The Cambridge Program at Reagan/Doral Sr. High, Helping You “AICE” College!
By: Lucy-Marie Trabanco
Interventionist & Community Involvement Specialist
Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School
Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School is a traditional high school, which offers a Cambridge Program exclusively to our Doral families, helping lessen the cost of college by allowing our high school students to start advanced courses in as early as 9thgrade.
However, students can already start to apply in 8thgrade. If our school is your designated home school and your child shows exemplary academic ability, then you are in luck. We offer this international pre-university program for academically advanced students with a curriculum designed as preparation for college and university honors programs.
In past years, we have earned 4 Global Recognitions, meaning that our students were top in the world for that specific subject area. They also received National Recognition, known as Brilliance in the USA Awards, which our school has received for almost every subject.
To be accepted, students who apply to the Cambridge AICE Diploma Program are required to have 3.0 GPA in their core classes, passing scores on all state assessments, and 3 letters of recommendation from their core class teachers.
If your child meets all these requirements, then they could graduate high school with transferable college credit or even their AA from Miami Dade College due to our partnership with Miami Dade College called Pathways to College (P2C) combined with credits earned in the Cambridge Program.
Pathways to College also helps Advanced Placement (AP) students get ahead on their Associates in Arts Degree by allowing them to take selective Dual Enrollment courses, which, once combined with their AP and Cambridge credits, could equal up to an AA from Miami Dade College.
This allows students to start completing their bachelors immediately after high school, turning what would be 4 years of studying into 2. This is an advantage not only academically, but also monetarily since an AA is two years of college tuition that you will be saving.
Since the Cambridge AICE Diploma Program is the most rigorous program available, alumni return to tell our students how much easier college classes seem due to the skills they learned in the Cambridge Program. AICE stands for Advanced International Certificate of Education and consists of an academic curriculum from Cambridge International AS & A Levels.
If you complete the program, this can lead to your obtaining your AICE Diploma which can replace the Florida Bright Futures GPA and SAT/ACT Score requirements. Our Cambridge Diploma Program will help students make sure that they meet the scholarship requirements, an advantage that not many students are able to have.
To obtain the Cambridge AICE Diploma, a student must successfully pass seven exams. Due to our school having 8 periods, 4 classes a day (block schedule), our students can take a variety of classes which allows for flexibility when it comes to choosing their courses. It also allows students to study based on their individual interests and abilities within an international curriculum framework. The Cambridge students become accustomed to the course load as well as what is expected of them as Cambridge students.
The first Cambridge AICE Diploma was awarded in 1997 and continues still to this day as an extremely popular option for students who are not only trying to graduate with college credits but are also looking to be challenged academically.
— Isabel Rios-Pulgar
Class of 2017
As previously mentioned, students who obtain the Cambridge AICE Diploma have a great advantage due to their eligibility for Florida Bright Futures. In 2015, our graduating Cambridge class was made up of 82 seniors, 33 (40%) met the criteria to earn Florida Academic Scholars, 20 (24%) met the criteria to earn Florida Merit Scholars, and 3 (4%) met the criteria to earn Florida Gold Seal Scholarship.
The requirements are the 16 High School Course Credits, at least 100 hours of community service, and your AICE Diploma (regardless of GPA or ACT/SAT Test Scores.) That same graduating class of 2015 had 79/82 students earn their AICE Diploma, meaning that 96% of Cambridge Seniors met the criteria to earn Florida Academic Scholars.
Last year, our school had an 100% passing rate for the AICE Diploma in the following subjects: French, French Language, Global Perspectives & Research, Music, Portuguese, Portuguese Language, Spanish, and Spanish Language. In the other categories, we received above 80% passing except for in 3 subjects out of 22 total subjects tested.
Over all, our Cambridge program has a passing rate of 85%, with 98% of the students obtaining the Cambridge AICE Diploma for the 2017-2018 school year. We are very proud to also be the host for the Cambridge AICE Diploma award ceremony, where every school with a Cambridge Program comes together to celebrate all our students’ accomplishments.
In the past years, our school has won 4 “Top in the World” in English, Language AS Level, Spanish A Level, Environmental Management AS Level, and Global Perspectives AS Level. They have also been awarded National Recognition, Brilliance in the USA Awards, “Top in the USA” in Spanish Language, Spanish A Level, French Language, Portuguese Language, Economics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Thinking Skills, English Literature, History, Mathematics, and Psychology.
As the cost of college education continues to soar, Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School offers the Cambridge Program to make that rising college costs more manageable and affordable. (As well as Pathways 2 College to further your son/daughter’s academic achievements and success in life.)
The Cambridge AICE Diploma is growing in popularity worldwide due to students realizing that they can get ahead on their studies and graduate with a second diploma for Cambridge AICE. Having participated in the program also shows colleges that you are not only prepared for college-level courses but that you can master them with ease.
Many students that have graduated from our program also note that college-level courses seem easier now since they were able to learn and handle the rigor of the Cambridge AICE Diploma Program while they were still in high school.
This goes without mentioning the additional benefits such as receiving college credit from universities and community colleges. According to Florida Statutes, Sections 1007.27 (1) and 1007.27 (2), if a student achieves a passing score on an AICE exam, state universities and community colleges must award the minimum recommended credit for the course or course numbers listed, even if they do not offer the course. Up to 45 total credit-by-exam credits may be awarded. This means that students can potentially save up to 2 years in tuition by being in the Cambridge AICE Diploma program.
To apply, please visit our school website: https://www.ronaldreaganseniorhighschool.com, click on ACADEMICS in the green tabs, and select Cambridge AICE from the drop-down list. Once you are at the Cambridge AICE page, scroll to the bottom where you will see the application. There you will complete the application and upload the required documents before the deadline.
Parent Tours are offered to residents of Doral, the first Friday of every month, for those who would like to visit the school and become more familiar with our Cambridge AICE Diploma Program, Pathways 2 College, or our school in general.
If you are interested in a tour please contact Ms. Conchy Paez at (305) 805-1900, ext. 2127. We also have an Advanced Academic Night at our school during the month of January for 8thgraders interested in our Cambridge program, P2C, and AP.
This is a great opportunity to ask students who are currently in the Cambridge Program, student-athletes, Advanced Placement students, etc., about their experiences with our school and our advanced programs. We look forward to helping your child/children achieve their potential while making a difference in our community and someday, our world.