Remarks by Mari Teresa Rojas
77 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 4
- Play at 1:17:31
“Yes, thank you very much, Madam Chair. And H3 is science education in Miami-Dade County public schools. While Miami-Dade County Public Schools continues truly to demonstrate strong performance on state science assessments, there's also definitely a need to reevaluate these results and to be able to target those skills and those standards that need enhancement or improvement. Therefore, it is important that the district regularly evaluate the quality, the effectiveness, and also the equity of science education across all of our grade levels. As science and technology continue to shape the…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:27:04
“Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And H4 is school board endorsement of Hispanic Heritage Month in Miami-Dade County Public Schools from September 15, 2026 through October 15, 2026. And this is an agenda item that I've had the privilege of bringing before the board in previous years, and I'm absolutely honored to be able to present it one more time. Its continued recognition truly reflects our shared commitment to celebrating the important contributions and the achievements which it represents. And I am very proud to reaffirm that commitment by bringing this item forward to the board for…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:32:36
“Yes. Thank you so much, Madam Vice Chair, for bringing this item. Absolutely. This is a day that we'll never forget. And actually, I was right here, right here, downtown building. I know exactly who was in that room with me when we first started getting the news, and it was terrifying. because it started with one situation, went over to another, another, and all of a sudden everybody is talking about the entire country being under attack. I am very happy to see that we continue to teach our students about the horror that occurred on that day, but the bravery that occurred on that day and the…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:40:25
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:41:24
“Yes, through the chair, that's okay. You can get back to us. But I also would like to know, how was the attendance of the students that were eligible to participate in the summer program? Because sometimes you have a number of students that are enrolled and then they don't show up half the time. So can anyone answer that?”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:42:08
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:45:39
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Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:49:46
“Thank you so much. I appreciate that response. And my last question, Madam Chair, if I may. We're opening up within a blink of an eye. This question is more related to our classrooms. Do we have certified teachers assigned to our classrooms? And if we don't, I know you're smiling because I ask this question every year. If we don't, how many classes are still, right now, pending assignments? Through the chair.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:50:49
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:53:23
“Thank you. Through the chair, ESE classes? 43 through the chair.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 1:54:09
“Yeah, just the fact that that's eye-opening.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Aug 5, 2026
- Play at 3:58:04
“Yes, very quickly. Thank you so much for bringing this forth. Extremely important. Again, because of the mental health related issues that many of our students are encountering. Very important to me is that children that need the assistance get the help that they need in an expeditious manner. can, through the chair, can you let us know if somebody is in crisis, if something is happening, what is the process that is being followed, and is this being disseminated to our administrators at our school sites, through the chair?”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:00:13
“Thank you, so through the chair, how many days is it that they have? After they go into.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:01:14
“Through the Chair, thank you. This is disseminated to our principals. They know the resources that they have readily available. And if a family cannot afford certain services, because mental health is very expensive. If anybody goes into private, you know, going to get a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, whatever you want to call them, they are expensive. It is not something that everybody can afford. I know we have families that... encounter situations with their children and they're simply struggling i know that we have resources available but are those resources available on the spot…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:02:26
“So through the chair, one last question. I'd like to find out, does a family have to make a certain income to be able to qualify or you can be making whatever and still qualify to get the services?”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:02:45
“All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:06:42
“Comments? Chair Rojas? Just a very brief comment. Very comprehensive. Thank you for bringing this forth. So important, reading. What's more important than that? Every subject area requires, even math, where a lot of people say, well, math is computational. No, it's not. and you have the word problem, so on and so forth. So it's extremely important that we have the plan, very happy to see that you all included in here the contact information because a lot of people don't know who is spearheading specific areas. So the fact that you have main reading contact Vanessa de la Pena and then you have…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:09:16
“Thank you so much. Through the chair, also, I'm happy to see that for VPK, you have very clear and measurable student literacy achievement goals. Can you just elaborate on that? Because those grades are critically important for the foundation. Sure. Through the chair. So in the chart there,”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:10:15
“Thank you. Very comprehensive plan. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:12:15
“Yes. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And this item is the feasibility of expanding the concept of establishing K-12 school campuses in Miami-Dade County public schools. And basically, this item is directing the superintendent of schools to explore the feasibility of establishing a K-12 campus or campuses in Miami-Dade County and to provide a report to the board at the Academics Evaluation and Technology Committee on October 7th of 2026. The K-12 concept has already actually been successfully implemented in some of our Miami-Dade schools, very limited, but the I-PREP is one example of a…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:24:36
“Very briefly, when the children start in kindergarten and the families are happy, more likely than not, they're going to stay with us all the way throughout. And that's why it's so important to start with the little ones all the way up because It's proven. If they are in a school starting at a very young age and they are pleased with the education, with the administration, with the teachers, they're going to stay with us. And we have a lot of other competition. We have homeschooling out there. We have charter schools. We have private schools. We have parochial schools. And we're working…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:30:05
“Yes, I do. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. And first of all, I like, I know that many of us have interns that are here with us today. My intern is sitting right over there from Young Women's Preparatory Academy, Marvette Ocean, can you please stand to be recognized? This is an all-girls school, the only one that we have in the entire district, and exceptional student with a great future ahead of her, and the internship is opening her eyes to so many different arenas that she would not have had an opportunity to do so. If you could allow her to just say a few words I would appreciate that.…”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:32:28
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:35:40
“No, no, I'm gonna keep on going with my new business. I just wanted to start with them first, so if I may.”
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 4:35:51
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee · Jul 15, 2026