A LEGACY OF CHOICE
PUBLIC / PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
MAGNET SCHOOLS
CAREER ACADEMIES
FIND A MAGNET SCHOOL
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL
UPCOMING MAGNET SCHOOL EVENTS
Non-Magnet Choice Programs
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is listening to you.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is known for innovation in education. We have been a leader in Choice programs for decades and continue to develop and implement cutting-edge models for delivery of curriculum that will prepare our students for the businesses of tomorrow while utilizing emerging technologies. These models include non-traditional grade configurations, commuter schools that do not restrict students and parents to boundaries, virtual instruction, single-gender instructional environments, as well as educational models housed within various business settings through unique partnerships. Included here is a brief overview of some of those models.
iPrep Academy PreK-12
As Miami continues to expand, iPrep Academy has continued providing a stellar education for all students. We have responded to the apparent need for a Pre-K through 12th-grade school that will offer a personalized, technology-rich learning experience at the School District’s administration building near downtown Miami.
Cambridge International Examinations
In response to the growing need for college-ready students, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has implemented 80 Cambridge Programs in 70 schools including elementary, middle, and high schools. The world’s finest universities and employers recognize these rigorous, integrated educational programs that continue to highlight M-DCPS as a national leader in K-12 international educational programs.
Number of Choice Programs for all grades
Number of Magnet Schools in Miami-Dade
%
Students Enrolled in Choice Programs
National Magnet Merit Awards
At a Glance
Miami-Dade County Public Schools offers a wide variety of curriculum choices. Magnet schools/programs allow you to elect out of an assigned boundary school. Most Magnet schools/programs specialize in a specific area of interest and offer our students the opportunity to grow to their fullest potential. There are Magnet schools/programs for students as young as four years old.
Magnet Schools
Magnet programs offer unique courses of study focusing on students’ special interests, talents, and abilities. Magnet programs are available to students under the following six themes of study: International Programs, Liberal Arts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical &Health Sciences), Virtual Offerings, Visual & Performing Arts
Public/Private Partnerships
As an alternative to educational choice options for families, Miami-Dade County Public Schools recognizes the value in developing collaborative relationships with businesses and organizations in our community. Satellite Learning Centers and Charter Schools are public and private partnerships that bring different resources together to support the educational success of all students. At the forefront of school choice in the United States, Miami-Dade created the first-ever District-Managed Charter School. This unique model allows for a private operator to run a school using public funds and managed by the School Board of Miami-Dade County. Leveraging the experience and resources of the fourth largest school District in the U.S. coupled with the independence and autonomy of private operators to make their own decisions makes for a winning combination.
Cambridge International Examinations
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) is the world’s largest provider of international education programs and qualifications for five to 19-year-olds. CIE is a not for profit organization and part of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s top universities and trusted for excellence in education. Recognized by the world’s universities and employers CIE provides students with the best preparation for the next stage of their educational goals, university, and beyond.
Non-Magnet Academies & Career Academies
Career academies combine a college-preparatory curriculum with a career-themed focus. Entrance requirements linked with technical and academic courses meet high school graduation and college benchmarks. Each academy’s theme is aligned directly to priority workforce needs of the community. Career academies combine conceptual learning with the relevant practical experience preparing students for both college and careers. Students enrolled in career academies follow a sequential program of study that leads to industry certification and opportunities to earn post-secondary credit and scholarships.
K-8 Centers
K-8 Centers are configured to include students from Kindergarten through grade eight in a small school environment. The K-8 Center offers a tightly aligned curriculum for grade six through eight students that may focus on a specific theme or curriculum. A K-8 Center middle grade experience is not meant to be the equivalent of a traditional middle school environment. The range of electives, honors, and high school level courses available at the traditional middle school may be limited at a K-8 Center because of the smaller number of students in grades six through eight. Physical education and athletics may also be limited.
Winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education
The Broad Prize is awarded each year to honor urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color.
