Florida - Homestead
Florida SIATech at Homestead Job Corps Center
12350 SW 285th Street
Homestead, FL 33033
Tel: (305) 258-9477
Principal:
Andrea Loring
andrea.loring@siatech.org
Overview
SIATech at Homestead is located in the southernmost part of Miami-Dade County. Situated on the Homestead Air Force Base, the school location is rural in nature. Many of the students come from other parts of Florida and the Caribbean to join the Job Corps program.
Ninety percent of the students live on campus in the dorms which gives the Job Corps Center the feel of a small college campus. Within this community, SIATech has become a “home away from home” for many of the 236 students who attend the school. With the ongoing support of the dedicated instructional staff at SIATech, it is not unusual to find students working after hours and on weekends when various staff members come in to work.
The students in this location have such a sense of belonging that it is translated into their every action. The staff members have structured the school in such a way that the students have no doubt what to expect and what is expected from them. They are on the road to excellence.
Principal Profile
Andrea Loring joined SIATech in August 2009 and is the Principal at the Homestead campus. She brings over 30 years of experience as teacher and administrator in Miami-Dade County Public Schools Alternative Education programs. Andrea brings a wealth of knowledge in curriuclum and instruction and thrives on mentoring at-promise students. She received her master's degree and educational credentials from Florida International University.
Success Stories
Homestead Community Unites to Help Build
Verde Gardens Farm
by Lesly Diaz
On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, Earth Learning and Homestead Job Corps Center partnered, along with residents from Verde Gardens and Miami-Dade County, to help build upon the concept of a sustainable community.
The event was sponsored by Volunteer Florida’s BEST Neighborhoods grant and was held at Verde Gardens Farm.
The farm is one of many great outcomes that have emerged since the concept of theVerde Gardens community, over 15 years ago. Since then, Miami-Dade Homeless Trust and Carrfour Supportive Housing have created a community of 145 townhomes and a 22 acre farm. The community provides housing for previously homeless families. The goal is for the residents to someday take over the farm.
Pictured left to right: Elena Naranjo, Program Director of Earth Learning and Patrick Garvey, Volunteer Resource Manager at Earth Learning, along with Homestead Job Corps Center students Kenny Aviles, Jarquista Harden, Joshua Parra and Forest Edward, worked together to help build Verde Gardens Farm in South Dade.
Over 50 staff, students, and volunteers came together to build ally crop beds. The purpose is to create fertile soil to allow for the beds to support a varied species of fruit and nut trees that grow in South Florida.
This service learning project gave participants an opportunity to understand the importance and impact that healthy soil has on the nutritional value of food.
"The idea of building a sustainable community was extremely interesting and educational for our Job Corps students. The healthy lunch which was provided by Earth Learning gave the students an appreciation for the production of healthy, natural foods. It was a great event and I look forward to continuing this partnership in the near future," stated volunteer participant Mr. Terry Devine, Brick Laying Instructor at Homestead Job Corps Center.
Lesly Diaz is the business and community liaison for Homestead Job Corps Center. She can be contacted at lesly.diaz@jobcorps.org. SIATech Homestead is the charter high school on the center.
Students Experience Job Corps'
Groundhog Job Shadow Day
by Lesly Diaz
As the groundhog got ready to look for his shadow, Homestead Job Corps Center joined thousands of employers, students, and Job Corps centers around the country who took part in Groundhog Job Shadow Day.
Since 1996, this initiative to engage students in the world of work has paired student “shadows” with “workplace mentors” to introduce students to the workplace and demonstrate the connection between academics and careers. The goal of Groundhog Job Shadow Day is to match more than one million young people with workplace mentors.
Shown here, Homestead Job Corps Center (HJCC) student Carmen Garrido spent the day with HJCC Assistant Accountant Tammy Key as part of Groundhog Job Shadow Day.
Garrido is a student at HJCC who is studying Business Technology.
Garrido recently graduated from SIATech Homestead high school at HJCC.
Thank you to Business and Community Liaison Lesly Diaz for forwarding this news from the Homestead Job Corps Center.
SIATech Florida Students Meet Goals and
Earn Rewards!
SIATech Homestead students enjoy The Nutcracker: Homestead students with the best class attendance both in SIATech and Job Corps academic classes were treated to a day at the ballet where they saw a production of The Nutcracker at the Dade County Auditorium. Most students had never attended a ballet before and enjoyed the music, costumes, set, drama and dancing. It is our hope that they will take their own children to events like this in the future!
Homestead Job Corps Center Gives Back: Job Corps centers regularly give back through community service. One project is the Adopt-a-Road project. 
Shown in this December photo,Homestead Air Reserve Base Senior Airman Astrid Lopez-Michelen and SIATech at Homestead Job Corps Center student Juan Ramey Jr. are pleased to work together to beautify the community by participating bi-monthly in the Adopt-a-Road project.
Families and Community Attend Open House at SIATech at Homestead Job Corps Center
by Marjorie Lopez
SIATech and the Homestead Job Corps Center hosted an Open House event for community and family members so they could observe both the educational and career-technical training experiences students participate in each day.
