Academy of Hospitality & Tourism A NAF MEMBER PROGRAM.

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1 Academy of Hospitality & Tourism A NAF MEMBER PROGRAM Handbook Dr. Lisa Robertson, Principal THE ACADEMY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM Specialized Programs Schools Choice

2 ACADEMY OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM STUDENT HANDOOK ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Academy of Hospitality & Tourism (AOHT) Handbook explains rules and regulations for students in the AOHT. It will help students prepare for the upcoming years and successfully complete the requirements for their National Academy Foundation Certification. This handbook lists requirements for successful completion of all the areas of the academy. Topics include but are not limited to the following: Program Completion Co-curricular clubs Course of Study Dual Enrollment Summer Services- Outreach Programs and the Summer Internship Scholarship Opportunities Internships Familiarization Trips (In-County and Out- of County Field Studies) Attendance Uniform Requirement Professional Business Attire Academy Clubs Community Service Requirements- Academy Ambassadors Award Ceremonies Academic Probation Enjoy the academy experience and remember that your lead teacher and instructors are here to help you be successful. If you or your parents have any questions, problems, concerns or issues that arise, please contact your leadership team for input and direction. I understand that it is my responsibility to read this handbook, go over it with my parents, and clarify any necessary items with my lead teacher. I further understand that I will be held accountable for all information contained in this handbook. Student s Signature Please return signed form to your lead teacher within two school days from date given.

3 The Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT) represents a collaborative local effort of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and industry corporations to prepare students to enter the field of hospitality & tourism at the professional level. In addition to course work, students participate in field studies at the local, state and national levels, listen to expert guest speakers from the industry and participate in extracurricular and community service activities in the industry. Parental consent is required. Our co-curricular student activities help the students expand their knowledge and experience in the field of Hospitality & Tourism first hand. Students may also meet their high school graduation requirements in community service by participating in designated community activities: National College Fair, Recruitment Fairs, Greater Miami & the Beaches Hotel Association, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Around the World Dinner, POW WOW and school enhancement activities. A minimum of 100 hours of community service is required for high school graduation from Miami-Dade County Public Schools in order to qualify for Bright Future Scholarships. To ensure that Hospitality & Tourism students fulfill this requirement a minimum of 25 hours per year is required to participate in special activities. The school has the right to accept students from 9 th, 10 th, or 11 th grade level if all requirements are met and space is available. Due to the field studies and summer programs, all AOHT students required to purchase the basic student insurance. PROGRAM COMPLETION: In addition to the high school diploma, students will be awarded an Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Certificate of Completion. The certificate provides an added advantage for employment and furthering their education in the tourism industry. Ninth or Tenth Grade: Failure to pass Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism may keep students from continuing in the Academy. If a student fails any other subject, he/she needs to make up the credit(s) during summer school and/or night school before the summer internship of their junior year. Remember that the summer after Junior Year is automatically committed to Tourism internship. Students will not be able to take any other course during this summer. Students must pass the EOC/ FCAT in order to participate in the summer internship or secure a waiver from the school administration. The unique curriculum meets the State of Florida graduation requirements. Each course has a focus on the oral and written communication skills necessary for success in the extensive field of tourism, readiness for the FCAT, and the development of employability skills as well as preparation for college. AOHT students are grouped, when possible, in their non- academy courses to provide an integrated curriculum.

4 Ninth Grade THE ACADEMY OF HOSPITAILY AND TOURISM: COURSE SEQUENCE Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism and Customer Service This is a required course for new students. This course covers the history, components, organizational development, marketing, and expansion of tourism as a major world industry. Students begin to compile their professional portfolios. Tenth Grade Eleventh Grade Summer World Culture Geography (Destination Geography) Hospitality and Tourism Computer Systems Hospitality and Tourism Internship This honor course is offered during the summer following 11 th grade, each student, who qualifies and meets the requirements, is places in an employment position relating to the field of tourism for a firsthand look at the industry. Students are compensated and receive credit for required course. Twelfth Grade Travel and Tourism Marketing and Event Planning This course provides the students with an opportunity to use the internship experiences to further learn how a business is managed from various perspectives such as: budgeting, personnel, public relations and legal issues. An out-of-state field study completes the study of hospitality marketing. AOHT Academy Strands at John A. Ferguson Senior High School Hospitality and Tourism and Culinary Arts Gold Seal Eligibility Course in Business Technology education are strongly encouraged especially for purpose of receiving the Gold Seal Scholarship listed through Bright Futures Scholarships.