The Most Career Academies of Any School District
The National Academy Foundation (NAF) is a national network of career academies to support the development of America’s youth toward personal and professional success in high school, higher education and throughout their careers.
302 Magnet Schools of America Merit Awards in just 8 Years
M-DCPS has been awarded more MSA National Merit Awards than any other school district nation-wide. Magnet School of Merit Awards recognize member magnet schools/programs that demonstrate a high commitment to academic standards, curriculum innovation, desegregation/diversity efforts, specialized teaching staffs, and parent and community involvement.
Top Ranked Florida Schools
According to U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools Rankings 2019 five of the Nation’s top 100 were here in Miami-Dade, including 6 of Florida’s top 20!
Almost a quarter (20%) of Top 100 Florida High Schools are M-DCPS Magnet Schools (19 out of top 100)
Actors' Playhouse Launches New Internship Program In Partnership With Miami Arts Studio
Actors’ Playhouse will offer hands-on work experience for up to 200 students, with a special focus on its Mainstage productions and…. Read More
Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho gets big national award
He was one of nine finalists, all big-city school superintendents, from 74 of the largest urban public school systems in the country…. Read More
M-DCPS Top Ranked Florida Schools
The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 20,500 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia…. Read More
Brag About Your School: G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School
Braddock has half as many students but a full array of innovative programs, including the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. It includes theatre, dance, music, and visual arts… Read More
A magnet school principal makes the performing arts count
Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts, a visual arts magnet program, focuses on reaching students like Velasquez and helping them grow academically and… Read More
For the Seventh Straight Year, M-DCPS Receives More National Magnet Merit Awards than Any Other District
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) received 54 awards for the 2017-2018 award cycle. This is an increase of 12 additional awards from last year…. Read More
South Florida Public, Charter Schools Battle For Top Students
With a superior product that serves all students, we at Miami-Dade County Public Schools are committed to delivering the highest quality education though a portfolio of choice offerings unmatched anywhere in the country…. Read More
Seven Miami-Dade schools among nation’s best, according to U.S. News
Miami-Dade is home to seven of the top 100 high schools in the country, according to the latest annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report… Read More
Brag About Westland Hialeah High School
Westland Hialeah Senior offers Early College/Career Pathways, Health Science/Allied Health Science and International Business/Finance. Even though the high school is only 10 years old, the Wildcats have already established a tradition of excellence…..
For the Sixth Straight Year, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Receives More National Magnet Schools of America Merit Awards than Any Other District
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) received 42 awards from the Magnet Schools of America (MSA) for the 2016-2017 award cycle. For the sixth year in a row, M-DCPS out-performed all other school districts nationwide….
Magnet Program TV production teacher named Teacher of Year
For a testament to Rudy Diaz’s teaching, look no further than the local and national news. The South Miami High TV production teacher has mentored students who have gone on to produce for national TV programs….
Miami-Dade Public Schools Offers Unique Veterinary Magnet Program
Ferguson High has a veterinary sciences program which teaches students how much hard work goes into taking care of animals. They’ve practically got a farm on the campus….
Miami Sunset High School - When a school produces excellence in the arts, sciences, and technology, you know it’s doing something right.
The three magnet programs at the school are medical, communications, and engineering. Students in the engineering magnet learn how to build and program robots, they can learn to fly on flight simulators with an instructor from…
North Miami High School is both a traditional high school and an all-magnet school!
North Miami High School has the rarest of identities. It is both a traditional high school and an all-magnet school. That means it has not only sports and band and clubs, it has magnet programs such as culinary arts, fine arts, engineering, a health sciences academy and the International Baccalaureate program…
Miami Sunset Magnet Program serves students with a hunger for creativity and design
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Miami-Dade iPrep grads are all headed to college
Every senior at one South Florida school is college bound, and some of the students were even accepted into Ivy League schools…
5 things to know about 2016 principal of the year, Martin T. Reid
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MAST Teacher Recognized County-Wide
As the lead teacher in the Biomedical Academy at MAST of Homestead, Lema Gilliard’s classroom is a four-year CSI lab, where each semester students build on the one before…
Middle schools magnet programs are needed
Over the past few months I enjoyed the opportunity to visit all the public middle schools in District 37. I’m proud of the progress each of these schools has made. Their work is exceptional, and I salute the faculty, staff and students as well as the administration and School Board for their leadership.
