Broward County Public Schools “Evening Among the Stars” Honors Students for Outstanding Attendance

May 3, 2019

WHO:              
Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) Students, Staff, Families, and Community Members
 

WHAT:           
“Evening Among the Stars” Annual Attendance Awards

WHEN:            
Thursday, May 9, 2019
6 p.m.

WHERE:          
Plantation High School, Auditorium
6901 NW 16th Street
Plantation, FL 33313

WHY:             
The “Evening Among the Stars” honors students who represent the best attendance for their graduating class. In the last year of their school level, these students have had perfect attendance each school year.

Students who have demonstrated cumulative perfect attendance while continuously enrolled in BCPS in one of each of the three school levels are eligible for the Perfect Attendance award – elementary (grades kindergarten through five), middle (grades six through eight), and high (grades nine through 12).

This school year, there are 311 students with Perfect Attendance, including:

 

  • Eight seniors with the best attendance since their first day of kindergarten, also recognized as “Best in Class”
  • 21 elementary school students with perfect attendance (grades kindergarten – fifth)
  • 224 middle school students with perfect attendance (grades six – eight)
  • 66 high school students with perfect attendance (grades nine – 12)

 

As BCPS aims to decrease chronic absenteeism, the District remains committed to an attendance campaign that encourages all students to have good or improved attendance. 

Perfect Attendance grade-level award recipients will receive medals and gift bags with donations from community partners. The District Attendance Committee thanks several community partners including, the Florida Panthers, Miami Marlins, Museum of Discovery and Science, Rapids Water Park, and Xtreme Action Park. 

MEDIA ARE INVITED TO COVER THIS EVENT.

 

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE – Est 1915

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth largest public school system in the United States and the second largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has over 265,000 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 238 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 103 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population. Students are from 208 different countries and speak 181 different languages. For more information about BCPS and the Centennial Celebration, visit browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools, like BCPS on Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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BCPS High Schools Among the Nation’s Best Ranked by U.S. News & World Report

May 8, 2019

All 33 Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) traditional high schools have made the list of the nation’s best high schools, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best High Schools national rankings. This year’s rankings evaluate more than 23,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Congratulations to Pompano Beach High School, McFatter Technical High School, Cypress Bay High School, Nova High School and Atlantic Technical High School for earning top 50 placement among Florida high schools and ranking in the top 1,000 schools in the nation. 

According to U.S. News, the 2019 Best High Schools rankings results aren’t comparable to Best High Schools rankings published in the past for many reasons. This year’s completely revamped rankings methodology produced a numerical ranking for 17,245 high schools based on an overall score from six weighted ranking factors. Schools were analyzed and ranked based on college readiness, college curriculum breath, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate. In the past, a school’s numerical ranking was based only on a single factor: a school’s College Readiness Index.

The following BCPS traditional high schools ranked among the top 5,000 schools in the nation.

U.S. News & World Report

Best High Schools

National Ranking

State Ranking

Pompano Beach High School 

202

20

William T. McFatter Technical High School 

330

30

Cypress Bay High School 

498

33

Nova High School 

898

47

Atlantic Technical High School   

984

50

Fort Lauderdale High School  

1,073

61

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 

1,186

66

Cooper City High School  

1,380

74

Western High School  

1,575

85

West Broward High School   

1,821

99

Broward Virtual School   

2,027

108

Everglades High School                                            

3,141

159

Charles W. Flanagan High School  

3,180

162

South Plantation High School

3,424

171

Monarch High School

4,041

196

J. P. Taravella High School 

4,140

198

Coral Glades High School  

4,359

206

Coral Springs High School 

4,899

224

 

For the complete list of high school rankings, visit, https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.


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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has more than 271,500 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 234 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 88 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 204 different countries and 191 different languages. Connect with BCPS: visit the website at browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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Summer 2019 Resiliency Services Offered at Three BCPS Locations in Parkland and Coral Springs

May 7, 2019

BCRC and Summer 2019 Resiliency Services flyer Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) remains committed to supporting the ongoing healing and recovery of students, faculty, and the entire community.  

Beginning Monday, June 10, 2019, Resiliency Services for Summer 2019 will be offered at Westglades Middle School, Coral Springs Middle School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD)* (*Resiliency Services on the MSD campus are limited to MSD students and families).

As of Monday, June 3, 2019, the clinical trauma-focused services offered at the Broward County Resiliency Center (BCRC) will relocate to the three school-based locations in Parkland and Coral Springs. The current space, which operates out of Pine Trails Park, will be returned to the City of Parkland as it expands its capacity for city-based programming.

