Miami Beach High School Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Students “Repeat” at National Competition to Bring Home the Gold     

Miami, FL -- At the Lodging Management National Competition sponsored by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA), and held on April 16-17, 2010, the team from the Miami Beach High School Academy of Hospitality and Tourism demonstrated their lodging management skills to dignitaries of the Hospitality industry including the President of the AH&LA, Joe McInerney and the President of the Educational Institute, Robert Steele who both served as judges. 

During the three-day competition held at the Orlando Airport Marriott, the students completed a Hospitality Project where according to President McInerney ”students spend a full day developing a plan for a banquet to benefit the Boys & Girls Club.  They must create a theme, fundraising model, marketing plan, and menu, all while staying within their allotted budget and turning a stipulated profit.  This is one of my favorite parts to the competition, as the creativity and range of ideas is truly inspiring.” The Hotel Operations category included analyzing two case studies in Food and Beverage and Sales and Marketing, a night audit and a hotel room inspection.  The third category is a Hospitality Knowledge Bowl, a game show-style question and answer event.  The Miami Beach High School team received First Place in the Hospitality Project event and Second Place in Hotel Operations which was enough to win them 2nd place in the overall category. The members of the team are:  Hanibegk Coll (team captain), Vanessa Fernandez, Karl Laxy and Isabella Mongallo.  Each member of the team was awarded an $8,000 scholarship to Johnson & Wales University, $5,000 to the University of Houston, $8,000 to Widener University, $6,000 to San Diego State University and $10,000 to Paul Smith’s College in New York. Sincere thanks to our business and educational partners:  Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Airport Marriott, Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, South Florida and Treasure Coast Restaurant and Lodging Association, St. Thomas University and the Miami Beach Senior High School PTSA. 

The AOHT is a Marketing program under the auspices of the Schools of Choice and Parental Options Office in partnership with the Career and Technical Education Department and a member program of the National Academy Foundation (NAF), 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.  Miami-Dade County Public Schools has eleven Academies of Hospitality and Tourism.  For additional information about the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, please contact Ann Fields at 305.995.7379.

The National Academy Foundation (NAF), a network of career academies focused on developing young adults’ personal and professional success, recently presented their 2009 Academy Honoree Awards at the Institute of Staff Development in Phoenix.  NAF recognized alumni, advisory board members and leaders from academies nationwide whose success in providing worthwhile opportunities for students has inspired their colleagues and strengthened schools, communities and NAF.

Advisory Board Champions
The Advisory Board Champion Award was presented to Kimberly Wilson, Area General Manager of the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay and newly elected Chairperson of Miami-Dade Academy of Hospitality & Tourism (AOHT).

The winner of the Alumni Honoree Award was Samuel Gbadebo, a 1998 graduate of William Turner Technical Arts Academy of Finance (AOF) who is currently the lead teacher of the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism at American Senior High School in Hialeah.

Advisory Board Recruitment Challenge
The Academy of Hospitality & Tourism (AOHT) was also the winner of a drawing for a Video Production package from Pearson Foundation valued at $20,000. The board under the leadership of Board Secretary, Shelly Fano, Miami Dade College, added three new Advisory Board members and one NAF Alumnus. Accepting the grand prize at the Institute was Ann Fields, AOHT NAF Director, Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Beginning February 10, 2009, Academies competed in the Advisory Board Recruitment Challenge (ABRC) which was open to all Academies. To qualify, Academies had to update their Advisory Board information on NAF's database, and then recruit a minimum of two new Advisory Board (AB) members during the Challenge period which ended on June 30th.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools have 39 NAF academies of which eight are Academies of Hospitality & Tourism and are offered through the School Choice & Parental Options.

Miami, FL – This summer, 120 National Academy Foundation (NAF) students participated in a paid summer internship program. NAF is a network of career academies within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DPCS) and other school across that country focused on rigorous, career-themed curricula in the areas of Finance, Hospitality & Tourism, Information Technology, and Engineering.

Juniors who have completed coursework in Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ NAF programs were eligible to apply for the program.  This extension of the learning environment enables NAF students to see first-hand the connections between what they learned in school and the world of business. Students develop professional skills, gain self-confidence, and receive exposure to many different facets of the business world. This year, 61 businesses provided students a summer internship experience.

Employers, when asked what they liked best about the program replied: “The opportunity to give a young, aspiring person the chance to learn new things, meet professional people and show them some of what the real world is about” Nigel Whyte, Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School. Frankie Bravo, Carnival Cruise Lines adds that he appreciates “the ability to work with self-motivated individuals that take the initiative to work and learn; the intern pool looks very promising in the future.”

Students appreciate this opportunity afforded to them. Rafael Anare, a student at Coral Reef Senior High School who completed his internship at John Hancock Financial Services states “The internship opportunity is great in giving students a real life outlook on how businesses operate and it expands the knowledge about the intricate field of business.”

The NAF Internship program was established in 1987, with the opening of the first NAF Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT) at Miami Springs Senior High. Presently, there are 39 NAF career academies in 24 high schools, making M-DPCS number one in the nation, offering the largest number of NAF academies in a school district. NAF students receive career-focused curriculum as well as real-world work-based learning, such as paid internships with experiences tied to a career theme.