The event proved beneficial not only for the community and families but also for student-trainees nearing completion of their programs and for those identified as team leaders. These students got the opportunity to practice their public speaking skills in preparation for future interviews.
Trainees also displayed "Real Learning for Real Life" as they showcased acquired skills in career training classes. Visitors enjoyed an afternoon of departmental presentations, student demonstrations, and refreshments as they visited classrooms and training areas.
After a tour of the SIATech high school program, parent Ana Gonzalez remarked, "I wish I had been able to attend a high school like this. They need more partnerships like this. I am happy my son has this opportunity. Thank you for inviting me here."
U.S. Representative David Rivera Celebrates National Job Corps Commencement Day at Homestead
by Lesly Diaz
On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, U.S. Representative David Rivera joined local officials, business leaders, Job Corps and SIATech staff, students, and their families to congratulate 73 graduates from Homestead Job Corps Center. The ceremony was part of National Job Corps Commencement Day.
As pictured, Homestead Job Corps Center’s Commencement Speaker, the Honorable Congressman David Rivera, congratulates graduate George Canales.
In the Congressman’s Commencement Speech, he challenged the graduates to make America a greater nation and to hold leaders accountable for bringing back fiscal responsibility that will restore confidence in America’s economy.
"What a great graduation ceremony. I sat in the back and listened to the enthusiasm of the crowd. Both Congressman Rivera and graduate Demiree Henderson’s speeches were so inspiring. Thank you for letting me join in and celebrate," said Carl Gallo, local business owner of StationAmerica and Chairman of Homestead Job Corps Center’s Industry Advisory Council.
Tuesday's event marks the first time ever that the majority of the nation’s 124 Job Corps centers have held commencement celebrations on the same day.
"Of all the events I participate in at Job Corps, graduation is my favorite. We recognize those students that overcame all of their obstacles and achieved the goals they set for themselves. That effort now pays off and the world offers more," said Anthony Taylor, Homestead Job Corps Center’s Director.
Other SIATech sites that held graduations on August 30 were Phoenix, San Jose, and Jacksonville.
Maya Angelou's Grandson Inspires Students in SIATech Homestead English Class
by Andrea Loring
On August 26, SIATech at Homestead had a special guest speaker. Mr. Elliot Jones, Director of Community Engagement at the Miami Children's Initiative, spent the afternoon in the English lab. He read some of his favorite poems written by his very famous grandmother, Maya Angelou. He shared her philosophy and some favorite
stories about her, mesmerizing the students.
He asked that students share some of their own poetry, which they were asked to bring to class. A couple of students "free-styled" rap lyrics that they wrote. The students were required to stand up when they spoke and to "own their voices."
Mr. Jones talked to the students about resiliency and told them that Maya Angelou was a poor black female growing up in the segregated South. Before she was seventeen, she was raped by a family member, traumatized so that she didn't speak for years, turned in desperation to prostitution, and became a teen mother. From this, she rose to be among the most respected poets in the country. Through verse and discussion, he told the students that they too could rise and succeed.
Our eyes filled with tears at the sorrowful poems he read, and we laughed when Ms. Pharel and Ms. Loring did a dramatic reading of "Phenomenal Woman" and bombarded him with questions about the scholarship foundation that Maya Angelou sponsors for students who attend historically black colleges and universities.
Ms. Pharel said it best when she told our guest that he embodied the message of his legendary grandmother, who said that poetry is music for the voice.
SIATech Homestead Celebrates 2010-11
During the 2010-2011 school year the Homestead faculty and staff aimed to build students’ connection to school and motivation to learn by providing a variety of enrichment activities.
Students with the best classroom attendance were recognized weekly and rewarded monthly. Rewards included trips to see plays at the Actors Playhouse, dining at restaurants and participation in Game Days where staff and students bonded while playing Wii and board games and singing Karaoke. Classroom attendance is a major factor in academic success and creative efforts to encourage students not to miss a single SIATech class are ongoing.
After-school hours are filled with activity at Homestead. Practice for the ACT (which can replace the state exit exam) is held three afternoons a week and a passing score on the practice tests is required to be included in the next test administration. On Wednesdays, students who enjoy expression through the visual arts attend meetings of the Art Club. Book Lovers attend a monthly meeting where they snack and chat about the book that was read independently that month. Book talks frequently evolve into discussions about themselves, their values and dreams and many students report that these are the first (non-required) books that they have ever read. Nature lovers have an outlet in our Nature Club. Members maintain the school gardens and other school beautification efforts.
The dedicated, caring and hard-working Homestead staff is the reason that these “extras” are possible. Students show their appreciation with respectful behavior and by contributing to a calm and cheerful school climate.
SIATech Graduates: College Bound and Career Ready
Homestead graduates Melissa McCleary and Shable Harris are set to attend college this Fall 2010. Melissa was recently accepted to St. Thomas University, a private university in Miami. She received a financial award of $25,000 for her first year, $6000 of which was an academic award for her ACT scores. Shable has been accepted to Florida Memorial University. She received a composite score of 21 on her ACT exam and received a Bright Futures scholarship from Florida.
