Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho unveiled new offerings to School Board members in preparation for the school year. Carvalho presented new programs and improved procedures specifically designed to better serve the needs of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) students and educational partners.
“Students and teachers of Miami-Dade County Public Schools are in for another exciting year of innovative programs and initiatives,” said Carvalho. “We understand that a one-size fits all approach is not effective. That said, we have once again tailored our educational programs to meet the personalized needs of students and provide them with specialized resources to ensure they have every opportunity to excel academically.”
Fifty-three new choice/magnet program offerings were created for the 2015-2016 school year, bringing the total of choice programs to over 500. This total includes 16 magnet programs at 12 schools in the areas of Science, Mathematics, Multimedia Entertainment Technology, Legal Studies, and Visual Arts; 37 choice programs at 30 schools, which include Advanced Placement (AP), Capstone Diploma (7), Cambridge (18), International (3), and Cybersecurity (1).
New magnet programs include: National Security Intelligence Studies, Forensic Sciences & Law Enforcement at Barbara Goleman Senior High School; Digital Media Technology at Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High School; Robotics and Visual Arts at Jose de Diego Middle School; Medical Health Sciences at McMillan Middle and South Dade Middle schools; Engineering, Robotics and Legal studies at Rockway Middle School; Forensic Investigative Academy at Miami Palmetto Senior High School; Communications at Sunset Senior High School; and Global Trade & Logistics at Miami Central Senior High School.
Non-magnet choice programs coming to several schools include: Computer Science, Culinary Arts, and Performing Arts at Carol City Middle School; International Language (Italian) program at American Senior High School; Cybersecurity Academy at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School; Forensic Science Academy at Palmetto Middle School.
New initiatives include a school mobile app, digital convergence, Universal iCode Education 2.0, WiFi-on-the-Go, Flex Stops, GPS Bus Pilot, Police Department Explorer’s Program, and a health clinic at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. The digital convergence will provide 32,000 tablets to all middle school 8th grade U.S. History classrooms and all 10th grade high school students enrolled in English Language Arts, bringing the total number of devices to more than 100,000. The digital convergence will also provide tablets to students in self-contained Austim centers to allow access to web-based tools that promote language learning, emotional development, and the development of social and communications skills.
Flex Stops is a pilot program which satisfies the need to transport magnet students that do not reside within the Transportation Service Zone area but are near a bus route with available seating capacity. The program is created near a school or park and will pick up several students at a time and it is established based on the number of magnet students residing in the area. The GPS Bus Pilot establishes a school bus tracking system, which will provide parents and students the ability to track the whereabouts of their assigned bus.