Achieving Wall-to-Wall Distinguished: Hialeah Gardens High School

“We weren’t sure it would happen, but it was in our dreams,” said JD Hoye, president of NAF as she awarded Hialeah Gardens High School with the President’s Award for being the first high school to achieve Distinguished quality level for all five of its NAF academies.

Hialeah Gardens High School (HGHS) opened its doors in 2008. The principal, Dr. Louis Algaze, has been instrumental in the progress of the high school and its NAF academies. Coming from a Hispanic background and low-income family, Dr. Algaze could relate to the students at his high school. In the 2017-18 school year, 99% of the school’s NAF students identified as Hispanic and 84% received free or reduced lunch. Dr. Algaze recognized the importance of supporting his students and ensured that he could provide them with different avenues to succeed. In 2011, he made the school a Cambridge school, so all students would get an opportunity to receive the Bright Future scholarship. With this implementation, students that were new to the country struggled less with exams. Around this time, HGHS also opened its first four NAF academies: Academy of Finance (AOF), Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), Academy of Engineering (AOE), and Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT). In 2014, HGHS opened another academy, the Academy of Health Sciences (AOHS).

Each year NAF conducts an academy assessment to measure an academy’s strengths and challenges in implementing NAF’s results-driven educational design that prepares students for college and career. Academies reach Model quality level based on their Academy Assessment and Quality Evaluation site visit results. A subset of those academies — which achieve additional thresholds — are recognized as Distinguished.

For HGHS’s first academy assessment as a wall-to-wall NAF high school—a high school with five or more NAF academies, the school failed to achieve Distinguished quality. During the site visit, Patti Smith, Director of Evaluation & Continuous Improvement, noticed that the students didn’t present themselves well and couldn’t describe what was going on in the academy. When Dr. Algaze was informed that his academies were not receiving Distinguished status, he was disappointed but determined.

He and his team worked diligently to restructure the school and began conducting an annual research project for all students to participate in. “We really started to rally together and put teams together,” said Christine Rodriguez, then Site Coordinator. “We knew that if we focused on the kids, the distinguished would come.” The leadership team started to focus on the bigger picture and looking out for all the students, not just the ones in their academy. If the AOHS lead knew of a hospital willing to work with teenagers, they’d also try to secure placement in the finance department for AOF students.

On NAF’s 2017-18 Academy Assessment visit, there was a noticeable effort put forth by the school to enhance their academies. “There’s a healthy way of interacting going on between the students and the teachers,” Patti exclaimed. “Students are meeting with the principal to discuss how they can help teachers.” In just three short years after Hialeah Gardens High School’s first wall-to-wall academy assessment, they were able to progress so much that all five academies achieved Distinguished quality.

Only 7 of the 460 high schools that NAF operates in are wall-to-wall, and Hialeah Gardens High School’s achievement is monumental. It exhibits commitment to NAF’s design, mission, and vision. Hialeah Garden’s road to success is an inspiration to all who envision a future filled with endless opportunities for all students.

View Dr. Algaze accept the 2018 President’s award on behalf of the Hialeah Gardens High School.