of human resource management. Working for LEARN, a non-profit, regional educational service center, Ms. Royce has worked to develop and implement policies and procedures for salary and benefits, compliance with state and federal regulations regarding Family and Medical Leave, Fair Labor Standards, Workers Compensation and Unemployment for over 600 employees. She developed a check list to ensure new staff completed all required state, federal and agency payroll and personnel forms, fingerprint/background checks and post-offer physicals. Ms. Royce’s responsibilities included oversight of payroll and budgets. She instituted several processes to create efficiencies in the HR and Business Departments including implementation of electronic time keeping and employee cross-training opportunities. Ms. Royce took a leadership role in union contract negotiations, balancing budget constraints with providing competitive salary and benefits packages to attract and retain staff. She is a founding member of the Eastern CT Health and Medical Cooperative, working with five districts to create efficiencies and budget predictability with health insurance rates. She worked with the LEARN executive leadership team on agency-wide strategic planning initiatives. Ms. Royce provided professional development opportunities for administrative staff in human resource management topics such as hiring and HIPAA compliance.
Ms. Royce was an active member and former Executive Committee member of the Connecticut Association of School Personnel Administrators, a member of the Connecticut Association of School Business Administrators, the American Association of School Personnel Administrators, and the Association of Business Officials. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and from the University of New Haven with a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management.
William Magnotta
William Magnotta, Former Director, Goodwin College, Magnet School Choice Institute for Excellence, and former Magnet Schools Program Manager with the Connecticut State Department of Education where he served for over 39 years. For 17 years he served as a program manager for Connecticut’s interdistrict magnet schools and interdistrict cooperative grant programs. His responsibilities included developing new magnet schools, monitoring of state funded interdistrict magnet schools and providing technical assistance to school district administrators. He is a member of the executive board for the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education and is the Immediate Past President of Magnet Schools of America. Mr. Magnotta is active in planning and presenting multicultural activities, workshops and conferences including presentations at MSA’s regional and national magnet school conferences.
Dr. Bill Bogdan
Dr. Bill Bogdan began his career as a special education teacher working with students with multiple disabilities, learning disabilities, and significant emotional disturbances. For over 30 years, Bill has served in administrative roles that focused on the provisions of special education services at a local, regional, and state level. As his career progressed, he moved into central office positions, finally serving as assistant superintendent and chief operating officer of a large regional educational service center in the greater Cincinnati area. Simultaneously, he served as executive director of a federally funded regional special education resource center in southwest Ohio.
Over the years, Bill’s focus has centered on systems and organizational development with an ongoing passion for supporting schools, school districts and regional service systems in improving services and structures that support the diverse education needs of all students, especially those with exceptionalities and gifts and talents. His efforts in coordinating professional and technical services offered to over 50 school districts in southwest Ohio has resulted in strengthened partnerships among school districts, universities, and social service agencies, all committed to serving students and families in a more seamless and cohesive manner. Bill served as president of the international Council for Exceptional Children in 1999-2000 and continues serving CEC as Chair of the CEC Fundraising and Development Committee.