Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) held its 29th annual Principal TODAY on December 15th, 2022 and it was an honor to participate. This year I had the privilege of serving at Miami Lakes Educational Center & Technical College alongside Mr. Yaset Fernandez and his wonderful team. The day started with a tour of the facility (massive!) and I was able to witness firsthand the magic of this PLATINUM designated STEAM school. The school truly serves as a model for 21st Century Learning and taps into the wholeness of the student with a ‘something for everyone’ environment. From CDL Training, Culinary, to Cybersecurity and Gaming, this school is one of the most impressive in our district.
I also learned that Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College (MLEC&TC) is one of seven accredited technical colleges in the Miami-Dade School District. The center was initially established as Miami Lakes Educational Center in 1976 and over the years, has evolved to meet the needs of a changing community. In 2006 the center began offering a secondary high school component. This innovative, dual delivery educational institution is designed to serve various aspects of the community and to provide a unique approach to education. The school prides itself as an organization driven by its mission which is to create a highly qualified future workforce by offering state-of-the-art academic, career, and technical education to all generations within our community.
I was able to participate in the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council luncheon and got to hear Dr. Dotres’ vision for the social, academic, and workforce development goals for our students and teachers. The culinary students cooked up an amazing ‘Noche Buena’ style meal and it was delicious. Kudos to the team there working hard to level the playing field and ensure our students have the best quality education possible. I’ll be back soon!
-Carlos Vazquez
