Summer break is underway for Miami-Dade County Public Schools students, but two of their devoted board members are already eager to serve youth and families come fall.
District 1’s Dr. Steve Gallon, III and District 2’s Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall says they remain focused and eager to address the challenges ahead, concerning Florida education. Addressing their community’s needs, in and out of the classroom, will be a priority, the board representatives maintain.
“As we look ahead to the fall, I believe the most significant challenges we’ll face won’t just be logistical, they’ll be deeply human,” says Bendross-Mindingall. “First, we’re still navigating the long-tail effects of interrupted learning. While we’ve made great strides, we must acknowledge that academic recovery is not just about catching students up, it’s about re-engaging them intellectually, socially, and emotionally. That requires strategic investment in teacher support, curriculum refinement, and mental health resources.”
Similarly, Gallon is concerned that, despite Miami-Dade’s top ratings as an overall district, “underrepresented students, underserved communities and underserved families” remain.
Elected to District 1 in 2016, Gallon says he inherited the largest number of F-rated schools, and, while the larger Miami-Dade system was praised, “my students were drowning in failure.”
“What I promised when I was elected was to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ – which was empowering our children,” he says.
A former Florida state representative, Bendross-Mindingall was elected to District 2 in 2010. Eventually becoming the school board’s first Black vice-chair, she supported numerous initiatives that included the $11.7 million expansion and renovation of Charles R. Drew K-8 Center.
Both Bendross-Mindingall and Gallon previously worked as M-DCPS educators and administrators; both also identify supporting teachers as a priority for sustaining the school system’s viability.
“Second, recruitment and retention of high-quality educators remains a critical concern,” adds Bendross-Mindingall. “The teaching profession is at an inflection point nationwide. We must be bold in creating a culture where educators feel valued, protected, and inspired, not only through compensation, but through purpose, voice, and professional growth.”
Gallon reflected, not only teachers, but support staff, bus drivers and other M-DCPS employees who impact the daily experiences of students must be treated as valuable contributors. “We have to take care of our people on the front lines,” he said. “I believe in the law of proximity,” he added. “That means the people who are closest to a situation are in the best position to address it.”
Within the first year of his board membership, F-rated District 1 schools had been upgraded, and by the second year, D-rated schools had been upgraded, says Gallon, who helped initiate the school oversight committee.
“I’m not averse to parents making decisions about their students, but for those parents who don’t have the wherewithal, the understanding, it’s our job to advocate for them,” he says.
The interests of M-DCPS students cannot be separated from the needs of their families, adds Gallon. Particularly when the political climate in America has led to sentiment challenging diversity, equity and inclusion of marginalized citizens, quality schooling can level the field of potential, he says.
Opposing “notions seek to undermine the principles of public education,” Gallon shared.
Bendross-Mindingall calls public schooling “a reflection of our democracy, imperfect, aspirational, and worth fighting for.”
“So, while this current political climate may feel less supportive,” she says, “I see it as a call to reassert the fundamental truth that public schools are not just buildings, they are the backbone of our civic life.”
Bendross-Mindingall continued: “When critics try to erode public confidence, I respond not with defensiveness, but with clarity. Our classrooms are where children learn to think critically, to collaborate across differences, and to dream beyond their circumstances. That’s not a partisan ideal, that’s the American promise.”
Gallon and Bendross-Mindingall pledge their commitment to M-DCPS enrollees, regardless of their culture and background.
“This work was never supposed to be easy,” Bendross-Mindingall adds. “But I didn’t take this role because it was easy. I took it because our students, every single one of them, deserve leaders who won’t waiver when the winds change. And I intend to be one of those leaders.”
