Miami-Dade County sees uptick in school enrollment

MIAMI – The current wave of immigrant students has school leaders watching closely to make sure schools are not overwhelmed.  

CBS4 sat down with Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Jose Dotres and other school leaders about the impact.

“I can tell you is what we’re experiencing where the students are coming from and what their needs are, I myself immigrated to this country from the age of 5, went to Citrus Grove Elementary and so I see in these students myself,” Dotres said.

Since the start of the current school year, M-DCPS reports 14,723 new students have moved here from other countries. That number last year was only 13,404.  Keep in mind students graduate and leave so each year the totals change, but it has been on an upward trend, and that’s part of the reason why Superintendent Dotres said the schools are not in danger of overcrowding.

“What we’re realizing is of course the majority of Cuban-born students which is the group that’s having the most impact are arriving in schools in the Hialeah area,” he explained.

At this point in time, growth is highest among students from Cuba, tracking Cuban students from October to December of 2022, nearly new 2,000 new students were registered in schools, but it wasn’t just Cuban students.  There was also a rise of students from Nicaragua, and Venezuela, both close to 1,000.

“The question is, do we have enough teachers in our classrooms, and I think that’s the tricky part, making sure that our community understands, that we’re trying to do our best, but that there is a teacher shortage,” Karla Hernandez, United Teachers of Dade mentioned.  

Hernandez worries about the impact this is having on the working environment for some teachers, and how much teachers are making to retain them in classrooms.  And more students can require more resources.

“We have our plan in action, we’re executing that plan, it’s important that we have support from every level of government so we will need additional resources,” M-DCPS School Luisa Santos said.

That means it could be a challenge for the district to find more money to keep its programs running smoothly, particularly to aid new immigrant students transition to their new life.