Executive Summary. Design and Architecture Senior High School

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1 Miami-Dade County Public Schools Dr. Stacey Mancuso, Principal 4001 NE Second Avenue Miami, FL Document Generated On March 13, 2014

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) is the premier magnet high school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, with a rigorous academic design and arts education in the design industry fields of architecture, interior design, industrial design, fashion, visual communications, entertainment technology and fine arts. The school serves as a prototype for design high schools emerging nationwide. The school, located at 4001 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida, is situated on three acres in the Miami Design District and is housed in a renovated showroom. The historic neighborhood revitalized with design showrooms of furniture, art and antique galleries, couture showrooms, and professional design offices. The design community has enthusiastically embraced the school and students providing active partnerships that bring a variety of resources including supplies, local internships, changing art exhibits, and exposure to the world class event of Art Basel. DASH came into existence in 1990 through a Saturn Proposal for a magnet school program to address the needs of artistically talented students who sought specialized instruction in design careers throughout the Miami-Dade County Public School District. DASH serves a total of 525 students comprised of diverse ethnic groups: 3% Asian, 14% Black, 25% White, 57% Hispanic, and 1% multi-racial. Presently, the design areas include architecture/interior design, industrial design, including product and transportation, fashion design, visual communication, entertainment technology, and fine arts. The combination of high academic and artistic expectations provides an educational environment based on innovation, perseverance, and excellence. The results are evident in the high-level college placement of 100% and the scholarships offered to the 125 seniors in the class of 2013 in the amount of 17.4 million dollars. Over the past three years, DASH has experienced significant changes in the academic programs. DASH has implemented the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, tripled the Dual Enrollment (DE) offerings, increased the Advanced Placement (AP) offerings, implemented the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), and increased college scholarships to students by four million dollars annually, to 17.4 million dollars in The enhanced curriculum provided for all students in grades 9-12 exceeds the state requirements with the completion of 32 high school credits including dual enrollment credit through Florida International University and numerous Advanced Placement courses. A block schedule and an extended day format are used to accommodate the eight annual courses. This college preparatory program included honors, gifted, Advanced Placement offerings in both academics and design, and extensive Dual Enrollment courses in art and academics. Parallel services are provided for students identified for Special Education (SPED) and English Language Learners (ELL). Students must maintain a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average in academic courses and a 3.0 grade point average in design courses. The four-year program establishes the framework for students to apply for national scholarships and college acceptance. Page 2

5 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. The Vision of is to educate talented students to become confident and innovative thinkers through interdisciplinary challenges in the visual arts in preparation for college and a career in the design world. The Mission of is to provide a high level, integrated education in art, design, and academics, and to use both traditional faculty and career professionals to facilitate learning within a well-designed, state of the art learning environment. The Core Values of Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) School are excellence, integrity, equity, and citizenship. DASH is in the pursuit of the highest standards in academic achievement, artistic achievement, and organizational performance. We build positive relationships through honesty, respect and compassion for individual differences, which enhance the self-esteem, safety, and well-being of our students, families, and staff. DASH fosters an environment that serves all students and aspires to eliminate the achievement gap. We honor the diversity of our community by working as a team to ensure the educational success of all our students and recognize that our obligations go beyond our professional responsibilities to promote democratic principles. Page 3

6 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. The FCAT Reading scores at DASH were top in the district with 98% in 9th and 92% in 10th grade. Learning gains in reading resulted in 85% of the 9th and 10th grade students combined making learning gains. The Algebra I End of Course (EOC), Geometry EOC, and Biology EOC exams passing rates were also among the highest in the district and state. The percentage of students passing the Algebra I EOC Exam was 96%, the Geometry EOC Exam was 99%, and the Biology EOC Exam was 95%. In FCAT Writing, DASH ranked top in the district with 96% of students meeting high standards. The percentage of students who scored 3 or higher, 3.5 or higher, and 4.0 or higher was 99%, 96%, and 91%, respectively. The many awards earned by this school and its students during the school year, include 79 Scholastic Art regional awards: 16 Art Portfolio Gold Key, 12 Art Gold Key, 51 Art Silver Keys, and several Honorable Mention awards. Among the notable achievements for DASH during the school year are the rank of 22nd of all high schools in the nation by US News and World Report, and the 2nd top magnet school in the nation. Graduating seniors earned approximately of $17.4 million in scholarships and numerous awards of distinction including the Presidential Scholar, a Silver Knight Honorable Mention and numerous Gold and Silver Key awards for art work and portfolios in the Scholastic competition. Additionally, DASH was the recipient of the Knight Foundation scholarship in and that allowed students to participate in New York's School of Visual Arts' stellar summer program in 2012 and DASH was recognized as one of 165 schools nationwide in the 2013 publication of Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools. Page 4

7 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Although DASH continues to make progress in student achievement, it strives to improve the number of students achieving college entry and scholarships. The students and staff at DASH share an atmosphere of respect based on energy, enthusiasm, and individuality. The principal has established high standards by which students, faculty and staff perform to ensure the highest level of success. A 50-minute lunch/planning time provides common meeting time for the entire faculty and weekly opportunities to meet as departments or grade level instructional improvement teams. The collaboration and shared responsibilities of the staff contribute to a high level of professionalism and job satisfaction. Staff turnover is low and consequently there are few new teachers at the school each year. The school leadership team is a collaborative model executed by the principal, assistant principal, and five members of the Lead Team, including the activities director, student services chairperson, CAP advisor, art department chairperson, and magnet lead teacher. In accordance with the Saturn Proposal, the Lead Team shares the organization and implementation of recruitment, counseling, testing, internships, transportation, activities and scheduling. Parental involvement has been outstanding at DASH. Every year, the PTSA sponsors an extraordinary event, Taste of Design, in which the community businesses donate items for a silent auction and local restaurants provide food. The PTSA raises thousands of dollars at this Taste of Design event, all of which they use to help students. Also, in the absence of a media specialist for the past three years, parent volunteers have organized a schedule to coordinate and supervise the school's media center activities. Page 5