5 Small Learning Community Students in the Academy take these classes with fellow Academy students, which allows students to get better acquainted with each other and with their teachers thereby providing a more familiar and personal atmosphere. Academies are defines as: Smaller schools within a large school Similar to a family All students get personal attention by the academy teachers Students stay together for 4 years College prep and career focus Academic excellence Allow students to become young professionals Dual Enrollment Dual Enrollment is offered at and by Miami-Dade collage, Florida International University and/or St. Thomas University based on the annual budget. Students in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism are eligible to receive up to 12 college credits and 2 high school credits. To meet the requirements for dual enrollment, students must: 1. Have an overall cumulative grade point average of B 2. Complete an application 3. Be enrolled in the 10 th, 11 th, or 12 th grade 4. Pass any required college placement test These courses are FREE to eligible students. College credits earned for these courses may be transferred to colleges as elective credits. Students have the opportunity to begin in college as second semester freshman or sophomore. Scholarships Students in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism throughout Miami-Dade have consistently won industry scholarships. All students are encourages to excel in school in order to be potential candidates for these prestigious awards. All seniors will be required to complete all scholarship applications and qualifying essays through their English classes. The following is a partial list of scholarships made available through the academy: -Jessie Blackman -International Society of Travel and Tourism -Educators -St. Thomas University -Johnson and Wales University -Tourism Advisory Board -FIU -Miami-Dade College -Visitor Industry Council (VIC)

6 Internship Tourism Executive Internship is a unique employment opportunity for the students in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism. This required six-week course is scheduled during the summer following successful completion of their junior year. They will receive one honors credit and salaries not lower than the minimum wage or another form of compensation. Transportation to and from work if the responsibility of the students. The final grade for the internship is based on 50% of the actual work experience and 50% of the required weekly assignments. Students do not report to class and go directly to work. An employer/employee breakfast is the culminating event of the internship. Students are responsible for the cost of their meal and their immediate supervisor s meal at the event. Non Negotiable Internship Rules & Procedures. The internship is arguably the single most important component of the academy. Students and parents must recognize its importance and plan accordingly. All stakeholders (students, school staff and employers) must be cognizant of/ comply with nonnegotiable rules and procedures. Students During the pre-internship, the students must: Complete all requirements for the eligibility including purchasing student accident insurance; Make clear during the interview process any scheduling or transportation problems; Once offered to accept a position; Accept the first position offered to him/her; students are not allowed to decline Determined his/her transportation needs prior to accepting an interview; call to cancel all subsequent interviews should he/she be offered a position during an interview; and notify his/her lead teacher when hired. During the internship: Work the entire length of the internship (activities such as cheerleading camp, football practice, vacation, etc., cannot be used as excuses for absences during the internship); Report on the first and last day of the internship (an absence on the first or last day may be grounds for withdrawing from all the summer services programs.) Follow the work schedule as assigned by the job site (worksite supervisors assign hours; students may not have hours changed to suit their needs); Complete all assignments (student interns receive high school honors credit for the internship); Observe the Summer School Attendance Policy; Make up hours missed for the payment purposes; Complete a valid, Miami-Dade County Public Schools field trip form to participate in any activities away from the work site. (No out-of-county travel allowed without prior district authorization.)

7 School Site Staff School Staff must: Assist in internship recruitment. Review the summer internship handbook with the interns prior to the end of the regular school year. (Discussion of assignments, forms, breakfast, information, etc., should be thoroughly covered during this process.) Notify the School Choice Office when the student is hired. Employers Employers must: Submit full stipend to MECA before the intern begins the internship; other compensations must be indicated as well. Complete the interim and final evaluations in a timely fashion; Attend a culminating event as the guest of the intern; Have a signed Miami-Dade Public Schools field trip form on file to take the intern off premises. Professional behavior is expected of every student. Students who are terminated from their internship may be dismissed from the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism and transferred to their home school if different from John A. Ferguson Senior High. It is imperative that students and parents understand that all students MUST accept an internship placement and COMPLETE the entire six weeks. During the registered time of the course, the students cannot go on vacation, nor neither can they take any other course. Students who refuse to accept or complete the internship will receive and F and be terminated from the program. The program will make every effort to place students in one of their three choices for a work location. However, there are many variables that affect placement. Asking students for the choices DOES NOT obligate the program to honor such request. All students must show proof of student school insurance. A copy of the social security card and birth certificate must also be on file with the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Lead Teacher by April. It is the student s/parent s responsibility to secure proper legal documentation in compliance with all state and federal laws to be eligible for a PAID internship. Students must pass their language arts and math classes during junior year in order to participate in the summer internship. In extreme circumstances, when a student cannot complete the internship during the summer, he/she may take the Marketing on the JobTraning (OJT) during their senior year in order to fulfill the internship requirement. FAM (FAMILIARIZTION) TRIP GULDELINES IN-COUNTY FAM TRIP The education purpose of these trips (field studies) is to broaden the curriculum base and enrich students learning experience in their extended classroom. Trips are an integral part of the class grade in each of the Academy s courses.