Trauma-focused individual, family and group counseling will remain open to the public. Walk-ins are encouraged and always welcome. For more information on the summer schedule, view the BCPS Resiliency Services Summer 2019 flyer at browardschools.com/crisissupport

 

 

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has more than 271,500 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 234 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 88 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 204 different countries and 191 different languages. Connect with BCPS: visit the website at browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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Florida Governor Signs Divisive Bill Allowing for Armed Teachers

Thumbnail image for Gun-signage-blog.jpg

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed into law Wednesday a divisive measure that will allow schools to arm classroom teachers, part of a longer list of school safety changes made at the recommendation of a task force that reviewed last year’s mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The bill expands eligibility for a program created a month after the February 2018 shooting that allows districts to partner with local sheriff’s offices to train and arm some personnel. The Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, named for a coach who died in the Stoneman Douglas attack, originally limited participation to non-instructional staff.

The bill DeSantis signed Wednesday removes that restriction, allowing teachers to volunteer to carry a firearm with district approval. Florida law requires all schools to have at least one armed “school guardian” or school law enforcement officer on site.

The bill signing came a day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch near Denver, where a child died and eight others were injured Tuesday.

The move to arm teachers sparked strong opposition from some, including some Parkland students who packed the state capitol to protest as lawmakers considered the measure. Those students, and advocates for stricter gun laws around the country, fear that the presence of more guns in schools may cause confusion in the event of a crisis. Teachers can’t maintain the amount of ongoing firearms training necessary to respond to an active shooter situation, they argued. And some cite incidents of mishandled guns at schools around the country.

But others, including the sheriff who led the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, believe the presence of more armed adults in schools will lessen response times and deter potential gunmen.

“The schools across Florida need a change in their culture,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chaired the commission and initially opposed arming teachers, said last year. He changed his mind after viewing security footage of the shooting in Parkland.

“Yes, those teachers are great people doing great work and they need to be able to teach, but you can’t teach dead kids. Safety has to come first,” Gualtieri said.

In some states that already allow teachers to be armed, rural districts say the move provides an extra measure of security when law enforcement are far from their campuses. And a federal school safety commission chaired by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos last year in response to the Florida shooting recommended that schools consider arming teachers, but it provided no mandates or resources to do so.

And after a debate on the issue, some Democratic lawmakers have filed resolutions that would clarify that the U.S. Department of Education cannot allow school districts to use federal funds to pay for firearms or firearms training for teachers.

But it’s unlikely Broward County, home of Parkland, will take advantage of the new freedom to arm Florida teachers. Educators there spoke out in opposition to the idea in the early days after the 2018 shooting, the school board adopted a resolution in opposition, and Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, appointed by DeSantis, has said he opposes it.

“Sworn police officers undergo extensive firearm training to respond to crisis scenarios, and we continue working on our skills and discipline throughout our careers. Teachers enter that profession to educate children, not to serve as school security,” Tony wrote in a letter to the school board.

“Not only does public opinion indicate that this is not something teachers, parents, or students want, but many recognize that stress, fear, and the rapid response needed may put both students and teachers at extreme risk,” he wrote. “Having untrained personnel carrying firearms is more likely to create a tragic scenario where innocent people can get injured or killed.”

The bill DeSantis signed also included several other measures that won broader approval, including a standardized risk assessment for students who may present a threat to themselves or others, the creation of a working group to review “campus hardening policies,” a greater flexibility in how schools can spend state money targeted toward student mental health.

Learn more about the debate over arming teachers in this story Education Week correspondent Kavitha Cardoza reported for the PBS Newshour.

Photo: Drug and gun-free school zone signs in Phoenix, Ariz. –Matt York/AP-File


Related reading on arming teachers:

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6-year-old Etan Patz—boy on milk carton—goes missing

Year
1979
Month Day
May 25

On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz walked the two blocks from his home to his bus stop in Manhattan. It was his first time walking there alone before school, and the last day his parents would ever see him. That’s because someone abducted Etan during that walk. In his parents’ effort to find him, Etan became among the first missing children to be featured on milk cartons.

Julie and Stanley Patz didn’t realize her son was missing until later that day, when he didn’t come home from the Independence Plaza School. They soon learned he hadn’t been in his first grade class that day or even made the bus that morning, and called the police. Etan’s disappearance led to nationwide search that wasn’t resolved until 2017, when Pedro Hernandez was convicted of abducting and killing him.

Etan was among the first non-celebrity missing children to gain national attention, the way JonBenét Ramsey would in 1996. In the early 1980s, Etan’s face appeared on milk cartons all over the country encouraging people to contact the authorities if they’d seen him. Etan’s case also led President Ronald Reagan to declare May 25 National Missing Children’s Day in 1983, and played a role in the founding of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In the decades after Etan went missing, there were fake confessions, false leads and even young men who showed up at the Patz’s doorstep claiming to be Etan. For a long time, investigators suspected Jose Ramos of abducting him. Ramos was a friend of Etan’s former babysitter who was convicted of child molestation in the 1980s. But investigators were never able to confirm that Ramos was guilty. In 2000, authorities declared Etan legally dead, and the case went cold.

