Special Programs

The Excelsior Program is an advanced academic program afforded to high-performing students at Cardinal Gibbons High School. The program has been developed to enhance educational experiences through motivation, knowledge, and accelerated classes. Students in the Excelsior Program are among the top-performing students in their class and are expected to challenge themselves academically and reach their highest potential. 

Qualifications 
Criteria 1 - Incoming ninth-graders who perform in the Top 10 percent of the High School Placement Test (HSPT) and have exceptional middle school grades are invited to join the program. 

Criteria 2 - Students in ninth or 10th grade who earn an unweighted GPA of 3.75 or above and have scored a 1050 or above on their PSAT are invited to become members of the Excelsior Program. 

Students must be identified prior to their junior year in order to be eligible for the Excelsior Program. 

Benefits
Students who qualify for the Excelsior Program have access to: 

• Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses 
• Invitations to various workshops, summer courses, and summer internships 
• Annual recognition 
• An induction ceremony (11th) 
• Graduation recognition (12th) 

Requirements for 2021-2022
To remain an active standing member of the Excelsior Program, students must maintain semester grades of B or higher, a cumulative weighted GPA of 3.75 or above at the end of each school year, and remain in Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses (as applicable). Due to the high expectations of student performance, students who do not maintain active standing requirements are removed from the program and are no longer eligible for the program benefits. These requirements will be in effect as of the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. 

Requirements for 2020-2021
For the 2020-2021 academic year, the following requirements were used to determine which students qualified for Excelsior:

Freshmen        90% or above on HSPT
Sophomore     Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1100 or above
Junior              Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1200 or above 
Senior              Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1250 or above

**The Top 10 seniors, juniors and sophomores have been added to criteria for the 2020-2021 school year. Freshmen who earned 85-89 percent on their HSPT have also been included. 

View a list of our Excelsior students for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Cardinal Gibbons offers a free peer tutoring program, called Links to Learning, to all currently enrolled students. Students who require additional help outside of the classroom are encouraged to seek help through the Links to Learning program. Links to Learning tutoring sessions are available in the morning from 7:20-7:50 a.m., in the afternoon from 2:45-3:45 p.m. and during the student’s respective lunch period. All peer tutors have been appointed by members of the Cardinal Gibbons faculty and are members of one or more Honor Societies.

To obtain a peer tutor, please email Dr. Stephen Louy at louy@cghsfl.org and provide the following information: the student’s name, cell phone number, personal email address and the subject in which the student is seeking help. All students must sign a tutoring contract in order to participate in the program.

Cardinal Gibbons offers a number of mandatory standardized tests for each grade level through the academic year. These opportunities allow students to practice and hone their test taking skills, while preparing for future college admission exams.

Annual Mandatory Standardized Tests	Participating Grade Levels	Time of Year
PSAT Preliminary SAT	9, 10, 11	Fall: October, Weekday
ACT Aspire Preliminary ACT	9, 10	Spring: Weekday
School Day ACT with Writing	11	Spring: Weekday
Advanced Placement Exams	10, 11, 12	Two Weeks in May

 

Students who receive a failing semester grade of an “F” during the Fall semester are expected to remediate the course via Spring School in order to receive academic credit. All failed courses must be remediated before the student will be eligible to register for courses for the subsequent school year.

Spring School for the 2020-2021 academic year will be held from Feb. 9 - March 31, 2021.

Summer School allows students to remediate grades or take first-attempt courses in order to get ahead. Course Selection forms will be distributed in April. The deadline to submit Summer School Course Selection Forms is May 7, 2021. 

Summer School will be held from June 14 - July 2, 2021.