Next School Year Brings Changes for Doral Public Schools.
New High School and New K-8 Center
By: María Alejandra Pulgar
The new school year starting in August 2020 will bring more options in public education for Doral families.
The opening of a second High School creates a new feeder pattern for the area, which will include an additional K-8 center, increasing the offer of student stations at public schools in Doral. It reflects the effort of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) to catch up with the needs of the growing population of the city.
In recent years, charter and private schools have helped alleviate the overcrowding in public schools, which are operating at capacity or beyond, according to the enrollment data from the MDCPS portal. Although all Doral public schools have excellent academic performance, still the issue of overcrowding affects students and teachers in terms of space and resources. Redistribution of the population by modifying the attendance boundaries will help balance out capacity and provide improvements for all schools.
The Attendance Boundary Committee (ABC) has been meeting since September 2019 and produced recommendations for permanent boundaries for the schools, which were presented at meetings with the community during the months of January and February. These meetings were announced in advance by the host schools and the School Board through different media at the impacted schools.
On March 12th ABC recommendations will be presented to the School Board and Superintendent and by March 16th the administration of impacted schools will schedule informational meetings regarding the proposed changes. Parental and community involvement is an important component for the academic success of students and it is imperative that there is participation on the meetings to ensure that all expectations regarding education programs offered are met by the district.
Readings to approve the changes will take place at School Board Meetings on April 29th and June 17th.
What are the proposed boundary changes?
The recommendations of this year’s ABC impact all schools in Doral and changes proposed are as follows:
John I. Smith K-8 Center
- Boundaries are not changed
- Incoming 6th graders will stay at JIS-K8 building at NW 52nd St and NW 102nd Ave
- Current students on 6-7th grade will remain at the current Middle Learning Center Building
- Current 8th graders will be assigned, upon graduation, to the New High School or choose to attend RRDSH if they have older siblings currently there.
- JIS K-8 is now part of the Feeder Pattern of the New Doral High School.
Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center
- Boundaries are not changed
- Current 8th graders will be assigned, upon graduation, to the New High School or choose to attend RRDSH if they have older siblings currently there.
- EBT K-8 is now part of the Feeder Pattern of the New Doral High School
Dr. Rolando Espinosa K-8 Center
- Attendance boundaries: students residing between NW 62nd and Waterway from NW 114th Ave. to Miami-Dade/Collier County Line, and between NW 58th St. and NW 88th St. from NW 107th Ave. to NW 114th Ave.
- Students 6th to 8th grades will remain at DRE.
- Students PreK-5 out of DRE boundaries will attend Dr. Toni Bilbao Preparatory Academy or the New School, unless they have older siblings at DRE and there are open seats available at their grade level.
- Students K-1 within New School at Grand Bay boundaries will attend that school and students 2-7 will remain at DRE.
- Upon graduation, 8th graders will attend RRDSH.
- DRE is part of RRDSH feeder pattern
Dr. Toni Bilbao K-8 Center
- Attendance boundaries: students residing between NW 88th St/ Waterway and NW 202nd St / Okeechobee Rd from NW 107th Ave to Miami-Dade/Collier County Line.
- New Students PreK-5 will attend Dr. Toni Bilbao Preparatory Academy, unless they have older siblings at DRE and there are open seats available at their grade level.
- Students at 6th to 8th grades will remain at DRE.
- Toni Bilbao Preparatory Academy is part of RRDSH feeder pattern
Reagan/Doral SH
- Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School opened its doors in 2006. The opening of a second high school is a long awaited solution.
- Boundaries: between NW 62nd Ter and NW 106thth St from the Palmetto/ Okeechobee Rd to Miami-Dade/Collier County Line, and between NW 58th St and Okeechobee Rd from Palmetto to NW 114th
- Students currently attending 9th to 11th grades at RRDSH will remain at that school.
- For School Year 2020-21 will receive incoming 9th graders from Dr. Rolando Espinosa and only those from EBT and JIS with older siblings currently attending RRDSH.
- Feeder Pattern: DRE, Dr. Toni Bilbao, New K-8 Center at Grand Bay
New Doral K-8 Center at Grand Bay
- Attendance boundaries: students residing between NW 58th St and Okeechobee Rd, between Palmetto and NW 107th
- Will open with students PreK-1, incoming from current DRE and new students.
New Doral High School
- The student body of the yet-to-be-named new high school will be composed by students residing between NW 25th St and NW 58th St from the Palmetto to NW 114th Ave and between NW 25th St and NW 62nd Ter from 114th Ave to Miami-Dade/Collier County Line.
- For School Year 2020-21 will offer only 9th grade for incoming students and subsequent grades will open gradually each school year until reaching full capacity (9 to 12th grade) by 2023-24.
- Incoming students include those from EBT and JIS.
- Incoming 9th graders with older siblings currently at RRDSH will be given the option of attending there instead of the new school.
- The new school will have the following programs: Cambridge, Veterinary Sciences, Nursing, Entrepreneurship, and will offer JV Athletics in the first year.
- The First Principal is Mr. Ed Smith, who comes from Miami Springs Senior High
- Feeder Pattern: JIS and EBT