By Christopher Vargas
Royal Palm Beach High School has made significant strides in enhancing its academic programs, clubs and career academies, thanks to the leadership of Principal Dr. Shakeica Robinson, who assumed her role in early June 2024.
Robinson, alongside students from the school’s various career academies and clubs, presented updates and a new strategic plan at the Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board meeting on Monday, March 10, highlighted the school’s ongoing efforts to elevate its educational offerings and drive future success.
“Tonight, I’m going to present and showcase some of the great things that have been happening at Royal Palm Beach High School this year,” Robinson said. “In attendance, I have our JROTC cadets. I have students from our HVAC program, our IB program and our Latinos In Action, so at the end of the presentation, they will provide you with some testimonials and share how our academies, clubs and organizations have impacted their high school career.”
Robinson started off by outlining the mission and goals that RPBHS is prioritizing. The school is taking pride in addressing the holistic needs of every student by focusing on three key objectives: “a safe, respectable, socially just environment; rigorous academics with personalized learning; and a variety of extracurricular activities.”
The school has approximately 2,320 enrolled students, representing a rich diversity of backgrounds and races. Taking into account the data pulled from the two previous school years, Robinson is focusing on raising the school’s grade from a C to a B, which RPBHS narrowly missed last year.
In doing so, she is adding and replacing more advanced and accelerated classes. Dual enrollment has also started being offered at RPBHS during this current semester. Career and choice academy programs that are available to the students are the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC-R) Academy, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Medical Sciences, Navy JROTC and a STEM Academy.
Since last year, there was a significant increase in students enrolling in AICE programs. With this in mind, Robinson has formed an ideal tactic to increase the success rates.
“Last year, we were at 2,601 exams that we registered students for,” Robinson said. “This year, we are over 3,000 AICE exams that our students are registered to participate in. Our success rate has been at about 40 percent every year, so we’re definitely hoping to increase that. Our goal is to get to about 70 percent, so that we can really see those increases in our accelerated accountability cell.”
Her other plans include looking at an increase in AICE diplomas once other career programs are introduced, and an alignment of the AICE and IB programs.
After Robinson’s presentation, students representing the diverse programs and academies offered at RPBHS were given a chance to express how the programs have affected their educational journeys.
“The staff is very willing to help and accommodate in almost any manner possible to help me get my job. I work for Palm Beach County’s facility development and operations. It’s a very good course,” said Stephen Leach, representing the HVAC-R Academy.
Isabella Lopez-Merlos and Sydnei Borges spoke on behalf of the IB Program. They like how it works within the larger school community.
“They also encourage you to be an individual outside of your academy,” Borges said. “We can go outside and be creative, be part of the community, get some activity in while also being integrated into the academy, and I think that’s very important because I don’t want to be sitting in my room all day studying.”
Jada Castro and Ashley Caminero represented the program Latinos In Action, which focuses on helping students of Hispanic or Latino descent with their education and cultural appreciation.
“We give all of the Latino youth at Royal Palm Beach High School a place to feel safe, ask for help and know they are more than welcome to grow with us,” Castro said.
Adrianna Waithe spoke on behalf of the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Academy.
“The Marketing and Entrepreneurship Academy is a direct lifeline to our DECA chapter,” she said. “DECA is one of the biggest clubs in our school, and it is an international organization that has to do with marketing, entrepreneurship, business management, finance, and hospitality and tourism.”
DECA provides a competition outlet for students with an eye toward entrepreneurship, she said.
Jaina Smith spoke on behalf of the Medical Sciences Academy.
“The Medical Sciences Academy has really helped me because I’m able to early admit, even though I am in high school for four years because you are considered a completer after three years, and I’ve earned my CPR certification, and I hope to earn my CMAA, or my certified medical administrative assistant certification,” said Smith, who is also involved in HOSA, a group for future healthcare professionals.
Cadet Lt. Commander Ramemsha Georges was part of a delegation representing the JROTC program.
“Going into the program has really changed my life for the better,” she said. “I have become more confident. My leadership skills are to the roof. I’m a lot more confident not only in my leadership skills, but in the people around me as well. And it has really presented me with an opportunity to be a leader not only for myself but for the people around me.”
Mayor Jeff Hmara, who serves as the liaison to the Education Advisory Board, thanked Robinson and the students for their presentations. “I want to congratulate Dr. Robinson and the school for the amazing things that they’re doing right now,” he said. “This is the kind of energy that says it’s going in the right direction, and it’s likely to be highly successful in a lot of ways that you all can’t even realize yet.”
