Dr. Martin S. Karp is an award-winning teacher, educational administrator and policymaker with more than 30 years’ experience in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Dr. Karp has dedicated himself to championing a wide range of causes and programs for all residents throughout Miami-Dade.
A lifelong resident of Miami-Dade County, Dr. Karp attended the University of Miami, where he earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, a Master of Science in Education, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. He also earned a master’s degree as part of a joint M.S. and M.B.A. program from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Recently, he began serving as Chief of Staff to the Head of Schools for the Talmudic University consortium of schools, which includes Yeshiva Elementary School (Y.E.S.), Yeshiva Middle School (Y.M.S.), Aderes, Mechina High School, and numerous adult and community education programs. In his new role, Dr. Karp is responsible for helping to address specific areas including strategic planning, operational leadership, communication and coordination, project management, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to this appointment, he served as the consortium’s Dean of Academic Affairs and Community Engagement.
As Dean, one of his major projects was overseeing the implementation of a new evidence-based assessment program for pre-testing and post-testing all K-8 (Y.E.S., Y.M.S., Aderes) students on both the boys’ and girls’ campuses for the purpose of improving instructional outcomes. Also, he expanded the use of an instructional connection tool to complement the assessment program. Dr. Karp sought and reviewed proposals, benchmarked the competing companies, and was tasked with submitting the final recommendation based on product performance, track records and consumer satisfaction among other schools.
In addition, Dr. Karp created a new program called the Success Center for students at Y.E.S., which began its implementation in August 2022. The program was designed to deliver a clear message that every child will enjoy learning and succeed. To accomplish this objective, the focus is placed on each child’s strengths, and projects are assigned to explore students' interests, and give individualized instruction and strategies to improve where each student is challenged while going at his own pace.
At Y.E.S. and Y.M.S., Dr. Karp invited and hosted elected officials from across South Florida to tour the campuses, and secured donations for community programs including one that focused on food distribution for people in need. To promote the schools’ efforts, he took an active role in some public relations work and wrote Op-eds for local and regional publications.
Prior to joining the Talmudic University consortium, he served 4-terms (16 consecutive years) as an elected official and member of the Miami-Dade County School Board where he was selected by his colleagues as the Board's Vice Chair during the 2006- 2007, 2012-2013, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. Miami-Dade public schools is the third largest public school district in the United States with more than 40,000 employees and a budget that today exceeds $7 billion.
Dr. Karp began his service on the School Board when he was elected in 2004. Dr. Karp was responsible along with other School Board members for appointing the Superintendent. the School Board attorney and the Chief Auditor.
During his service, he proffered more than 100 policy initiatives that were approved by his colleagues on the School Board, and the district was awarded the top prize in urban education. As a strong advocate for interest and needs-based learning, which hones educational strategies to address each child as an individual learner, Dr. Karp worked to ensure that students with disabilities received appropriate services and support and created a board policy which led to greater access to hands-on science courses and dramatic increases in science fair participation. He introduced numerous items addressing student health and safety and promoted education to prevent Noise Induced Hearing Loss.
As a member of the School Board, Dr. Karp met regularly with elected officials covering more than 30 municipalities and was closely involved in addressing the remarkable growth in district 3 and across Miami-Dade. Specifically, in district 3, he provided valuable input which led to the funding for and construction of 7 new schools and 2 new cafeterias, new buildings/classrooms added at 14 schools, total window replacements completed at 6 schools; playgrounds and fields renovated at 11 schools, and all district 3 schools receiving facilities upgrades.
While serving on the Board, he stayed connected to the classroom by working part-time as a teacher and as a consultant for a nonprofit foundation that supported education initiatives. His work at the nonprofit foundation required him to usher in nationally recognized academic programs that focused on improving graduation rates, dropout prevention, mentoring at-risk students and connecting all students with post-secondary opportunities. Included in the work was utilizing tools for students to successfully navigate the financial aid process and apply for scholarships.
