Academics
Northwestern has long been known for its academic challenges; however the school has shown an unprecedented turn-around over the last several years.
Since the implementation of the Florida School Accountability Report, Northwestern had received a “D’ or an “F” for 12 consecutive years between 1998 and 2010, with four “F” grades in the 2001-02, 2002–03, 2006–07, and 2008-09 school years. During that time, Miami Northwestern was labeled one of the 163 “dropout factories” in the state of Florida by a Johns Hopkins University study of retentions rates of students from their freshman to senior year. Using data from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 school years the study found that during that period, 59% of the entering freshman had dropped-out or transferred before their senior year; only 41% on the entering classes had progressed to earn a diploma. As of the 2010-11 school year, the graduation rate had doubled to 81%.
In 2010-11, Miami Northwestern received a “B” on the School Accountability Report, the highest grade ever received by an inner-city school in Miami-Dade County. This improvement has been attributed, in part, to a major overhaul in school staff, and to an increased focus on college-readiness and college-level courses. To further these efforts, Florida International University has partnered with Northwestern to help foster a successful community school. The initiative, funded by $1 million from JPMorgan Chase, will focus on increased dual-enrollment offerings, financial literacy, service learning, and the construction of an aquaponics laboratory at the school.
Read more about this topic: Miami Northwestern High School
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)