With the first day of school coming on Aug. 13, the outgoing superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools is preparing to welcome new students for the final time. On Friday, the district hosted a opening of schools address at Miami Senior High School, with Superintendent Jose Dotres highlighting t he accomplishments made by Miami-Dade schools. “Our school district surpassed the state in 19 out of 21 contested areas. A point of comparison, just for third grade, four years ago in fourth grade and third grade, we had students, grade level and above, at only 52%, today that number sits at 65%” said Dotres. This will be the last year with the district for Dotres, as his contract expires in February. Longtime district administrator Rafael Villalobos will become the new superintendent, after receiving unanimous support from the school board. “To recognize our incoming superintendent of schools Mr. Rafael Villalobos,” said Miami-Dade School Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas. During the opening address, Dotres stressed the importance of connecting with people in the age of technology. “So what about the escalating presence of ChatGPT, [Google] Gemini and Claude? Technology can provide information but relationships provide meaning,” he said. The Miami-Dade school district has been an A-rated district for seven years, and they hope Aug. 13 is the beginning of their eighth year. ...read more read less