BioTECH High Offers Unique Wildlife Photography Course
Billed as the nation’s only conservation biology magnet high school, BioTECH High is unique in many ways. Only in its second year of existence, the school is small, with only 252 students. BioTECH now offers a unique wildlife photography course. Read More
A Look at Norland Middle School's Performing Arts Program As Magnet Deadline Nears
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Miami Dominates Rankings Of Florida's Best High Schools
U.S. News & World Report has released its annual rankings of America’s best high schools, and Miami-Dade schools pull a lot of weight when it comes to representing Florida on the list. Five Miami schools are ranked in the top 100 in the nation, which also means five of the ten top schools in Florida are in Miami. Of the top 20 schools in Florida, eight are in Miami-Dade. Read More
Miami’s design and fine arts magnet school looks to pivotal next chapter
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Coral Reef High School Ranked Among Nation's Top Schools
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MAST of Homestead Named #1 School In Florida by Newsweek
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Miami-Dade magnets earn top marks in new ranking
The Homestead Medical Academy for Science and Technology is Florida’s best public high school when student poverty is taken into account, according to Newsweek’s annual rankings. Read More
Caribbean-American Student Spotlight for App Development
Love for Programming: 15 years old, Sonja began programming just this year at iTech @ Thomas A. Edison Educational Center. But “what attracted me to computers was really my dad,” says Sonja. “When I was younger he would tell me about the brains of a computer and how different parts work together. I was fascinated.” Read More
Young BotanistsPlay a Vital Role in Protecting an Urban Ecosystem
Miami’s BioTech, the country’s first ever botany-focused magnet high school, is teaching kids real-world plant science!
Performing Arts at Charles Drew K-8
It’s not easy to create a high-performing school in a poverty-stricken environment. That’s where a magnet program comes into play at Charles Drew K-8 Center. Learn more
MAST@FIU recognized as one of top high schools for STEM education in the U.S.
Less than two years after its grand opening, MAST@FIU, the only four-year high school on a university campus in Miami-Dade County, has been rated one of the top high schools in the nation for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Learn More
School Scene: Southwest High student wins $20,000 H&R Block Budget Challenge scholarship
Brian Huici of Southwest Miami High School won a $20,000 scholarship from the H&R Block Budget Challenge, a teen financial literacy program that awards students who master budgeting and personal finance decision-making. Learn More
Magnet school to unveil new planetarium
Booker T. Washington is on the verge of unveiling a newly renovated planetarium, which will be the centerpiece for the school’s new astronomy magnet program that will begin in August. Learn more
Planetarium Focal Point Of Booker T. Washington’s New Magnet Program
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — The skies the limit for students attending Booker T. Washington’s new astronomy magnet program thanks to its newly-renovated planetarium. The media, along with students and staff, were given a sneak peak at the half-million dollar facility – the only one of its kind in South Florida. Learn more
Miami-Dade Magnet School Hitting All the Right Notes
It may be the most unique public school in Miami-Dade County: no sports, but tons of art. In fact, Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts is one of the few public arts conservatories that covers grades 6 through 12 anywhere in the country. Learn more
University embraces STEM academic experiences
To gear up future science, technology, engineering and mathematics college students, Biscayne Bay Campus has fostered an innovative experience for high school students. Learn more
Science the Focus for Jose Marti MAST Students
If they had long sleeves, the students in the Green Club and the science research class at Jose Marti MAST Academy in Hialeah would be rolling them up in the Arboretum, their small forest of native plants. Learn more
Miami-Dade School District offers specialized academic choices
This fall, students and parents across Miami-Dade County are busy filling out applications for the school district’s special academic programs known as magnet or choice programs…
