“Creating a vibrant internationally minded community where students
are encouraged to seek a life of inquiry, reflection, and merit.”
Principal: Donna Dunson
Assistant Principal of Curriculum: Daniele Shick
Director of Operations & IB: Anuj Saran
Director of School Counseling: Rebecca Thomas
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
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.
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.
GRADING AND RANKING
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
PROGRAM
Weighted courses: 1.0 weight is given to all IB and AP
courses. LWHS offers 129 courses with quality points, of
which five are AP. Eleven IB courses are offered for the
class of 2014 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
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.
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.
Grading Scale
A
B
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
59 or below
Advanced Placement
Course Offerings for the
13/14 SY
Psychology
Human Geography
World History
6/29/2013
Average ACT Scores
GPA Distribution Class of 2013
GPA
# of students
%
2010
2011
2012
16
15.1
16.1
3.75 and above
51
19.8%
3.5 - 3.74
26
10%
Math
18.4
18
18.5
3.2 - 3.49
42
16.3%
Reading
17.5
16.8
18.7
Below 3.2
139
53.9%
Total
Science
17.2
16.3
17.1
258
Composite
17.4
16.7
17.7
2010
2011
2012
English
AP Results
Average SAT Scores
Year
# Exams:
% Score 3-5
2008
193
46%
2009
167
38.7%
Reading
453
467
473
2010
276
48.2%
Math
481
482
490
2011
315
35%
Writing
438
439
455
2012
375
22.67%
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)
Agricultural Academy
(will begin 2013-2014)
Culinary
Digital Media & Multimedia Design
Agriscience Foundations
Agritechnology 2-4
Culinary Arts 1-4
Early Childhood & Teacher Education
Digital Media and Multimedia
Design 1-4
Early Childhood Education 1-4
Florida’s Natural Growers Automation
and Production Technology
Automation & Production
Technology 1-3
(will begin 2013-2014)
Agritechnician
Certified Professional Food Manager (ServSafe)
Adobe Certs*
Early Childhood Professional Certificate
(ECPC)/Child Development Associate (CDA)
Manufacturing Skills Standards Certification
(MSSC)
Certified Production Tech (CPT)*
EMR
EKG
(began in 2011-2012)
Health Sci 1/2
EMR 3
EKG 3
Medical
IB PROGRAM OF STUDY
*BP=Baccalaureate Prep
9 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/AP Human
Geography
BP Biology 1
BP Spanish 2 or
BP Spanish 3
BP World History
Spanish B SL, or
Ab Initio Spanish
IB History of the Americas
HL
IB Biology HL
Spanish B SL or
Ab Initio Spanish
IB History of the
Americas HL
IB Biology HL
Individuals &
Societies
Experimental Sciences
th
Mathematics
BP Algebra 1 or
BP Geometry
Arts & Electives
BP Inquiry Skills
Seventh Subject
Elective
.5 BP Chemistry 1 and
.5 BP Physics
BP Algebra 2 or
IB Math SL (IB Precalculus) IB Math SL (IB Calculus)
BP Pre-Calculus
or Math Studies
or
(IB Math Analysis)
IB Math Studies
BP Physics 1
IB Film Studies or Music SL
IB Film Studies or
or
Music SL or
IB Chemistry SL or Physics
IB Chemistry SL or
SL
Physics SL
Elective
Elective
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.