Ready to return: COVID-19 provided a launching pad for innovation and disruptive education practices Alongside tourism and healthcare, the education sector felt the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In many ways, the pandemic was a watershed moment that forced a revolutionary change in the sector, as schools at all levels raced to adopt technology and pivot to an online environment. In March, when the pandemic broke across the country, many wondered if students would even finish the year. By September, it became apparent that institutions had learned important lessons from the initial outbreak. They had started redefining the role of online learning while expanding their private sector partnerships to train the workforce of tomorrow. Surprisingly, many also saw an increase in enrollment. Landscape Miami-Dade is home to over 250,000 students attending public and private colleges and universities, many in the city of Miami itself, making it one of the country’s largest college towns. On the public side of the university divide are institutions like Florida International University (FIU), one of the fastestgrowing state universities, and Miami Dade College, 140 | Invest: Miami 2020 | EDUCATION
which has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any college or university in the United States. The private university system is led by the University of Miami. Located in Coral Gables, University of Miami is a major research university, with 11 schools and colleges and more than 180 majors and programs. Barry University and St. Thomas University are among the four faith-based institutions in the region while Florida Memorial University is the only Historically Black College or University. When businesses and individuals look at relocating, education at the K-12 level is a vital element in their choice, and Miami-Dade offers a K-12 education system that is enjoying nationwide acclaim. MiamiDade County Public Schools is the fourth-largest public school system in the United States, with more than 350,000 students in classes each year. The school district is a winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education related to raising student achievement. But the overarching mark on the 2020 landscape was left by COVID-19. The outbreak of the pandemic was not the first time educational institutions had faced a crisis, but the nature of this particular crisis served to highlight the sector’s deficiencies like no other. Many ( )