Top In Science, Math And Engineering
American Heritage Schools Leads The Nation In STEM Education
As the world continues to advance technologically, American Heritage Schools keeps pace with the global shift by integrating a culture of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) into its comprehensive and rigorous curriculum.
Founded in 1965, American Heritage Schools is a nationally ranked college preparatory school with two 40-acre campuses in South Florida for grades Pre-K3 to 12. The 4,800 students represent more than 60 different countries, and more than 70 percent of the faculty holds a post-graduate degree. The student to faculty ratio is 5 to 1.
AHS alumni are notable leaders in their fields, who are generating positive differences in the world. Dylan Cahill graduated from American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus in 2014, from Dartmouth College in 2018, and he is currently a medical degree candidate at Harvard Medical School. “American Heritage prepared me for college academics,” Cahill said. “Though I didn’t realize it at the time, the study strategies I developed in challenging classes at AHS helped make my transition into the demands of college life much smoother.”
Ranked among the top private schools in Florida in STEM according to Niche, a leader in digital searches for the best K-12 schools and colleges, the students at American Heritage recently earned high honors in STEM, including No. 1 in Florida at the state science fair, No. 1 and No. 2 private school in Florida in math competition, and event champions in robotics competition.
The American Heritage Science Research Institute for select students in grades 6 to 12 enables students to conduct research on real-world problems, and in turn, they have earned international recognition for their findings.
Emilin Mathew researched digital phenotyping of the autism spectrum and earned first prize in the world at the 2021 International Intel Science & Engineering Fair.
“I’m really grateful for the support I got in pursuing my commitment to overcome healthcare inequities for people of color,” Mathew said. “Winning first place in the world was the most empowering experience that reaffirmed my aspiration to be a scientist-activist who helps underserved communities.”
She is just one of the many students at American Heritage empowered to make a big difference in the world.
The range of equipment in the science lab is unlike any other high school — fluorescent and inverted microscopes, UV/Vis plate reader (a spectrophotometer), a carbon dioxide incubator, a minus-86-degree freezer, a liquid nitrogen cryogenic tank and a scanning electron microscope, just to name a few.
“When our students graduate, they are equipped with a level of research knowledge they would not normally have without the opportunities presented in our program,” said Dr. Iris Thompson, director of science research at American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus. “This sets them apart from their peers when applying to college or graduate school.”
The mathematics departments at both campuses are equally strong. Starting in Lower School, advanced courses are offered, including the Stanford University math program for accelerated math students in grades 4 through 6. This early learning enables the students to perform extremely well at math competitions. They earned the ranking of No. 1 elementary school in Florida and No. 2 private elementary school in the United States in math competition, and many of those students advance to the high school level with great success.
Both the Broward and Palm Beach math teams at AHS ranked No. 1 and No. 2 private school at the Florida Association of Mu Alpha Theta statewide math competition. The Palm Beach campus earned five first-place awards in Geometry, Matrices and Vectors, Statistics, Statistics Bowl and Computer Competition.
Justin Sun is a senior at the Palm Beach campus who has competed on the AHS Math Team since he was a freshman. His strength is in statistics with an interest in data science.
“One day I want to be the CEO of my own corporation using data to solve major issues in the world, such as climate change and the tumultuous political environment,” explained Sun, who attributed his success in high school to his teachers. “American Heritage does a great job of making sure the students are comfortable in class and understand the material, and I feel that only comes with experience of the teachers, who make sure the students have the proper tools to achieve the goals they want.”
Sun will be attending Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.
In the field of robotics and engineering, the AHS Ninjineers Robotics Team at the Broward campus qualified for the World Robotics Championship in Houston over the summer. The team also won NASA’s Regional Engineering Inspiration Award, which celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.
Senior Krishna Sorna was a top student in the American Heritage Pre-Engineering Program at the Palm Beach campus and will be attending Princeton in the fall.
“American Heritage has played a major role in my early acceptance to Princeton University by providing a great educational environment unlike any other high school,” Sorna said. “The Pre-Engineering Program allowed me to learn through several engineering classes, participate in internships with major engineering companies, and design and create products in the engineering and robotics lab to get real-world experience, which inspired me to choose a major in electrical and computer engineering and a career at an engineering firm.”
American Heritage Schools in Palm Beach is No. 2 in National Merit Scholars out of all schools in Florida. American Heritage Schools’ combined students from both campuses comprise 9 percent of all National Merit Scholars Semifinalists throughout the 2,227 public and private schools in Florida.
“We are very proud to have our students win prestigious honors for their various accomplishments in our STEM programs,” said Dr. Doug Laurie, president of American Heritage Schools. “These students are model ambassadors for American Heritage Schools. Each of them embodies our values of knowledge, integrity and compassion, and their hard work and dedication to their educational pursuits are admired.”
American Heritage is open all year at both campuses. It also provides an extensive summer program from June to August for children and teens ages 3 to 17 from all over the world. The offerings include traditional day camps, specialty and sports camps, the Summer Institute, available in-person and online with more than 100 courses designed for every student interest, and 1-on-1 tutoring. This comprehensive summer enrichment ensures students are prepared or ahead for the next school year and gives them a competitive advantage to succeed.
American Heritage Schools will continue to set high standards for growth and learning and prepare the next generation of global thinkers and problem solvers to succeed.
American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus is located at 6200 Linton Blvd., just east of Jog Road. For more information, call (561) 495-7272 or visit www.ahschool.com.
