Gables Rotary welcomes Supt. Carvalho as honorary member, guest speaker
The Rotary Club of Coral Gables welcomed Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho as an honorary member and the program speaker at its Aug. 23 luncheon meeting at the Coral Gables Country Club.
In September 2008, Mr. Carvalho became superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, now the nation’s fourth-largest school system, serving a over 400,000 students with a budget of over $4 billion.
In 2011, the district posted its highest high school graduation rate ever, up from 55% to 80%+, and decreased the number of “F” high schools in Miami-Dade from 13 to zero.
Superintendent Carvalho is pushing for the migration from textbooks to digital content and is developing cutting-edge educational environments to meet the demands of today’s learners. Mr. Carvalho stressed his commitment to improving the quality of life for the county’s students by improving the quality of education.
He told Rotary members that the proposed $1.2 billion bond issue on the November ballot is critical for the improvement of the school facilities. He committed that 100% of the projects funded with that money will be used on local businesses.
In response to questions, Mr. Carvalho indicated he welcomes charter schools but feels that they should be required to adhere to the same standards as other public schools.
The Rotary Club of Coral Gables is a member of Rotary International, a worldwide service organization with 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs in 200 countries that are devoted to ideal of service above self. The club meets every Thursday at 12:15 p.m. at the Coral Gables Country Club, 927 North Greenway Dr.
For information, call Club Administrator Teresa Long, 305-441-8063. More information is available at www.coralgablesrotary.org or www.facebook.com/RotaryCoralGables.