8 1. On these mandatory trips, students will complete an assignment that will be graded in each class. These assignments become part of the student s portfolio, which are presented to future employers and college personnel for university admission. AOHT requires every student to keep an updated portfolio from grades 9 th 12 th. 2. Parent permission forms must be on file with the school. If not, the student will not be able to participate in a FAM trip activity. The Academy uses a generic field trip form for all its activities except for out-of-state trips, which require additional parent permission form. 3. Students must wear proper Academy attire at each FAM trip (either business, professional/casual, school uniform) students will be informed prior to the trip. POSSIBLE FAM TRIPS INCLUDE: Miami-Dade County Aviation Department, Port of Miami, Carnival Cruise Lines, Jungle Island, Metro Zoo, Miami Seaquarium, Florida International University School of Hospitality Management; Johnson and Wales University, St. Thomas University, major hotels and a Discover Miami-Dade familiarization trip. All students are required to participate in the Annual Academy Industry Conference during the spring. GUDELINES FOR OUT-OF-COUNTY FAM TRIPS: The trip to destinations outside of Miami-Dade County are intended to expand the students knowledge on how tourism works at the state, national, and international levels. In order to participate in these trips, students must: 1. Be an active member of the academy. 2. Assist with fundraising to help defray cost for trips. 3. Earn a minimum of 25 service learning hours yearly. 4. Wear proper Academy attire as directed by the staff. 5. Maintain no lower than a B in conduct with no severe misbehavior problems. 6. Maintain a good attendance record. 7. Have all travel forms in order. 8. Clear all school financial obligations. SUPERVISION The Staff Volunteer a primary responsibility of all the extra-curricular activities is the supervision of students. The staff volunteers times in order to afford students opportunities to broaden their education. Parents need to do the same. Therefore, parents should be ready to dropoff and pick-up their student(s) for these activities at the PLACE and Time assignment. INSURANCE All students are required to purchase school accident insurance which is available at the beginning of the school year through their homeroom teachers. Student athletes will be covered under the insurance that they purchase to participate in sports.

9 ATTENDANCE Attending school regularly is important for scholastic success. Students in the academy are expected to have good attendance. The all-day FAM trips represent excused absences, but students are still RESPONSIBLE for any missed assignments. Regardless of FAM trips, students are expected to adhere to attendance policies as stipulated by the School Board. UNIFORMS (DRESS FOR SUCCESS) Students in the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism, which attending FAM trips and clubs activities, are constantly in contact with the business community and visit areas that are NOT open to the public. For these reasons, when the students travel in groups, must wear their uniform or the requested attire. The uniform consists of: 1. Full length, neatly pressed khaki, black or grey slacks. 2. Polo shirts 3. Closed toe shoes Each student must purchase his/her own complete uniform. PROFESSIONAL / BUSINESS ATTIRE In preparation for the interview process and the summer internship program, students are encouraged to build a professional wardrobe beginning in the ninth grade. Each month students from the Academy are requested to wear Professional/Business attire for the school. Professional attires include the following: 1. Jackets/sports coat, pressed dress pants, shirt and tie, dark colored dress shoes and socks for young men. 2. Modest length business-type dress/suit with knee-length skirt with matching blouse, pantyhose, dark colored closed toe dress shoes for young ladies. 3. No extreme fashion. Students who learn to mix and match coordinating outfits will keep down additional/unnecessary expenses. ACADEMY CLUBS DECA is an integral part of the operation of the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism. It is the way by which the students volunteer for school and community service activities, and other

10 pertinent needs of the program and school. Meetings may be held more than once a month as deemed necessary by the club sponsor and officers. Attendance to the club meetings is mandatory in order for students to remain eligible to continue in the academy. All absences must be cleared with the club sponsor twenty-four hours before the schedules meeting with a note from student s parents. All students must report to a make-up meeting immediately following the regular scheduled meeting. The sponsor will determine the date and time. It is the student s responsibility to go to the sponsor to ask for the make-up time and date. Club dues are mandatory and required of every student on a yearly basis. AWARD CEREMONIES One of our top priorities in the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism at John A. Ferguson Senior High School is to make sure that graduates of the program are able to compete academically with other graduates throughout the school district, state, and nation. Students in the academy are expected to excel academically and complete for scholarships available to them in the upcoming years. One way to ensure that this happens is to help each student understand that maintaining good grades in high school will make them more marketable when applying for colleges and scholarships. All AOHT students who are having difficulties in class are required to sign up for tutoring through the lead teacher. Additionally you may class (305) for the FREE Teachers Hotline for all school tutoring. Parents and students will be called in for a conference when a student is given a warning and places on Academic Probation. After the warning, if a student fails to improve the D or F grade to a C or better, the following nine weeks, the probation committee will meet with the parent and students to review his/her grades. If a student continues to fail the same class, a meeting will be held with the parent, student, and AOHT leader to determine if the student will be dismissed from the program. History: The Academy of Hospitality & Tourism was established in 1987 through the support of the American Express Foundation to expose students to the wide variety of opportunities and career paths in on the world s largest industries. The first academy was located at Miami Springs Senior High School.

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