When a school attracts students from all over Broward County, it’s fitting to put the word "magnet" right into its name. Hallandale Magnet High School definitely has pull, thanks to its six magnet programs, all under the umbrella of its Entrepreneurship STEM and Multimedia Technology Academy. The programs include Criminal Justice, Health Science, and Graphic Design.
The STEM academy students build, program and fly drones. They design robots and show them off at competitions. It’s all part of the process of learning coding, engineering, and even entrepreneurship, which is stressed throughout the school.
"So our students are not just here for their program, they’re learning how to create their own business," said magnet program coordinator, Marilyn Santiago. "We are very fortunate, we have a company called Odyssey Toys which actually gives us drones that have been returned, so our kids take them apart and rebuild them."
The Health Science program has an emphasis on sports medicine.
"The sports medicine area can include everything from orthopedic doctor to physical therapy, so they’re still learning techniques that you can use in a hospital setting but they’re getting a different aspect in Hallandale through athletics," explained Derek Rivera, who runs the program.
Hallandale Magnet High has a long history, an inner-city school with small town feel.
"It's a smaller school, and so that means that we’re able to personalize the learning, we’re able to monitor students from when they come in freshman year to their senior year," said principal Mark Howard, explaining that with 1,400 students, his school is one of the smallest high schools in the county.
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Creative thinking, problem solving, and performance are all emphasized here. The drama club recently took first place in a theatre competition, and the school has always been known for producing top-flight basketball and football players.
"There’s a great source of pride and tradition at Hallandale," Howard said. "You know, you can’t hide that Charger pride."
They are justifiably proud of their television production magnet course, which boasts state-of-the-art facilities. The students in every program here graduate college-ready and career-ready, if they choose to skip college.
The Chargers are ready to charge into their futures.
