Assistant Principal of Curriculum: Daniele Shick

Principal: Donna Dunson

Assistant Principal of Curriculum: Daniele Shick

Director of Operations & IB: Anuj Saran

Director of School Counseling:Krista Thompson

LAKE WALES CHARTER SCHOOLS

In 2004, the Lake Wales community decided to take control of its schools and design a model system. Using Florida’s charter school law, the teachers and parents voted to support community leadership and converted five public schools into a locally governed community school system – the Lake Wales Charter Schools. The charter schools continue as public schools but are no longer operated by a large, out-of-town bureaucracy. Now Lake Wales has a local system led by a Board of Trustees that has the ability to grant schools the freedom to be flexible and creative. Students have responded with improved academic achievement and there has been a substantial reduction in discipline issues.

LAKE WALES HIGH SCHOOL

Lake Wales High School was founded in 1920 and is in its 10th year as a Lake Wales Charter System school. It serves approximately 1,325 ninth through twelfth grade students. The school uses an overall core spiral curriculum that includes leadership and ethics training, design thinking and technology along with a focus on scholastic academies. One of the school’s top priorities is encouraging students to know about and be involved in their community.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM

The LWHS Henry McCance IB program opened in 2012/2013. There are approximately 200 students currently participating in the program, grades nine through eleven. These students are dynamic, highly-motivated, and prepared for a four-year university and life beyond. The LWHS IB program operates as a school-within-a-school, with its own code and curriculum.

IB PROGRAM OF STUDY & REQUIREMENTS

Due to the rigor of the diploma program, Florida IB graduation requirements are different than those pursuing a standard high school diploma. The IB Program of Study is outlined in the table on page 3. Each student selects three subjects to be studied at the Higher Level (HL) and three subjects to be studied at the Standard Level (SL), each for a two-year period that culminates in international exams.

IB Program Continued

In their freshman and sophomore years, all students take Baccalaureate Prep courses; junior and senior years are devoted to IB courses. Many students also take additional AP and Honors courses.

In order to qualify for the IB diploma, students must study Theory of Knowledge, a course unique to IB, and write a 4,000-word original research Extended Essay. They must also complete the 18-month CAS requirement (Creativity, Action, and Service) and receive passing scores on their IB exams. Students who do not successfully complete any of these requirements do not earn their IB diplomas.

RIDGE LIBERAL ARTS PROGRAM

Lake Wales High School offers a program of study for all students. Students who do not wish to join IB or a Career Academy apply to Ridge Liberal Arts; a program of study where graduation requirements are met; however there is no concentration on a specific career or unified academic program.

GRADING AND RANKING

Grading Scale / Advanced Placement Course Offerings for the 13/14 SY
A / 90-100 / Psychology
B / 80-89 / Human Geography
C / 70-79 / World History
D / 60-69 / Chemistry
F / 59 or below

International Baccalaureate students are not ranked with one another due to the rigorous nature of the IB selection process and curriculum. Student ranks and GPAs cover a period from August to June. Students take seven courses each year. The graduating class of 2013 had the opportunity to take 8 courses their freshmen and sophomore years.

Weighted courses: 1.0 weight is given to all IB and AP courses. LWHS offers 129 courses with quality points, of which four are AP. Eleven IB courses are offered for the class of 2015 as well. For weighted courses, A = 5 points, B = 4, C = 3, with no weight for a D. In non-weighted courses, A = 4 points, B = 3, C = 2 and D = 1

GPA Distribution Class of 2014
GPA / # of students / %
3.75 and above / 53 / 22.8%
3.5 - 3.74 / 42 / 18.1%
3.2 - 3.49 / 29 / 12.5%
Below 3.2 / 108 / 46.5%
Total / 232
AP Results
Year / # Exams: / % Score 3-5
2008 / 193 / 46%
2009 / 167 / 38.7%
2010 / 276 / 48.2%
2011 / 315 / 35%
2012 / 375 / 22.67%
2013 / 181 / 23.2%
2014 / 151 / 27.7%
Average ACT Scores
2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014
English / 15.1 / 16.1 / 16.5 / 15
Math / 18 / 18.5 / 17.9 / 17.1
Reading / 16.8 / 18.7 / 18.9 / 17.9
Science / 16.3 / 17.1 / 17.3 / 16.7
Composite / 16.7 / 17.7 / 17.8 / 16.7

*In some instances, ACT scores serve as concordant scores for FCAT. Therefore, some discrepancy may exist.

Average SAT Scores
2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014
Reading / 467 / 473 / 469 / 505
Math / 482 / 490 / 481 / 492
Writing / 439 / 455 / 445 / 483

9/1/14

Career academies are small, personalized learning communities within a high school that select a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year span. Students enter the academy through a voluntary process; they must apply and be accepted with parental knowledge and support. A career academy involves teachers from different subjects working together as a team.
Career Academy / Course Sequence / Certification(s)
Culinary / Culinary Arts 1-4 / Certified Professional Food Manager (ServSafe)
Digital Media & Multimedia Design / Digital Media and Multimedia Design 1-4 / Adobe Certs*
Early Childhood & Teacher Education / Early Childhood Education 1-4 / Early Childhood Professional Certificate (ECPC)/Child Development Associate (CDA)
Medical / Health Sci 1/2
EMR 3
EKG 3 / EMR
EKG
IB PROGRAM OF STUDY
*BP=Baccalaureate Prep / 9th GRADE / 10th GRADE / 11th GRADE / 12th GRADE
Language A / BP English 1 / BP English 2 / IB English HL / IB English HL
Language B / BP Spanish 1 or
BP Spanish 2 / BP Spanish 2 or
BP Spanish 3 / Spanish B SL / Spanish B SL
Individuals & Societies / BP/AP Human Geography / BP World History / IB History of the Americas HL / IB History of the Americas HL
Experimental Sciences / BP Biology 1 / BP Chemistry / IB Biology HL / IB Biology HL
Mathematics / BP Algebra 1 or
BP Geometry / BP Algebra 2 or
BP Pre-Calculus / IB Math SL (IB Pre-calculus)or Math Studies / IB Math SL (IB Calculus)or
IB Math Studies
Arts & Electives / Elective / Elective (Recommended: BP Physics 1) / IB Film Studies or Music SL orIB Geography / Elective
Seventh Subject / N/A / N/A / IB Theory of Knowledge / IB Theory of Knowledge

LWHS is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.