Friday, December 27, 2013

NEWS RELEASE: DECEMBER 6 - 13, 2013

December 6, 2013

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Runcie Receives Superintendent Of The Year Award
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie received the “Star” Superintendent of the Year Award in Tampa Thursday.

Dolphins Make Appearance At Maplewood Elementary School For Gatorade JTC
The Miami Dolphins travelled north to Coral Springs to spend the day at Maplewood Elementary School for a Gatorade Junior Training Camp (JTC), impacting nearly 500 students, who were treated to six interactive football drills, cheerleader routines and life lessons.

Apollo Middle School STEM teacher honored with Florida’s 2013 ‘Oscar of Teaching’
No doubt, Luis Espinosa, who leads the Aeronautics STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) Magnet and LEEO (Linking Education and Employment Opportunities) programs at Apollo Middle School in Hollywood, Fla., was excited that Florida’s Commissioner of Education, Pam Stewart and Superintendent Robert W. Runcie were participating in a school-wide event to recognize the achievements of those two programs. Yet, Espinosa had no inkling that the assembly’s spotlight was about to focus on him.

Education over incarceration will end the school-to-jail pipeline
Anyone who has heard me speak at public functions knows that when it comes to our children — the future of Broward County — I strongly favor education over incarceration. Likewise, one of my first directives as sheriff was to implement mandatory civil citations.

Letter to the Editor
Broward schools replacing zero tolerance with PROMISE
The Broward County school system finally understands that arresting our children for disciplinary issues is cruel and unusual punishment. After several years of holding the No. 1 spot in student arrests in Florida, the district finally got it and introduced a program designed to reduce the number of student arrests, suspensions and expulsions.
 
December 7 - 9, 2013

Broward schools puts Disney partnership on hold
The Broward school district won't get its dose of Disneyfication just yet. Officials have halted the district's partnership with the Disney Institute because they say its employees have too many other initiatives on their plate to handle additional training. Officials said they plan to continue making improvements with there sources they have.

Group urges Broward school district to cut lawn mowing costs
Sometimes the grass is cheaper as well as greener on the other side. That's why a group of community activists is urging the Broward school district to reduce the costs of its in-house lawn mowing services. They pay its in-house employees almost three times what an outside company charges for the same work, numbers provided by the district show.

Are police living on school grounds still needed?
The Broward school district has allowed police officers to live rent-free on some school grounds since the 1980s as a way to provide after-hours safety. But there's no hard numbers to prove the decades-old program is still effective.

Opinion
Early education a proven fix to school's reading woes
The first time I met Angela Brown she seemed a little out of her element. It was over a year ago at an Urban League of Broward County meeting where the Broward School District had launched its Black Male Success initiative, a new effort by superintendent Robert Runcie to boost academic performance among black male students.

Opinion
Sharon Glickman: Public schools need more public support
Today, educators, support staff, parents, students and community members will come together for the National Day of Action to demonstrate our commitment to public education.

Audit could cost Broward schools $1.7 million
Broward County schools could be forced to pay as much as $1.7 million after a state audit concluded they received funding for hundreds of ineligible students. Many of the 15 regular and five charter schools were cited by the state Auditor General when they couldn't provide documentation that services were needed for some students in the English for Speakers of Other Languages and special education programs during the 2011-12 school year.

Hollywood mom creates 'The Bully Map'
OneHollywood psychotherapist has found a different way to stand up to bullying. Gay Lynn Grigas, who speaks to Broward County students about the importance of confidence and empowerment, has launched "The Bully Map." This new feature — found on her self-help website, Trigger-proof.com — allows people to report different forms of bullying and see their incident pop up in their city, anywhere in the world.

U.S. Schools Reversing Get-Tough “Zero Tolerance” Policy
Some of the largest school districts in the United States are moving away from two decades of “zero tolerance” policies that resulted in thousands of students being arrested and dropping out. Instead, education officials are trying to help at-risk kids avoid trouble and stay in school.
 
December 12, 2013

Broward's graduation rates dip slightly
Broward's high school graduation rate dropped slightly in 2013, according to state figures released Wednesday. The district's overall graduation rate was 75.3 percent, compared to 76.4 percent the year before. Statewide, 75.6 percent of students graduated.

Seminole County's Dede Schaffner awarded
Seminole County Public School Board member Dede Schaffner recently received the STAR award for her exemplary leadership from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations. Schaffner was one of two people who received the award from CFEF this year. The other recipient was Robert Runcie, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools. Both were recognized on Dec. 5 during CFEF's 68th annual joint conference of the Florida School Boards Association and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

Opinion
A quality education for all public school students
Educators, parents, students and community members in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are joining together to reclaim the promise of public education. This important effort is co-sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association and is a vital step forward for our schools in South Florida.

 
December 13, 2013


World AIDS Day event draws over 500 Broward County students in commemoration
Over 500 Broward County students took photos in front of the authentic AIDS Memorial Quilt sewn together by friends, lovers and family members, commemorating the life of someone who has passed away due to AIDS.

Council of Great City Schools Urban Educator - Op-Ed
Broward District Aims to Close Schoolhouse-to-Jailhouse Pipeline
In an effort to counter "zero tolerance" discipline measures, Florida's Broward County Public Schools in Fort Lauderdale recently joined forces with local community organizations to approve a new collaborative agreement on school discipline. (Click pdf link to view article on page 9)

Pinellas schools aim to reduce student arrests
A new disciplinary policy could ensure that students in Pinellas County schools rarely find themselves in handcuffs.  School board members said during their Thursday workshop that they would like to move forward with the creation of a new policy emulating one Broward County enacted this school year. In Broward, the school board formed an agreement with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that students who commit “nonviolent, minor offenses,” don’t end up with a police record prematurely.


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