Investigators reopened the case in 2010, and two years later they excavated the foundation of a home near Etan’s to look for clues. The excavation didn’t turn anything up, but the media coverage of it did lead people to report some new tips, one of which lead investigators to the person they were looking for. That person was Pedro Hernandez, who had been 18 and worked at the bodega near Etan’s bus stop the day he disappeared.

Investigators discovered that in 1982, Hernandez had admitted in an open church confessional that he had killed a young boy. His family knew about this and had begun discussing it again when the saw news of the excavation. Police interrogated Hernandez, and he confessed that he had lured Etan into the bodega and strangled him. He then put his body in a box and left it outside in a trash pile a couple of blocks away.

Hernandez’s 2015 case ended in a mistrial because one juror was not convinced he was guilty. Like the defense had argued, that juror was concerned Hernandez was mentally ill and that police may have coerced him into a false confession. At his next trial in 2017, Hernandez was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life in federal prison.

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Florida Lawmakers Approve Measure to Expand Vouchers for Private Schools

News in Brief

Florida lawmakers sent Gov. Ron DeSantis a Republican-crafted bill last week to create a new voucher program for students to attend private schools, including religious ones, using taxpayer dollars traditionally spent on public schools.

The GOP-led House voted largely along party lines to authorize the $130 million Family Empowerment Scholarship program. It would be available to as many as 18,000 students in its first year, limited to families of four with annual incomes of $77,250 or less.

DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law.

Democrats contend the program would strip away money from cash-strapped public schools.

Florida already has other voucher programs, including a tax break for businesses that provide private school scholarships for low-income students. Other programs provide vouchers for students with special needs, those who are disabled, and those who are bullied.

Vol. 38, Issue 32, Pages 4-5

Published in Print: May 8, 2019, as Florida Lawmakers Approve Measure to Expand Vouchers for Private Schools

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BCPS Announces 2019 Summer Programs Online Resource

May 3, 2019

BCPS Announces 2019 Summer Programs Online Resource

As the end of the school year draws near, exciting summer fun is just around the corner. Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is pleased to announce the launch of the 2019 Summer Programs Online Resource available now on the District’s website, browardschools.com/summerprograms.

Several schools throughout the District host a wide variety of exciting, fun-filled summer camps and academic enrichment programs that unlock curiosity, inspire engagement and promote learning throughout the summer. From pre-K through 12th grade, there is something for everyone.

Camps and programs provide a variety of entertaining, educational and fun activities, while helping each child explore his or her passions. Camps feature a unique selection of indoor and outdoor activities, and field trips that take advantage of local resources and provide fun recreational approaches to learning and exploring.

To learn more about summer camps and programs options, visit browardschools.com/summerprograms.

 

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has more than 271,500 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 234 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 88 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 204 different countries and 191 different languages. Connect with BCPS: visit the website at browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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Florida Passes Anti-Semitism Bill for Public Schools

Tallahassee, Fla.

A bill prohibiting anti-Semitism in Florida’s public schools and universities is going to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Senate unanimously passed the bill Monday, two days after a gunman opened fire in a California synagogue, killing one and injuring three others.

Lawmakers mentioned the shooting before passing the bill, which would mandate that discrimination against Jewish people be treated the same as acts of racial discrimination in public schools.

The bill also includes an extensive definition of anti-Semitism, including speech that makes dehumanizing or stereotypical allegations about the Jewish community.

The anti-Semitism definition also includes expressing hatred for Jews, calling for the killing or harming of a Jewish person, criticizing the collective power of the Jewish community, or accusing Jewish people or Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

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Hundreds of BCPS Students to Participate in Inaugural Youth Empowerment Summit

May 2, 2019

WHO:       
Approximately 300 Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) Middle and High School Students
 

WHAT:     
BCPS is hosting its Inaugural Youth Empowerment Summit, which will feature workshops developed and presented by students to address the issues that concern them. The event is organized by the District’s Equity & Diversity Department, with support from Broward College, Pembroke Pines Police, Fort Lauderdale Police, Chick-fil-A and Publix.

WHEN:     
Friday, May 10, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.                                                       

WHERE:  
Broward College – South Campus
7200 Pines Boulevard
Pembroke Pines, FL 33024

               

WHY:       
When students are empowered, they are better able to respond to challenges and chart their lives in positive directions. Student sessions during the Youth Empowerment Summit include Stress Relief, Entrepreneurship 101, Communicating Effectively, Creating Obtainable Goals, Social Media and Ride Sharing Safety, Law Enforcement and Students, Life After High School, and much more.     

For more information, contact Wanda Robinson, BCPS Equity and Diversity Department, at 754-321-1600.

