In 2008, Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC) was rated an “A” school in education due to high test scores. Since that time MLEC has had to adapt to an increasing amount of changes that both the District and the state have enforced, including changes in standardized testing, salary cuts and layoffs and unreasonably high expectations.
Every year since has been an increasingly difficult journey towards success, one that every faculty member and student has worked hard to overcome. In 2008, MLEC did not just get an “A” it started a legacy.
“There’s a special type of student that attends MLEC. We all had hopes for success, which is evident in our high graduation rate,” said Gabriella Nuñez, a Cambridge 2013 alumna. “MLEC has always been a good school with plenty of resources and dedicated teachers. I was there during the transition from the FCAT to EOC’s and it was tough on the faculty but I did notice my science, math, history and English teachers planned to succeed.”
With adamant determination and a desire to learn, MLEC students have been nurtured and encouraged by talented teachers. It is the instructors, who take on the role of personal advisors and mentors, that conjure the want-to-learn attitude at MLEC and is one of the biggest factors in the school's success.
“It’s our students and our high school staff,” said English teacher Maria Krane. “We have kids who want to learn, that want to be here. If it weren’t for our student’s craving for knowledge and our staff who encourage them, we wouldn’t be what we are.”
“How do I feel about getting our eighth, and seventh consecutive A? Absolutely ecstatic,” said school principal, James Parker. “I credit our success to our amazing faculty, staff and students and their dedication to our school.”
Parker also stated that MLEC’s triumphs are in part due to how the school’s academies are modeled. Students apply what they learn in their core classes immediately so they retain the information and incorporate it into relevant every day situations. It prepares them for “the real world.”
“At the end of the day, MLEC is an ‘A’ school because of the dedication that the facility and students have toward education,” said Nuñez.