Principal: Peter B. Gutierrez
Assistant Principal: Monica Sanchez
Redland School owes its origin to Dr. Hyram Byrd, formerly Director of the Board of Health in Jacksonville, Florida. He came to Dade County for his health and to experiment with the use of rattlesnake venom as an antidote to snake bites. It is singularly appropriate to say, that until 1958, the black and orange diamond back rattler climbed the stem of a big R as the symbol of the “Redland Rattlers”. Redland Farmlife School was formed from the consolidation of seven small neighborhood schools: Princeton, Murray Hill, Silver Palm, Modello, Goulds, Eureka and Redland. Dr. Byrd secured an agricultural school land grant under the Morrill Act of 1862 to help finance the project. Redland was dedicated by Governor Cats on July 4, 1916, with a big picnic for the whole area. The first principal was Mr. I. T. Pearson. There were separate teachers for each of the eight grades and a small high school and agriculture school. Ninety-eight percent of the students were bussed to school. The buses consisted of a slatted, roofed “cattle car” type of trailer with seats for 85 children hauled by a separate tractor. A senior high boy was responsible for keeping order on the bus and seeing that the children crossed the road safely. A teacher was required to live at the end of each bus line and usually drove his own bus. Other teachers were required to live at the “Teacher-age”, which was later used as our Home Economics Building, to protect the school from vandalism. Mr. Gnash Cook’s family was the last to occupy the “Teacher-age” before it was remodeled in 1957. Another group of teachers was housed in the old school house in Princeton.
Redland continued as a Kindergarten through 12th grade agricultural school until South Dade High School was finished in 1953. At that time grades 9-12 and the agricultural school moved from Redland. It continued as an elementary and junior high under one principal until 1957 when the Homestead Air Force Base was reactivated and the influx of pupils made a great deal of building expansion necessary. In 1958 it became two separate schools and the 9th grade returned from South Dade. The Student Council voted to change the symbol from the Redland Rattlers to the Redland Royals and the colors from orange and black to blue and gold to make the change to a separate junior high school. In 1983 the ninth grade was transferred back to South Dade Senior High School and Redland Junior High School became Redland Middle School, consisting of grades 6-8.