Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) held a press conference on Wednesday, January 6, to announce the release of the 2015 graduation rates and discuss how the District performed. Hialeah Miami Lakes (HML) had one of the highest graduation rate increases in the District and reached an all-time high of 84.9 percent for the 2014-2015 academic year, exceeding the District (78.1) and State (77.8) average.
This 6.7 percentage point increase from last year’s rate of 78.2 marks the highest graduation rate HML has achieved since the Florida Department of Education began tracking graduation statistics with modern methods. Since 2008’s rate of 52.5, HML has made a remarkable 32.4 percentage point increase.
Principal Eric Acosta said, “Achieving these results is not easy. It requires perseverance, patience, and vision. The remarkable feat that has been accomplished over the last seven years would not have been possible without the unwavering dedication and commitment of our outstanding teachers, counselors, support staff, and administrators. I have witnessed the resolve of our faculty and staff, and I am extremely proud of the work they have done and continue to do on behalf of our students.”
Over the last several years, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High has completely revamped the curriculum of the school by adding innovative choice programs such as Digital Media Technology, Entrepreneurship, Law Studies, and it’s Nationally recognized iPrep Academy.
“Creating a suite of courses that cultivates the academic curiosity of students, undoubtedly creates a school climate where teaching and learning is the top priority,” said Acosta.
Clearly, something is working. Not only has the graduation rate dramatically improved, student attendance has also soared. The school had a 96.02 percent attendance rate during the first quarter of this academic year, up almost three percentage points from last year, according to Acosta. This trend is expected to continue with the addition of the AP Capstone Program for the 2016-2017 academic year.
For more information regarding the programs available at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior, visit www.hmltrojans.org.