Personnel Student School and Community Support Committee - Regular Meeting

All right, dare I say this will be a record to start three committees before having to say good afternoon, good morning. Welcome to the Personnel Student School and Community Support Committee meeting for August 5th, 2026. The time is now 1158 a.m. All right, before we get started, I'd like to state the committee membership. I'll be serving as your chair. Members, Dr. Dorothy Bendros-Mindego, Mr. Danny Espino, alternate members, Mr. Alonso and Mr. Geller, non-voting member, Ms. Luisa Santos, and then our ex-officio members, Madam Chair and Vice Chair. First order of today's business, approve the committee meeting minutes of July 15th. Any questions or concerns? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Next order of business will be to move the D items to the floor.

Move it.

Dr. Baglos, thank you.

D20, D21. Through the Chair, D20, request approval of personnel action listing 1206.

Okay, any questions? Okay, D21.

Through the Chair, D21, request approval of administrative appointments for 26-27.

Any questions? All right, our next D item, D64, Mr. Luis Diaz.

Yeah, it's not coming through.

Through the chair one more time. Request for approval of out-of-county, out-of-state trips for the 26-27 school year.

All right, any questions other than to include to take the board members on any good trips? All right, can I get a motion on the D items to move them to the board meeting? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Next order of business will be to move the G items to the floor. I have a motion. Second? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Our first G item on the floor, Mr. Harvey, G3.

Thank you, Madam Chair. G3 is for initial reading amendments to board policies governing the assignment of school board employees in the various categories. These policies incorporate changes as a result of the Florida House Bill 1074, which are the school board member Bill of Rights. These policies basically reflect the revised statutory definitions of good cause regarding nominated school board employees. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Any questions or comments from the board? All right, as always, thank you for making sure that we are up to date with all new policies. All right, next order of business will be to move the H items to the floor. Can I have a motion? Move it. A second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Our first H item on the floor. Madam Chair, H5.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And H5 is a school board endorsement of the month of September 2026 as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Again, this is an agenda item that I do bring forth every year, and it's sad to say, but unfortunately, this affects so many different families, no discrimination of ages. whether they're children or not, whether they're young or in the middle schools or high schools, they're affected in the same manner, sadly. There are red flags that are everywhere, and hopefully with items such as this one, we'll be able to be proactive as much as we possibly can together with the families so that when there are red flags that we move very efficiently and very effectively to try to make a difference and provide the assistance that some of these students need in a time of crisis. So the health, safety, and again the well-being of all of our students remains the number one priority. of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. And when these students are facing a crisis, whether, again, it deals with increasing academic pressure, social or emotional challenges, it's essential that all of our schools be able to foster a supportive environment where these mental health issues are prioritized for individuals to feel that they are connected, that they are listened to, and that help is available for all of them before sadly having to deal with with a situation that many would regret. So raising awareness about suicide prevention is a critical component of promoting student wellness, reducing that stigma that has been out there for many, many years, and encouraging open conversations that our children can have with our educators regarding mental health. Each September, communities across our nation observe National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. And again, the purpose is to educate the public to be able to promote prevention strategies and also to be able to reinforce the importance of recognizing the warning signs of students who are in emotional distress. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is absolutely committed to providing students, families and employees with the resources, education and all the support that is necessary to promote resilience, encourage, again, early intervention and connect those in need with the appropriate services available. And it can happen to students, but it can also be something where members of our workforce might need. the assistance as well. So this agenda item endorses the observance of September 2026 as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and reaffirms our district's commitment to fostering a culture of compassion, of hope, and of awareness. Thank you, Madam Chair.

That is the item. Thank you, Madam Chair, for always bringing this forward. I think at times we say the heart is a silent killer, but many times there's signs, but sometimes we don't know how much people are hurting, so it's always important to bring awareness. Any other comments, Board Member Alonso?

Thank you, and thank you, Madam Chair Rojas, for bringing this important item. Question for staff through the Chair. I know that school psychologists and counselors and Board Member Blanco, you know this better than anybody, is a critical part of the support that we can offer to students, especially when they're going through these difficult times. Do we currently have placements at all of our schools and the support needed for all of our students, as well as our staff, should they need anything through our district, through the chair? Any clarification?

Through the chair, are we speaking about school counselors? Through the chair, yes. We are still filling a handful of counseling positions at school sites, but schools and the schools, if there is a sole counselor for perhaps a small elementary school and they have a vacancy, Ms. Stewart's team is fantastic and supports that school by giving them a mental health coordinator full time, so there's consistent presence to provide support for our students and our faculty. Additionally, when it comes to faculty, we have the benefit through our healthcare plan, right, of free mental health support, and then we also provide employee assistance programming support through the EAP office. So our employees have lots of benefits to support their mental health, and then our students have additional supports at every single location.

And the school psychologists are usually assigned to two or three schools depending on the caseloads and the needs of that school. All right, any other questions or comments? Can I get a motion for co-sponsorships? Second. All in favor? Motion to move the item as amended to the board meeting. All in favor? Before moving on to H6, I think we may not have taken a motion to move the G item to the board meeting. Can I get a motion? Move it. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you.

