TODAY

With more than 428,000 students in K–12 and 175,000 students pursuing higher education, Miami has one of the largest education ecosystems in the country. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), the country’s third-largest public school district, serves more than 319,000 students, of whom approximately 25 percent are enrolled in charter schools. Today, MDCPS ranks first among the five largest school districts in the United States. As in other large districts, however, disparities in student achievement across racial and ethnic lines are persistent.

MDCPS students show higher proficiency in math and English language arts than their counterparts at other large urban school districts. Even so, approximately half of MDCPS students from third to 12th grade are not proficient in math or English language arts. Being marginally better than others in this area is not enough. And while MDCPS’s high school graduation rate reached an all-time high of 90.3 percent in 2023, approximately half of high school seniors could not read at grade level. In addition, SAT scores have fallen.

Miami-Dade County must aspire to become the nation’s best K–12 education ecosystem to expand upward mobility, create a dynamic workforce, and fuel its innovation economy. Doing so will require honest and nuanced assessments of the strengths and opportunities of Miami’s public, charter, and private educational institutions. Florida’s unique education policy landscape—which offers expansive school choice through vouchers—sets the stage for innovative approaches.