March 29– April 1, 2013
Foundation to award almost 200 scholarships to Broward seniors
The
Broward Education Foundation will be giving out nearly 200 scholarships
to Broward high school graduates this year with unmet financial need.
The scholarships will range from $900 to four-year, 120-credit hour
Florida Prepaid tuition-only scholarships.
FIRST Robotics Competition Sat., March 30, 2013
(Gallery of pictures)
School Recognition funds database
The
Florida Department of Educationis doling out about $35 million nearly
400 schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to fund temporary hires
and equipment or to be paid out as bonuses.The awards are part of the
state’s School Recognition Program, established by the Florida
Legislature in 1997 to reward high-performing schools. Money awarded by
the program goes to schools that received an “A” on the state’s grading
formula, improved by a letter grade, or maintained a grade after
improving by two letter grades the previous year.
Broward School District may combine schools
In
an effort to better serve students and become more efficient in the
operation of the District’s six special day schools (also referred to as
center sites), the District reviewed the academic trends, educational
programming and student enrollment at each of the center sites. The six
center sites are Bright Horizons School, Cross Creek School, The Quest
Center, Sunset School, Whispering Pines Center and Wingate Oaks Center.
Broward Schools looking to consolidate its special center schools for more efficiency
In
an effort to better serve students and become more efficient in the
operation of the District’s six special day schools (also referred to as
center sites), the Broward School District reviewed the academic
trends, educational programming and student enrollment at each of the
center sites.
Broward holds final school boundary hearing
The
Broward School Board is expected to give final approval Wednesday to
more than 20 boundary changes and school repurposing plans slated to
begin this fall. Among the major changes being proposed by
Superintendent Robert Runcie: Add a grades 6-12 magnet program to DillardHigh School in FortLauderdale, and repurpose the district's two F-rated middle schools.
Broward faces $1.3 million class size fine
Broward County
Public Schools will likely have to pay $1.3 million in fines, the
second highest in the state, for having too many classes that exceed
state-mandated caps. Broward's loss could be Palm Beach County's
gain after its district met all state class size requirements for the
second year in a row. As a result, it will split $5.7 million in state
fines with other districts that met the requirements.
April 6 - 8, 2013
Broward County Public Schools holds anti-bullying conference Saturday
Conference will be held at Piper High School in Sunrise
Broward
County Public Schools is holding an anti-bullying conference Saturday
morning, in the hopes of putting the brakes on bullying.
Atlantic Technical High School Robotics Team Advances to World Championship
The
Atlantic Technical High School TechTigers robotic team competed against
45 schools from around the country, Mexico and the Dominican Republic
to win the FIRST Robotics Competition South Florida Regional held on
March 30, 2013, at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort
Lauderdale.
Hoops for hope: Students fight diabetes through basketball
On April 13, West Broward High in Pembroke Pines is hosting its annual DiaBEAT This! Fundraiser to benefit the American Diabetes Association. Performing will be Miami Heat dancers and area school drum lines, cheering squads and dance teams.
Miami-Dade braces for lower school grades amid tougher standards
Students
in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are more than a week away from
sitting down to take the FCAT 2.0 and kicking off a battery of
standardized tests and end-of-year exams. But some South Florida schools
officials are already talking about the results….In Broward County,
Superintendent Robert Runcie said this week that the state changing its
formula has become an “annual ritual.” But he said the potential impacts
in July, when elementary and middle school grades are released, is not
something he has studied in detail.
PB parents question decision to double-test students
Parents in Palm Beach County
say middle school students taking advanced course work are being
unfairly subjected to double testing. The state no longer requires
middle school students taking high school level math classes such as
Algebra I and Geometry to take their grade level FCAT.
That's because they already have to take end-of-course exams to get
credit for the more advanced class….On the other hand, Broward schools
spokeswoman Nadine Drew said the district "felt it was not
instructionally appropriate to require students to move away from the
content being taught [in Algebra/Geometry] to prepare and take the grade
level Math FCAT."
April 10, 2013
School bus driver in trouble over phone says she lied - call was not from son in Iraq
It
was a compelling human-interest story that created a national buzz:
Broward school bus driver Rossana Lucas faced a potential five-day
suspension for answering her cellphone while driving. Her defense: Her
son, a U.S. Marine, was calling from Iraq. Superintendent Robert Runcie,
touched by Lucas’ explanation, put her punishment on pause while he
investigated.
Bus driver admits: I lied about call from Marine son
Broward School Bus Driver Lied About Taking Call From Marine Son: Report
Rosanna Lucas made up story about military son's phone call, suspended 10days:
Bus Driver Admits To Lying About Talking To Soldier Son
Special-needs school closing despite parents' pleas
A
last-ditch appeal by parents to save their school from closure failed
Tuesday when the School Board unanimously approved shutting down the
special-needs center in FortLauderdale. Sunset School will close at the end of the year and send its more than 100 students to Cross Creek in PompanoBeach or Whispering Pines in Miramar. Both are also special-needs facilities that serve K-12 students.
Laptops stolen from North Side Elementary in Fort Lauderdale
More than a dozen laptop computers were stolen from a FortLauderdale elementary school during a burglary that occurred sometime after school let out, officials said. The principal at NorthSide Elementary
arrived at
the school about 7 a.m Tuesday and discovered that a cart carrying 16
laptops was missing, said Fort Lauderdale Police spokeswoman Detective
DeAnna Greenlaw.
April 11, 2013
Broward school band performs in festival of gold
A
Weston school band had the honor of being the only middle school band
in the state to perform at the "Festival of Gold" in Chicago last month.
Weston's Falcon Cove band played in the renowned Orchestra Hall at the
Chicago Symphony Center under the direction of band director Ian Loew.
To read more about this band click here.
Palm Beach County school district allowing middle school math students to opt out of taking both FCAT, end-of-course exams
More
than 4,000 Palm Beach County middle-schoolers taking advanced math
classes will get a double dose of standardized testing in the coming
weeks, if the school district has its way…It’s unclear which other
school districts have made decisions similar to Palm Beach County
Broward County Public Schools is not requiring its middle-schoolers in
these advanced math classes to also take the FCAT, but Orange County
Public Schools is.
