Miami-Dade County Public Schools Dr. Louis Algaze, Principal 11700 Hialeah Gardens Blvd Hialeah Gardens, FL 33018 Document Generated On March 19, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 6
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1
Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? is a public, non-profit educational organization in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) system located at 11700 N.W. Hialeah Gardens Blvd., Hialeah Gardens, Florida, 33018. The school is situated on 38 acres in the northwest part of the county, within a primarily Hispanic residential community consisting mainly of working class families. While the school was up and running amongst two campuses as of August 2008, it inaugurated its building August 2009. With a strong team to build its foundation, the school was fully up and running within a short time well prepared for a future of positive academic success. As a result of the popularity of its programs, the school has experienced a rapid growth spurt. stakeholders include, but are not limited to, Miami-Dade County Public School's Board of Education, Hialeah Gardens High School's Administrative Team, teachers, students, parents, support faculty and staff, feeder pattern schools and all invested within their confines, community leaders, and City of Hialeah Gardens local government. The total population at the time the executive summary was written was 3,076 (52% Male, 48% Female). The ethnic composition of that total was 96% Hispanic with the remaining 4% divided amongst blacks(<1%), Indians(<1%), whites(<2%) and Asians (<1%). The students of primarily come from families of a low economic status (86% on free and reduced lunch). In facing their hardships, some of the most notable issues they currently encounter include their limitations to external resources such as accessibility to technology. has something to offer everyone and caters to varied tastes. Through the myriad of clubs, teams, and classes available, students are granted the opportunity to make memories that will forever be treasured, while preparing themselves with a worldclass education for a global economy. As stated in the movie Gladiator, "What we do in life, echoes in eternity." This motto extends itself to the halls of in our continuous chant: "The Gladiator life is the life we live!" Page 2
School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Since the opened its doors, its beliefs centered around the concept of strength through worldly knowledge- "Vires per scientia universitas". Its vision has therefore evolved to that of creating a collaborative learning community achieving excellence daily. The mission is to provide all students the opportunity, in small learning communities, to receive a high quality, international education that will equip them to compete in our ever-changing, high-tech, global society. In a safe and healthy environment, and through collaboration among disciplines, project-based assignments, and business and community partnerships, we will prepare students to become productive and socially conscious members of society by providing them with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in post-secondary education and the workforce. Page 3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. is a gem amongst Miami-Dade County Public School's North Region. Within its short period of operation, it has achieved many notable accomplishments that have made the school stand out. Amongst the most notable recognitions, the school has been named both by Newsweek and US News and World Report's as one of the top schools of the nation. Hialeah Gardens currently runs under a full National Academy Foundation (NAF) structure and is noted as a district model and national source for outside academic institutions. Additionally, programs such as Cambridge, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment with local colleges and universities, and various industry certification programs have enabled the school to establish a reputable name for itself with regards to academic performance. Specifically, Hialeah Garden High School's advanced academic programs include the Cambridge Academy, sponsored by the University of Cambridge in England, offering the Advanced International Certificate Examination (AICE) in a multitude of subject areas; the Advanced Placement Program, sponsored by the College Board; Dual enrollment opportunities during the school day on-campus and after school, sponsored by Florida International University and Miami-Dade College; and dual enrollment classes off-campus, during the school day, as well as evenings and weekends. Students who take advantage of these courses can earn many college course credits before even leaving high school. Additionally, we have partnered with the National Academy Foundation (NAF), a national network of high school academies, and developed several career-focused academies that will prepare students for college and the world of work - locally, nationally, and internationally. These academies include our Academy of International Finance, the Academy of Information Technology, the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism, the Academy of Biomedical Sciences, and the Academy of Engineering. In addition to these NAF-affiliated academies, the school offers the following academies: The Academy of Law Studies, the Academy of Arts and Entertainment, and the Academy of Education. Within these academies, students are free to explore strands related to their field of interest, with the opportunity to earn industry certifications. In ensuring our students' academic success, we cater to our students' individual needs through the use of differentiated instruction. In doing so, we service our ELL, SPED, and regular student population with small group intervention in core subject areas with the assistance of various support personnel. When selecting courses, the school encourages its students to select those that will not only meet their graduation requirements, but also provide new, broader educational experiences for them as they prepare themselves for the future. With this in mind, it is encouraged that students also explore the various extracurricular activities offered at the school. In terms of our sports and clubs, the school has earned various state titles and recognitions of excellence. Such accomplishments have been possible with the gifting of grants to sponsor many of the programs offered to the students. Based on our vision and mission, we will be implementing a Literacy Across the Curriculum Plan that involves all teachers. All of our electives and non-tested content areas will be assigned a content cluster that correlates best with their curriculum. Teachers will be using openers based on school-wide instructional focused calendar and Reading Task Cards. The following professional development topics will be provided through our Literacy Leadership Team on Early Release Days and Professional Development Days: - Utilizing the Reading Task Cards - Common Core - CRISS strategies - School wide Instructional Focus Calendars - Writing in the Content Area - Differentiated Instruction Page 4
All departments will be collaborating through team meetings and common planning. A school-wide reading focus calendar will be developed each year to improve the reading comprehension, writing, and communicative skills of students. Throughout the year, professional development will be provided by the Literacy Leadership Team (LLT) to equip teachers in all content areas with data driven strategies essential to produce improvements in the literacy education of students. The school program currently provides a variety of instructional strategies, remediation, enrichment, and learning activities that accommodate diverse learning styles. However, the LLT will collaborate with teachers on assessments, such as Florida Assessment of Instruction in Reading (FAIR), and use them to provide valuable information for developing additional alternative instruction or interventions. The LLT will help implement the Word of the Day practice and common graphic organizer across content areas; they will create and implement a literacy partnership amongst the students, parents and teachers; they will organize and effectively implement school-wide classroom libraries as a tool to increase school wide literacy. Page 5
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Key to its vision of excellence, the school has established several annual traditions like the Gauntlet and the Super Star Scramble. The Gauntlet is a professional development offered to demonstrate the use of common core standards across the curriculum. Teachers are engaged in activities and lessons in the form of a race that encompass the content taught in various subject areas playing the role of a student. In doing so, teachers are better able to experience the population they work with on a daily basis along with obtaining best practices that may be implemented in their lesson planning. The Super Star Scramble is designed to motivate students in working with the Sunshine State Standards tested on the FCAT. In doing so, teachers create fun, innovative and engaging lessons to cover the tested benchmarks in the form of a race. The various groups of students will visit several classes where they will perform an assigned task. Throughout the scramble, students are awarded points which will result in a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Star. In addition to academic traditions, has also experienced success on its athletic endeavors. Besides many district championships in baseball, volleyball, swimming and wrestling, the school was named State Champions in basketball in 2012 and has qualified wrestlers and swimmers for state 4 out of 5 years. The Goddesses Dance Team has also brought home 3 State Titles. Page 6