As part of his efforts on the School Board and with the nonprofit foundation, Dr. Karp committed himself to decreasing the number of high school dropouts and increasing graduation rates by introducing City Year, AVID and College Summit programs that have been embedded in schools across the district. City Year provides mentors and support for students who lack guidance and sorely need role models. AVID and College Summit utilize strategies that specifically aid students in charting a college and/or career path, which often requires strong organizational and executive functioning skills, and an understanding of how the process works to secure financial awards and assistance. Similarly, he created a working group with support from the Education Fund that united college representatives and promoted the recruitment of students who would otherwise have been overlooked for post-secondary educational opportunities.
Dr. Karp served as the School Board’s representative on The Children’s Trust from 2005-2013, and he was the School Board appointed representative for the Executive Board of the New World School of the Arts, Friends of WLRN, and WLRN’s Community Advisory Board. In November 2023, Dr. Karp rejoined WLRN’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), welcoming the opportunity to work again with some Miami-Dade School Board colleagues he has known for close to 30 years. As a CAB member, he has been tasked with reviewing curriculum and lesson plans to accompany award-wining documentaries.
When he served on The Children’s Trust, Dr. Karp was part of the effort to gain approval through a voter referendum that allowed for further support for children’s programming in perpetuity. Currently, the investment benefits over 36,000 school-aged children and youth across Miami-Dade each year. The Trust funds many organizations that provide after-school programs, STEM education, arts and youth sports groups, museums and schools. As a member of The Children’s Trust Board for eight years, Dr. Karp was required to vote on proposals that ultimately led to funding programs that helped young people develop new skills in healthy learning environments. As a member of the New World School of the Arts Executive Board, his office funded arts initiatives and he annually advocated for increased funding from the State of Florida.
Prior to his service on the School Board, Dr. Karp helped launch the gifted program at Biscayne Elementary School (BES) (now Biscayne Beach Elementary School) 33 years ago, establishing an unprecedented model partnering a public (BES) and private school (Lehrman Community Day School) to recruit student participants from both. In this joint program, Dr. Karp founded and produced a weekly children’s television show, WKDZ Kids’ World, that aired on Cable TAP’s community access channels and WLRN channel 17. Prior to teaching at BES, he interned at Bay Harbor Elementary School (now Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8) and Fienberg-Fisher Elementary School (now Miami Beach Fienberg-Fisher K-8). He also taught science and enrichment at Scheck Hillel Community School.
He founded a countywide initiative known as the H.O.P.E. (Help Overcome Pet Euthanasia/Help Our Pets Everyday) Contest, which provides a platform for students to engage in problem-solving activities addressing pet overpopulation in the community. More than 10,000 students have participated in the Contest since its inception 30 years ago. He spearheaded a partnership with Miami-Dade County, the Humane Society of Greater Miami, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, bringing leaders from the 3 organizations together to achieve positive outcomes.
Dr. Karp guided and supported educational programming on WPBT channel 2 and appeared on the television program, Issues and the Media. He also spearheaded two radio talk shows, which he produced and hosted for local A.M. stations. The programs highlighted educational issues including school choice, dropout prevention, charter schools, overcrowding and bilingual education. Among the regularly featured guests were authors, adoption specialists and representatives from children advocacy groups, including organizations that addressed teen delinquency and support for the underprivileged.
Dr. Karp was the Business Manager for Southern Playbill Publishing, Inc., and Circulation Director for Miami Beach Magazine before becoming a full-time educator.
In recognition of his dedication to advancing education for all children, Dr. Karp, who is an Eagle Scout, has received many awards including the "Cervantes Outstanding Educator Award." In 2019, he was inducted into the Miami Beach Senior High School Hall of Fame. In 2020, he received the Miami-Dade County Council PTA/PTSA Lifetime Legacy Award. Most recently, in June of 2022, he was named the recipient of the Yeshiva Elementary School, Yeshiva Middle School and Aderes Educational Leadership Award.
Dr. Karp and his wife, Danielle, are the proud parents of Herschel, Benjamin and Samson Raphael. Together, they enjoy outdoor family and Scout-related adventures, reading, learning in and outside of Shul, playing sports, and volunteering in the community.
