Miami-Dade’s future depends on what happens in its classrooms | Opinion
Forty-one percent. That’s the share of Miami-Dade public school students in grades 3–10 who can read proficiently today.
Flip the number and you see the crisis: Nearly six out of 10 kids are falling behind. When children can’t read by third grade,their chances of catching up plummet — and Miami-Dade loses future entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers and leaders.
This is why we signed on as founding board members of the Partnership for Miami: to ensure the business community steps up on the issues that will decide our city’s future. Education stands at the center, because every other dream for Miami rests on whether our kids succeed in school.
For those who don’t know: The Partnership for Miami is a nonprofit organization of business leaders dedicated to fostering collaborative solutions for Miami’s long-term growth and prosperity, focusing on areas like housing affordability, education, transit and infrastructure and environmental protection by uniting the private, public and civic sectors.
Yes, Miami-Dade schools have much to celebrate — one of the top-rated urban school districts in the country and hundreds of high-performing schools. But averages and accolades can’t hide the truth.
Too many children are being left behind, and families know it.
The Partnership is investing in proven solutions. One example is the Lucy Project, a local nonprofit that equips teachers and provides small-group interventions to build foundational literacy skills.
Earlier this week, we committed nearly $2 million to expand its in-classroom program to four public schools.
Our work is guided by data, all detailed in the Partnership’s new report, Beyond the Grade: A Close Look at Miami’s K-12 System. It celebrates what’s working but also names the hard truths. At its core is accountability. Every school that takes public dollars must deliver real results for students.
We’re ready to work with anyone — district leaders, charter operators, teachers, parents — who is serious about raising achievement.
But we will also be honest about what isn’t working, and we will demand better. Our children deserve nothing less.
Doubling down on Miami means investing in people: our children, our teachers, our families. This city has the talent and energy to build one of the strongest education systems in the nation. But that will only happen if we treat it as a shared responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for results.
We’re proud to lend our voices to this effort, and we invite others to join us.
Miami’s future will be written in its classrooms. Let’s make sure every child can read it.
Andre Dua is the managing partner of McKinsey & Company in Miami and vice-chair of the Board of the College Advising Corps. He is founding co-chair of the Partnership for Miami. Manny Kadre is CEO of Kollective Auto Group, chairman of the board of Republic Services, a director of Home Depot and chair of the University of Miami. He is a founding member of the Partnership for Miami.