dbmindingall-fc-cc_web.jpgMIAMI — Miami-Dade County School Board Member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall has been  awarded the Julia Tuttle Award for exemplary community service to the citizens of the City of Miami.

Schools  Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, along with Mayor Tomas P. Regalado and city of Miami Commissioners were on hand March 14 to congratulate this year’s honoree.

 

The Julia Tuttle Award, named after Tuttle, a  Miami pioneer, is awarded by the City of Miami, Commission on the Status of Women to an individual who exemplifies the same unwavering support and work on behalf of the residents of the City of Miami as Tuttle did.

 

As a classroom teacher, principal, adult education administrator and public servant, Bendross-Mindingall has made a lifetime of using education to unlock the doors of opportunity. She founded the first state-chartered male role model program in Florida.

 

She also opened a learning center within a Miami-Dade housing project, designed to educate and provide opportunities for parents to transition from welfare to employment. After serving as Florida District 109 state representative for four consecutive terms, Bendross-Mindingall was elected on Nov. 2, 2010 to serve as the Miami-Dade County School Board Member for District 2.

 

Since then she has proffered policy legislation that streamlined Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) certification, improved safety on school buses, led to M-DCPS’ absorption of Head-Start centers throughout the county, explored licensing and broadcasting avenues for M-DCPS, and brought transparency to M-DCPS’ contract renewals and the 21st Century Schools General Obligation Bond, while student performance in District 2 continues to rise.

 

Past Tuttle Award winners include Georgia Ayers, Dorothy Quintana, Jennifer Valoppi and Alberta Batchelor Blecke.

*Pictured above is Miami-Dade County School Board Member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall.