What to Know
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools is not the market for a new leader after Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced Thursday he is staying
- "I am breaking an agreement between adults to honor an agreement and a pact I have with the children of Miami," Carvalho said
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is not in the market for a new leader after Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced Thursday he turned down a job as the new chancellor of the New York City school district.
"Against probably my personal best interest, I am making a decision and announcing a decision today after speaking with the honorable Mayor Bill de Blasio that I shall remain in Miami-Dade as your superintendent," Carvalho announced before receiving a standing ovation at Thursday's school board meeting.
After reports surfaced Wednesday that Carvalho – who has been the leader of MDCPS since 2008 after a career that started as a teacher nearly three decades before – had been offered the position by New York's mayor, the school board staged an emergency meeting to address the situation.
"I am breaking an agreement between adults to honor an agreement and a pact I have with the children of Miami," Carvalho said to a thunderous applause.
Before Carvalho made his announcement, dozens of people took two minutes each to sing the praises of the man who turned the district from one dealing with issues of debt and corruption into a district that has balanced their budget while increasing graduation rates by over 20 percent during his tenure.
“To lose this man would be a travesty,” said Luther Campbell, the former singer of the rap group 2 Live Crew, who has become a community activist in Miami-Dade. “This man brought dignity back to that seat."
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Carvalho was visibly emotional after a student at iPrep Academy – one of the two schools he is the principal at in his position – asked for a hug following his speech urging the superintendent to stay.
"The chancellor's position in New York City is the most coveted job in education," Carvalho said when speaking about a job where he would have been in charge of nearly 1.1 million students.
The press secretary of de Blasio, Eric Phillips, posted a series of tweets shortly after the announcement criticizing Carvalho for the change of heart.
A native of Portugal, Carvalho was the only one in his family to graduate high school before moving to America – working odd jobs before graduating from Barry University and beginning his career as a teacher at Miami Jackson Senior High School.