So we'll now go to the next H item. H6. H6, Chair Rojas. Thank you, Madam Chair. And H6 is Miami-Dade County School Board endorsement and celebration of October 2026. as National Principals Month. Again, this is an item that I proudly bring every year to the board because having been a former principal in several schools myself, there are no words that can truly describe the role and the responsibility that each one carries each and every day of their assignments. Our principals play a vital role in shaping the culture shaping the climate and the academic success of our students. And as instructional leaders, they inspire excellence, they support teachers and staff, they foster always positive learning environments, and they work tirelessly to be able to ensure that every student, every student has the opportunity to succeed and to thrive. Their leadership, their dedication, their commitment, their passion, their tenacity, I mean, It is ongoing and they're at the helm. They are the ones that set the tones that others will emulate. So they are essential to advancing the mission of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and meeting the diverse needs of our students, of our families, and of our communities. This agenda item recognizes the observance of National Principals Month and honors the outstanding contributions of our principals throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools. It provides an opportunity for the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the educational community, and parents and students as well as the public, to express its sincere appreciation for the professionalism, the resilience, and the unwavering commitment of our principals. Again, without their leadership, we would not see the success that we have witnessed in Miami-Dade County Public Schools throughout the years. That A status did not happen without our principals who are at the helms of our schools making a positive impact each and every day. The job of a principal is becoming more and more challenging each and every day, yet they do it with a smile and a positive, can-do attitude, not only with their words, but more importantly, with their actions. So this is my item, Madam Chair. Thank you, my colleagues.

Thank you, Chair Rojas, for always bringing this item forward. Absolutely, our principals are those leaders and deserve to be recognized. Any comments or questions? Co-sponsorships? Can I get a motion? All in favor? Thank you. A motion to move as amended to the board meeting? Second? All in favor? Thank you. Moving on to item H13. Mr. Alonso, this is your item.

Thank you so much, Chair Belanco, and thank you, colleagues, for allowing me the opportunity to bring this item. As we were talking earlier, marketing and being innovative is a critical part of our district's success in moving forward, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools has always been a leader in innovation while maintaining high academic and strong public accountability. This item is an item that is simply asking our superintendent to explore another innovative education model that so many of us are hearing. We're hearing a lot about homeschooling. We're hearing a lot about micro schools. And what this could do is give us that opportunity to explore if it's something that our district could support our families with throughout our community. As we know, families are increasingly looking for more of a personalized education experience for their children in which they can be offered individualized instruction with flexible learning environments and a stronger connection to some of the college and career opportunities out there. So rather than losing those students to the private sector or to even homeschooling, this gives the district an opportunity to look at alternative education options where we could evaluate whether we can provide many of those same benefits within our own public school system, leveraging some of the spaces that we have, but more importantly, our expertise of our teachers and administrators. The ultimate goal here is to improve success. As we've seen in some of the studies that I was able to read through, micro-academies really help in several instructional strategies by increasing student engagement, as well as accelerating some mathematical and reading achievements, and expanding on that personalized education that many families are looking for. And it also works in better preparing students for some of these high-demanding careers. Preparing our students for the future, as we know, is very important, and marketing the strengths that our district can bring from STEM to entrepreneurship to workforce connection programs that we have through our CTE programs, as well as through some of the work that we've done with emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, I think really sets us apart to be able to offer one of these innovative micro schools throughout our district. So the goal here is to leverage our resources that we already have, both from a personnel, but also from an asset standpoint, right? We know that we have some empty classrooms and some more buildings. We have buildings that we're vacating that could easily be turned into these facilities where we can collaborate with families in our community. So rather than constructing new buildings or having these new opportunities arise in the community, we have the opportunity as a district to be able to take the lead on this and start to create some of these individualized programs through these micro schools. So with that in mind, the goal of this item is to request not to create a school and not to move forward in this, but to simply explore the feasibility on if our district could head in this direction and if we could provide those services to our families. So the board item strictly just requested the superintendent conduct a comprehensive feasibility study, and return to the board with recommendations before any future decisions are made. And then at that point, the board will have the opportunity to review the findings before determining whether a pilot should move forward or not. That is my board item, thank you.

Thank you, Board Member Alonso. Any comments or questions from my colleagues? Chair Rojas?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to take this opportunity to thank Board Member Alonso for this particular item. As you alluded to, Board Member Alonso, everything is rapidly evolving in our school system, and this is an opportunity to, as you said, explore and follow up accordingly based on whatever outcomes come back to us from the superintendent but it's a way of trying to get our enrollment numbers up if that possibility does exist and providing services within the school system that parents are seeking and so again we proudly offer many choice options to our families, more than anyone in the entire country, but an item such as this one is looking at providing yet an additional opportunity to bring in more students within Miami-Dade County Public Schools and providing some families with the areas that they desire for their children. So at the proper time, Board Member Alonso, I would like to cosponsor your item, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Any other comments from my colleagues? Board Member Alonso, anytime there's an item that's looking at innovation and new ways to bring in students, absolutely we'll be in support. So motion for co-sponsorships?

Move it, second.

All in favor? Aye. Motion to move as amended to the board meeting. Move it. Can I get a second? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Moving on to new business. Do we have any new business board members would like to bring up? I don't think there's any staff follow-ups. We're going to hit a record today, Madam Chair. Yes, I know. I'm going to get a motion to adjourn today's meeting.