MIAMI — Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres delivered his last “opening of schools” address on Friday at Miami Senior High School in Little Havana.
The superintendent stood on stage in the school’s auditorium, at 2450 SW First St., before a crowd that included School Board members and Parent Teacher Association leaders.
“For more than 150 years, our school district has been part of the American story, a belief that individuals and institutions can learn and become better,” Dotres said.
The event, which also included school principals, was in preparation for the return of more than 313,000 students on Thursday, the first day of the 2026-2027 academic year in Miami-Dade.
“They deserve adults who never lose sight of the power of human connection,” Dotres said about the incoming MDCP students.
Despite enrollment reductions, Miami-Dade remains the third-largest public school district in the nation after New York City, the largest, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Dotres listed the district’s achievements to include achieving an “academically high performing” designation, leading the nation in magnet education, and opening the first district-run Innovation School of Technology at Venetian Parc Academy.
“It is a school of the future with a shift from seat time to learning time. In that school, students will not be bound by minutes of instruction in particular areas,” Dotres said. “It will be about mastery and the readiness at each stage of their education process.”
Dotres also re-introduced his successor, Rafael Villalobos, whose experience includes teaching at South Dade High School and leading as principal of John A. Ferguson Senior High School and as the South Regional Superintendent since 2022. He starts on Feb. 17.
Watch a video of the event
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