Miami-Dade Public Schools students head back to class for first day of school

Summer break is officially over in Miami-Dade as hundreds of thousands of students get back to class for the first day of school on Thursday.

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools district is the third-largest in the United States.

Sophia del Oro is starting high school.

"I'm very excited for the opportunities they're going to give me here since they have so many programs," she said. 

She's attending Miami Springs 6-12 Preparatory Academy. It used to be Miami Springs High School, but because of under-enrollment it merged with Miami Springs Middle School.

Nine schools have either closed or merged with others due to a drop in enrollment. They stretch from southern Miami-Dade to northern Miami-Dade.

"It is not about saving money. We have to consolidate schools when we have a small school that the enrollment is not sufficient for us to be able to properly provide the resources," Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres said.

Thursday was Dotres' last first day of school, and he said there's plenty to celebrate.

"Our school district seven years in a row, an A," he said. "We ended up with our highest graduation rate of 95%."

After Miami Springs he headed further south to Venetian Park Academy.

"The first district innovative school in the state of Florida, that was provided a waiver,  no longer will students be bound by certain specific minutes of instruction, but it will be more competency-based," Dotres said. "Students learn at their own pace."

There are even more changes this school year, including universal free meals.

"There are 121 schools that are certified directly for federal funds. In those schools, breakfast and lunch will be free."

All other parents will have to apply for free and reduced meals online.

"Take care of it within the first week of school."

There are more than 760 school bus routes, each equipped with a camera ready to ticket drivers who go around a bus with its stop arm extended.