Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Jose Dotres lays out vision for upcoming school year
MIAMI - It's almost time to go back to school.
Miami-Dade County's new school year begins next week and Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres spent Friday morning welcoming new teachers.
Dotres laid out his vision for the upcoming school year. The theme of his speech was "We Equal One."
"We want to make sure that we continue to be the exceptional public school district that we are and we are making sure that we're putting all of our efforts to make this come together as one family, one group of teachers and administrators that together we can lift the academic performance of our students," said Dotres.
Dotres says this year there will be a huge focus on proficiency. He says educators are working on new standards and new assessments. He says they are focused closing the achievement gap. He says students are still dealing with the ramifications of the pandemic.
"That's why we are increasing our attention to interventions and tutorials. Focus on early childhood kindergarten through second grade, but also honing in on third grade, it's a gatekeeper for proficiency," he said.
Dotres says the mental health and well-being of students will continue to be a priority and they will continue to examine the safety of schools.
"This year, we are entering the school year with family reunification plans, something that we've had in the past but not to the extent that we have now."
Dotres also took questions from reporters after his speech. He told the group the district is working hard to find teachers to fill open positions and they have already hired 600 new educators.
