Hollywood star Goldie Hawn popped into a meeting of the Miami-Dade School Board Wednesday, surprising onlookers, prompting a standing ovation, and announcing a partnership agreement with two local schools.
She also took a liking to Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho, who escorted her out after the presentation: "I think I've fallen in love," she told assembled media. "He's a very special man."
He might also now be on the lookout for an angry Kurt Russell -- if Hawn's longtime love can Escape from New York, he can probably track down the county's top principal. But Hawn wasn't just on hand to be charming, she also explained the work her Hawn Foundation would be doing to benefit children at William Lehman Elementary School in Kendall and Coconut Palm K-8 Center in Homestead.
Established after the attacks of September 11 to address issues of stress in children, the Hawn Foundation's signature MindUP program is designed to help school kids acquire social and emotional skills for coping and thriving.
"A kid can earn straight A’s and end up killing themselves because they’re overworked, overpressured," she said, according to the Miami Herald. A School Board release touted the program's benefits, which WSVN reports will be tested by the University of Miami before it expands to other Miami-Dade schools:
The MindUP Program’s curriculum focuses on reducing stress and anxiety; improving concentration, focus and academic performance; gaining greater self-insight and awareness; reducing peer-to-peer conflict such as bullying; and learning to more rapidly appreciate the many differences and qualities of others especially when different from one’s own. The curriculum is implemented through 15 lessons that are presented in three developmentally appropriate levels: pre-K through 2nd grade, 3rd grade through 5th grade, and 6th through 8th grade.
Miami-Dade was always a focus of mine, always," Hawn told Local10. "One of the reasons was that it is a challenged school district. It's the fourth-largest school district, and we work district to district. So, we're in Newark, N.J., we're in Minneapolis, we're in Chicago. I thought Miami would be a very important place. Also, we have connections to research down here."
Of course, not everyone was impressed, but he probably just hasn't seen Overboard -- look what she did with those children!
Check out images from Goldie Hawn's career and Tweets and pics from her School Board visit below:
