Dr. Jose Dotres visits Doral for the first time and praises our schools

DORAL, FL – Dr. Jose Dotres, the new Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, visited Doral for the first time in a networking event hosted by Doral Family Journal Thursday morning where he praised our community for its schools.

“I must congratulate you all because Doral it’s a very special area. Schools here have an excellent performance and are innovative,” said Dr. Dotres, who was a school principal 16 years ago, before City officials, the city mayor, Juan Carlos Bermudez, Doral schools representatives, PTO and PTSA members, business owners and community leaders who were in attendance.

While he talked to the audience in a brief intervention, after being introduced by District 5 School Board member Christi Fraga, he also said schools can’t succeed without PTA parents and the support of the community.

“As a former school principal, I know part of my success had to do with this. I see that Doral, although small, is a united and supportive city,” he added.

In addition, the new Superintendent, who earlier spent some time connecting individually with some attendees in a breakfast-style gathering, said one of his goals is to make sure students have a sense of belonging while at school, as well as developing and increasing their potential.

“We want to create a positive atmosphere for children and this is something we will be working with principals. I believe each child has a great potential that sometimes we don’t see but if we learn to develop their greatness, anyone can become a leader.”

Finally, Dr. Dotres talked about Doral Family Journal. “I like that the word ‘family’ is part of their name because today connecting with family is of outmost importance,” said the new Superintendent, while also highlighting the challenges ahead in student’s mental health.

“We have increased the number of professionals that are helping students on this front. Before we only had the student counselor and teachers, but now we also have a mental health specialist and another person who represents a link between the counselor and the mental health specialist. The purpose of this is that every student has a positive experience at school.”