Miami-Dade County NAF Academies Win Big In Washington, D.C.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) has been recognized by the National Academy Foundation (NAF) at their annual conference in Washington D.C. The district’s programs brought home the gold in awards and scholarships.

The Academy of Finance at Southwest Miami Senior High School (SHS) was awarded the prestigious Sanford I. Weill Academy of Excellence Award, which recognizes the one academy in the nation exhibiting the highest standards for public/private partnerships for the benefit of students. This award is solely based on data that is analyzed by NAF and includes performance on work-based learning standards with 100 percent internship placement of students, and a model Advisory Board that include business leaders, higher education partners and alumni. Southwest Miami was recognized as one of the first Distinguished Academies and has remained Distinguished for four years.

Four new academies were added to the list of Distinguished academies, which gives M-DCPS the distinction of having the most career academies of any school district, with seven of the 22 nationally recognized high-quality academies demonstrating performance at the highest level in preparing students for college and careers. In addition, 23 academies were recognized as Model programs.
Luis Aloma, General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Miami and Advisory Board member of the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, was recognized as an Advisory Board Champion for demonstrating extraordinary leadership in ensuring that youth are prepared for college, careers, and active civic participation. Aloma has not only remained engaged in the curricula of the schools, but has also been involved with students by providing internships and serving as a mentor.
National scholarships were awarded by Juniper Networks to Richie Revere and Rashad Revere, Academy of Engineering at Booker T. Washington SHS; Adam Bernstein, Academy of Information Technology at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning SHS; and Ant-Quanique Dany, Academy of Health Science at Miami Lakes Educational Center.

NAF Next: Roadmap to Impact is a professional development experience that ignites innovation and spreads effective practices across the NAF network through unique learning and networking opportunities. This all-encompassing conference held in Washington, D.C. on July 9-12 was attended by administrators and teachers from 24 M-DCPS high schools, and post-secondary and industry business partners who support the NAF Academies.

M-DCPS’ Department of Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with high quality, relevant, career technical education, giving students the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college and careers for the new global economy. For additional information, please contact CTE at 305-693-3030 or go to: http://dcte.dadeschools.net

NAF began when Sanford Weill, a business leader from Citigroup, saw an opportunity to connect young people to the increasing needs of the financial workforce. From this grew an educational model that celebrates 32 years of success to ensure students benefit from high-quality educational opportunities linked to growing and emerging industries, and this year M-DCPS was recognized for its outstanding academies and programs.

NAF is an acclaimed network of career-themed academies that open doors for underserved high school students to viable careers. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. Nearly 5,000 business professionals volunteer in classrooms, act as mentors, engage NAF students in paid internships, and serve on local advisory boards. In 2013, NAF academies reported 96 percent of seniors graduated. For more information, go to http://naf.org