According to Barbara Goleman Senior High School principal Joaquin Hernandez, the school was established with the idea that students would contribute to the betterment of the community and excel academically. They have shown some of that established success midway through the 2013-2014 school year with the release of data regarding FCAT and non-FCAT components in grading.
In early December, Goleman was ranked 13th out of 435 high schools in Florida for improved math performance and increased learnings gains, and ranked 19th out of 3,053 schools in total. The school ranked at 48th out of 439 for English.
As of January 6, over 278 applications had poured in for the AP Capstone program, which only allots for 100 students. There are still two weeks until deadline for applications. This time last year, the program had 118 applicants.
Though Goleman was awarded a 'B' for its school grade, by state standards the school met the required scores in FCAT and non-FCAT components, though it did not meet the state's percentage of at-risk students attending the school. Nonetheless, the number of increased learning gains achieved and surpassing state required scores are being celebrated by the administration, faculty and students.
The AP testers in AP Calculus, Spanish Language, and English Language outperformed the state and the world average. Overall the school has seen the percentage of all AP testers pass at a higher rate than the state average, nearly doubling their percentage from the 2011 to 2012 school year.
The Class of 2015 began their stay at Goleman when the AP Capstone program was already in place. Among them are 16 students with perfect unweighted GPAs.
"We call it a metamorphosis, and the parents can see that what our teachers and students have accomplished is nothing short of a miracle. We have seen such such success because we have witnessed students, teachers, and parents, coming together in a partnership," said Hernandez.
As a result of the success seen in core classes and advanced placement courses, the opportunity to expand elective courses has been in the works for the 2013-2014 school year. Among the courses are driver's education, aerobics and criminal justice.
"Once more students are successful in state requirements, they are less likely to be placed in remedial courses which allows for more elective courses," said Hernandez.
For a school with such focus on core classes and college readiness, Goleman has also seen fruition from its Fine Arts department which currently has students participating in the Miami Lakes Banner Design competition, an anti-drunk driving campaign, and a student featured this past summer at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"We have only started," said Hernandez. "We have put together a team of individuals that are dedicated and talented in their craft, and that includes all members of our staff. We couldn't succeed without the cafeteria staff, the clerical staff, the janitorial staff, the administration, the teachers, the parents and the students, each doing their very best."
Barbara Goleman Senior High School is located at 14100 N.W. 89 Avenue. For more information, contact the school at 305-362-0676.