Dr. Martin S. Karp is an award-winning teacher who spent more than 30 years working as an educator in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Recently, he served as Dean of Academic Affairs and Community Engagement for the Talmudic University consortium of schools, which includes Yeshiva Elementary School, Yeshiva Middle School, Mechina High School, and numerous adult and community education programs. His primary work included teaching students and overseeing the implementation of a new assessment tool for students in grades K-8. 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. While on the School Board, 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. During his service, he stayed connected to the classroom by working as a teacher and as a consultant for a nonprofit foundation that supported education initiatives.
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. Before becoming a full-time educator, Dr. Karp was the Business Manager for Southern Playbill Publishing, Inc., and Circulation Director for Miami Beach Magazine.
Dr. Karp has dedicated himself to championing a wide range of educational causes and programs for all children throughout Miami-Dade. As Dean, he created individualized educational projects using interest inventories for all Yeshiva Elementary School (Y.E.S) and Yeshiva Middle School (Y.M.S) boys based on each student's passions. He implemented a new evidence-based assessment program for pre-testing and post-testing all K-8 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. That connection emphasizes personalized learning, individual guidance, and real-time analytics, while meeting the unique needs of each learner. 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 is 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. The Success Center is modeled in the fashion of a gifted program. While an emphasis is being placed on strengthening each child’s skills in reading, language arts and mathematics, the program is also providing an enrichment component, weekly STEM activities, and the inclusion of a speaker series.
Dr. Karp began his service on the School Board when he was elected in 2004. In 2008, Dr. Karp along with four other School Board members voted to appoint Alberto Carvalho as Superintendent. During his tenure, 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 welcoming the opportunity to work again with some Miami-Dade School Board colleagues he has known for close to 30 years.
Dr. Karp is a strong advocate for interest and needs-based learning which hones educational strategies to address each child as an individual learner. On the School Board, he 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. 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. 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 postsecondary educational opportunities.
Also, while serving on the Board, he proffered Board items for children with disabilities, gifted students, children in foster care and students whose families faced foreclosure. He introduced numerous items addressing student health and safety. 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.
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.
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.
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 Scouting, reading, attending Beit David Highland Lakes Shul, playing sports and volunteering.