Smooth sailing on the first day of school.
That’s the assessment from Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent, Dr. Jose Dotres, speaking at an after-school news conference at Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, a K-8 school. Dotres said there were no reports of any school bus issues, but there were two schools, he said, that had air conditioning issues which have been fixed.
The superintendent of the nation’s third-largest school district visited several schools Thursday but started his day at Edison Senior High School to highlight its rise from an “F” school to an “A” grade this year.
“Welcome back, thank you, mom!” said an administrator to parents and students in the drop-off line.
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It’s a new day, a new school year, and new status for the Red Raiders of Edison High.
“The state wanted to close it, and look where we are today,” Dotres said. “It’s an A-rated school, Edison Senior High School.”
“Like I said, there’s no word that can ever describe this, I know when we got to an A, tears came to my eyes, because we worked so hard,” said the school’s principal, James Dominique, who is also an Edison alumnus.
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Many of the kids at Edison are immigrants, still learning English, and many are from families who struggle with severe poverty. So Dominique says achieving an “A” grade is even more impressive, but, he says, not entirely surprising given what he calls the immigrant mentality on education. He came to this country from Haiti as a child.
“We know that education is the key to our future, so when we believe in education, we keep on pushing because we know that’s the only way the door will open,” Dominique said.
The students have noticed the “A” rating, too.
“I have them bragging rights over the people that go to the school across the street, across the district, so yeah it feels good, feel like I’m going to a better school, a more elevated school,” said Sterling Joseph, a senior and a star running back on the football team.
Yolette Mezadieu is an Edison graduate and she’s been teaching there for 25 years.
“It took years, but we knew we had a goal, we had a vision, because these are some wonderful kids here,” she said, beaming with pride.
The achievement also sends a message, Dotres said.
“So this school also demonstrates to this community that we’re invested in education,” he said.
Achieving an “A” rating is clearly a morale boost for everyone at Edison but it also helped Miami-Dade County Public Schools maintain its overall “A” grade for the fifth year in a row.
The superintendent said this year, the district will focus more on third graders because research shows that if children are proficient academically at that level, they tend to do well all the way through high school.
For parents who have questions about the first week of school, they can call the district at 305-995-4357, text at 1-844-908-1674, or chat at www.Dadeschools.net.
