When the first bell rings the morning of Thursday, August 13, for more than 300,000 students enrolled in traditional Miami-Dade County Public Schools, reading, writing and arithmetic will still be the core of a curriculum their parents and grandparents thrived upon.

What’s not been traditional is the expanded offerings and opportunities the school district provides to succeed in life.

The numbers speak for themselves:

* A 95% graduation rate (last school year)

* Seven straight years of “A” ratings

* $649 million in scholarships by the Class of 2026

* The nation’s No. 1 Magnet School District

Closer to home, Key Biscayne’s own public schools reflect that same district-wide track record.

Key Biscayne K-8 Center and MAST Academy each earned an A in the 2025-26 school grades the Florida Department of Education released in July, while Coral Gables Senior High School slipped to a B after earning A’s in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

MAST Academy turned in the strongest showing of the three local public schools, earning 88% of available points, among the top marks in Miami-Dade County. It was followed by Key Biscayne K-8 Center at 76% and Coral Gables Senior at 62%.

Outgoing Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres was on hand Friday at Miami Senior High School for his final Opening of Schools event.

“This is a school district that continues to improve year by year,” he said. “We don’t do it by chance.”

Dotres himself is a Miami High graduate who rose to the leadership of the nation’s third-largest school district, which is expected to again have more than 300,000 total students this year despite a drop of some 8,000 in traditional school enrollment (the district lost 13,000 such students during the 2025-26 school year).

The 2026-2027 estimate of 217,100 students in traditional schools marks a 110,000-student decline (38.3%) over two decades with families now opting for charter and private schools due to various reasons, but especially with the availability of school choice vouchers.

Dotres asked parents not to keep their students away from schools for their best interest (also saying AI technology could not replace human relationships in the classroom) and acknowledged that his staff would work with those parents to allay any fears.

Dotres, who will give way to South Regional Superintendent Rafael Villalobos in February, reflected on his five-year tenure in a post-event news conference after the opening ceremony, which featured talented musicians and dancers from the school district.

“It’s been the honor, the privilege of my life, I believe I made my parents very proud,” Dotres said, fighting back tears. “This is a position where you are fortunate because you give, you support, you elevate. It’s not about what you get.”

At a glance

School hours for the majority of schools

Pre-K, K, Grade 1: 8:20 a.m.-1:50 p.m.

Elementary schools (Grades 2–5 ): 8:35 a.m.-3:05 p.m.

K-8 Centers: Pre-K, K, Grade 1, 8:20 a.m.-1:50 p.m; Grades 2–8, 8:35 a.m.-3:05 p.m.

Middle schools (Grades 6-8): 9:10 a.m.-3:50 p.m.

Senior high schools (Grades 9-12): 7:20 a.m.-2:20 p.m.

Note: On Wednesdays, all students in elementary schools and K-8 centers dismiss at 1:50 p.m.

School speed zones

School speed zones are effective 30 minutes before the first school bell and 30 minutes after dismissal. Cars are expected to drive 15 mph or slower during that time. Drivers that violate the school speed zone can be ticketed.

Several schools in Miami-Dade County are equipped with speed zone cameras and will issue $100 tickets for drivers who violate the school speed zone. In the Village, there is a speed zone camera located by St. Agnes on Harbor Drive.

If you ride an e-bike (banned on the streets of Key Biscayne), the county’s new speed limit on roadways is 20 mph.

Heads up, phones down

Elementary and middle school students may not use or display their personal wireless communication devices during the school day, unless an exception applies.

High school students may display and use their personal wireless communication device during the school day but may not use their personal device during instructional time unless expressly directed by a teacher solely for educational purposes.

Students must ensure that all wireless communication devices are silent during the instructional day and hot-spot capabilities are turned off.

Required recess time

Under new Florida rules, public elementary schools must provide at least 100 minutes of supervised, safe and unstructured free-play recess each week for students in kindergarten through grade 5, ensuring at least 20 consecutive minutes per day.

Charter schools are exempt from this mandate, and recess can legally take place indoors if outdoor spaces are unavailable.

Key dates & breaks

Miami-Dade County Public Schools will start the 2026–2027 academic year on Thursday, Aug. 13, and the school year ends on June 3, 2027, following 180 instructional days.

• Labor Day: Sept. 7, 2026

• Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 23-27, 2026

• Winter Recess: Dec. 21, 2026-Jan. 1, 2027

• Spring Break: March 22-26, 2027

• Memorial Day: May 31, 2027

School tax-exempt days

There is no Florida sales tax or local option tax for school supplies through Aug. 20.

Clothing, footwear, wallets and backpacks, as long as they are less than $100, will be tax-free. School supplies priced at $50 or less are also tax-exempt, as are jigsaw puzzles with a sales price of $30 or less.

What will be missing

The district cut 168 jobs and closed nine schools due to budget reductions (3%) related to declining student enrollment:

1. Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy

2. Robert Russa Moton Elementary

3. Parkway Elementary

4. Rainbow Park Elementary

5. Lenora B. Smith Elementary will move to Georgia Jones-Ayers Middle and transition to a K-8 center.

6. Phillis Wheatley Elementary

7. Pine Villa Elementary

8. Miami Springs Middle will move to Miami Springs Senior and transition to a 6-12 school.

9. Richmond Heights Middle will move to Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts and transition to a K-12 school.

What will be new

Renovation projects at West Lakes Preparatory Academy, James H. Bright Elementary School, Miami Art Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer, J.C. Bermudez Doral Senior High School, John I. Smith K-8, Herbert A. Ammons Middle School and Southside Preparatory Academy, should be completed in the next year or two.

Among some of the new programs:

Felix Varela Senior High and South Miami Senior High will have an Apple™ Coding Magnet Program that lets students gain hands-on experience in coding and app development, just like industry professionals.

Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High introduces a SpaceHub@HML Magnet experience, featuring aerospace courses and a newly upgraded planetarium, providing students with unparalleled opportunities to explore the frontiers of space and technology.

With tools like Gemini for students, currently available for grades 9-12, students will explore how artificial intelligence can support, not replace, their thinking and creativity. Teachers are also using AI to personalize instruction, build lesson plans, and measure learning more effectively. Used wisely, these tools open new doors for college- and career-bound students alike.

Back-to-School Parent Information

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