 

MEDIA ARE INVITED TO COVER THIS EVENT.

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has more than 271,500 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 234 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 88 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 204 different countries and 191 different languages. Connect with BCPS: visit the website at browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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BCPS Celebrates the 19th Annual Kids of Character and Staff of Character Awards Ceremony on Monday, May 6 at 7 p.m.

May 1, 2019

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) celebrates the 19th Annual Kids of Character and Staff of Character Awards!  A special recognition ceremony takes place on Monday, May 6, 2019, at 7 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Amaturo Theater, 201 SW Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale 33312. Media are invited to cover this event. 

The event, which is sponsored by the Sun-Sentinel and Publix, celebrates students and staff who were nominated by their schools for demonstrating outstanding character throughout the year, including cooperation, responsibility, citizenship, kindness, respect, honesty, self-control and tolerance.  Congratulations to the following BCPS honorees:

 

 

School

Kids of Character

Attucks Middle School

Elizabeth Wright

Bair Middle School

Mia Francis

Bennett Elementary School

Lia Lee

Boyd Anderson High School

Gregory Dauphin

Central Park Elementary School

Madelyn Ramirez

Coconut Creek Elementary School

Meadow-Lynn Zaccour

Coconut Palm Elementary School

Mariana Linarez

Colbert Museum Magnet School

K’Leah Lee

Coral Glades High School

Jasmine Cheung

Coral Park Elementary School

Jaylynn Rodriguez

Coral Springs Middle School

Blake Ogden

Croissant Park Elementary School

Jacqueline Segura

Cross Creek School

Tara Thomas

Crystal Lake Middle School

Jade Restrepo

Dania Elementary School

Geovanni Serey

Deerfield Beach High School

Dachnaica Alcius

Discovery Elementary School

Nakada Lewis

Flamingo Elementary School

Renada Toyer

Fort Lauderdale High School

Bianca Cirigliano

Greentree Prep Charter School

Haady Elneser

Griffin Elementary School

Lielle Nahum

Gulfstream Academy School

Milagros Pecho

Hawks Bluff Elementary School

Angelo (AJ) D’Alessandro

Hollywood Park Elementary School

Kellen Mesina

Indian Trace Elementary School

Maximo Capparelli

 

School

Kids of Character

Larkdale Elementary School

Noonjekah Joseph

Lauderhill 6 – 12

Jessica Penel

McArthur High School

Gianluca Rosa

McFatter Technical High School

Ashley Melissa Puerta

Monarch High School

Lincoln Le

New Renaissance Middle School

Marylin Urtecho

New River Middle School

Rachel Rubenstein

Northeast High School

Kaitlin Bakley

Oakland Park Elementary School

Daniel Almonte

Pioneer Middle School

Emma Alston

Pompano Beach Middle School

Rihanna Bajnath

Pompano Beach High School

Bailey Campbell

Sheridan Hills Elementary School

Kevin Henriquez

Silver Lakes Middle School

Quacian Dennis

Silver Palms Elementary School

Giovanny Lagarde

Silver Ridge Elementary School

Grace Giol

South Plantation High School

Tyler Benting

Tamarac Elementary School

Benjamin Kopet

Tedder Elementary School

Diane Pierre

Tequesta Trace Middle School

Hannah Wagner

Walter C. Young Middle School

Manuel Jaramillo

Westwood Heights Elementary School

Frederick Jackson

Whispering Pines Center

Nicole Ellett

Winston Park Elementary School

Ayla Kadribasic

 

School

Staff of Character

Boyd Anderson High School

Janai Bowens

Colbert Elementary School

Cassandra McClary-Lazo

College Academy @ Broward College

Virginia Engestrom

Coral Glades High School

Olga Coy

Coral Springs High School

R. Brantley Barr

Eagle Point Elementary School

Shelly Auguste

Exceptional Student Learning

George Wazer Kalam

Falcon Cove Middle School

Regina Dempsey

Hollywood Hills High School

Sara Pierce

Hollywood Park Elementary School

Ivan Pereira

McArthur High School

Naima Khan-Ghany

New River Middle School

Cynthia Rosenthal

Renaissance Charter of CS

Kristen Harris

Sawgrass Springs Middle School

Scott Kashdin

Silver Lakes Middle School

Jillian Mostal

Stephen Foster Elementary School

Jeff Allagood

Tamarac Elementary School

Jan Caivano

Westwood Heights Elementary

Jessica Childers

Whispering Pines

Martin Kruse

Winston Park Elementary

Krystal Langley


For more information, contact Kimberly Young-Oliveras, Peer Counseling, Character Education & Prevention at 754-321-1644.

 

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has more than 271,500 students and approximately 175,000 adult students in 234 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 88 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 204 different countries and 191 different languages. Connect with BCPS: visit the website at browardschools.com, follow BCPS on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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