BCPS Launches School Pride and Peace Initiative Events Focus on Celebrating School Pride and Peaceful Learning Environments

October 7, 2021

NEWS RELEASE_BCPS Kicks Off School Pride and Peace Week October 11-15Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is kicking off an initiative to celebrate students’ school pride and reinforce a year-round commitment to maintaining peaceful learning environments for all.

School Pride and Peace Week takes place Monday, October 11 – Friday, October 15. The initiative was created in response to recent TikTok challenges, which urge students to participate in negative, potentially dangerous and criminal activities at schools and then post videos of their actions to the social media platform.

During School Pride and Peace Week, students will take part in activities that promote kindness, express positive messages and encourage responsible use of social media through the District’s Think B4U Post program. Examples of activities include school assemblies, door decorating contests, making school pride banners, student volunteer activities, T-shirt decorating, and creating Peace Walls designed with cards created by students with the theme “If you could make one positive change in the world, what would it be?”

Middle and high school students are invited to enter a social media video challenge. Videos will be judged based on students’ creativity and portrayal of positive messages about their schools. Students and schools will submit videos to the District’s School Climate and Discipline Department for a chance to win prizes and have their videos showcased by BCPS.

Media Opportunities on Monday, October 11:

  • 8 a.m. – BCPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright will visit Charles W. Flanagan High School, 12800 Taft Street, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028, to kick off School Pride and Peace Week activities.
  • 9:40 a.m. – Silver Trail Middle School, 18300 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines, FL 33331. Students will participate in a variety of activities, including a Peace Pole ribbon-cutting ceremony.

School Pride and Peace Week events are taking place at schools Districtwide throughout the week. For information on additional media opportunities, contact the Office of Communications at 754-321-2300 or email bcps.pio@browardschools.com.

 

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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 nearly 261,500 students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 93 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 170 different countries and 147 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow us on Twitter @browardschools, on Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools.com and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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Cincinnati Red Stockings become first professional baseball team

On March 15, 1869, Cincinnati attorney Aaron Champion hires former cricket player Harry Wright to organize, manage and play for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who become the first professional baseball team. The organization of the club comes shortly after the National Association of Baseball Players, which had previously banned the payment of players, allows open professionalism after the close of the 1868 season.

In 1869, the Red Stockings finished the season with a 57-0 record—64-0 with exhibitions included. Baseball was still in the underhand-pitch iteration of the sport, so the team routinely scored dozens of runs in games. The Red Stockings defeated the Buckeyes of Cincinnati, 103-8.

Wright, given roughly $10,000 to assemble the best team money could buy, signed his younger brother, George, to a team-high $1,400 salary. George, a shortstop who was considered to be the best baseball player, was well worth the investment as he reportedly hit .630 with 49 home runs and averaged six runs per game.

In addition to managing, Harry Wright played center field and pitched. He was the second-highest-paid player on the roster with a $1,200 salary. Known as the “Father of Professional Baseball,” Harry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. George was inducted in 1937.

“This did not just make the city famous, it made baseball famous,” Major League Baseball’s official historian John Thorn said of the Red Stockings’ impact.

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Microsoft Education Names BCPS Educators and Schools to the 2021/22 Class of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and Microsoft Showcase Schools

October 5, 2021 

Microsoft Education Names BCPS Educators and Schools News Release

Congratulations to Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) 2021/22 class of Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts and Microsoft Showcase Schools announced by Microsoft Education. Each year, Microsoft selects educators and schools to be part of this exclusive global community paving the way for their peers to share ideas, try new approaches and learn from each other.

The global Showcase Schools and MIE Expert communities come together to tackle challenges, celebrate successes, share learnings, and try new solutions in vibrant online communities through Microsoft Teams and social media. As they continue their education transformation journeys, they are supported by Microsoft, partners, and each other through capacity building, transformation guidance, peer learning, amplification opportunities, and early access to research and solutions.

“Thousands of educators from across the U.S. applied this year and the following educators and school leaders from BCPS were selected because they are self-driven, passionate about their work, have a true collaborative spirit, and strive to inspire students with creative thinking and thoughtful technology integration in the classroom,” said Leaza Silver advisor and manager at Microsoft Education. “These educators are empowering the students of today to create the world of tomorrow.” 

2021/22 Broward County MIE Experts: 

Monica Alfonso Cepeda, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Brandon Boswell, Cypress Bay High School 

Jillian Delvalle, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Tania Fernandez, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School  

Katrina Fossella, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Elayne Hollander, Gator Run Elementary School 

Bibi Hussain, Glades Middle School 

Erik Leitner, Applied Learning, STEM+CS Department 

Lisa London, Fort Lauderdale High School 

Shawn Maas, Cypress Bay High School 

Jennifer Monnin, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Monika Moorman, Central Park Elementary School 

Lisa Paguaga, Innovative Learning Department 

Tyler Raphael, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Sarah Rappaport, Seminole Middle School 

Jessica Rivero, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Miriam Selevan, Innovative Learning Department 

Jaclyn Sherman, Innovative Learning Department 

Lily Suarez, Pembroke Lakes Elementary School 

Celia Taylor, Seminole Middle School 

Rosemarie Winston, Walker Elementary School 

“We are also excited to recognize the schools in our 2021/22 Showcase Schools Program. Our Microsoft Showcase Schools are part of an elite group of schools that exemplify the best of teaching and learning in the world today,” said Silver.  “At Microsoft, we believe that technology alone cannot build 21st-century skills for students. It is an accelerator, but the power of change lies within educators and school leaders.”   

2021/22 Broward County Showcase Schools: 

Pembroke Lakes Elementary 

2021/22 Broward County Incubator Schools: 

Croissant Park Elementary School 

Nova Eisenhower Elementary School 

Deerfield Beach Elementary School 

Cypress Run Education Center 

McNicol Middle School 

Pompano Beach High School 

Crystal Lake Middle School 

   

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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. The District is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962 and has nearly 261,000 pre-K-12th grade students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers, and technical colleges, and 92 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, representing 170 different countries and 147 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.  

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Lawsuit prompts MLB to allow locker room access to female reporters

On March 9, 1979, the 26 Major League Baseball teams are ordered by MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn to allow equal access to all reporters, regardless of sex. The commissioner’s order comes after Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke’s successful lawsuit against MLB for refusing her access to clubhouses at Yankee Stadium during the 1977 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a column for the Medium website in 2018, Ludtke recalled the circumstances of her lawsuit. 

“If I had tried to enter [a clubhouse], the guards at the door would have stopped me,” she wrote. “At the 1977 World Series, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn certified my unequal status when he banned me from ever going into any team’s locker room. At first, my employer, Time, Inc. [the parent company of Sports Illustrated], tried negotiating with Kuhn, but when he refused to budge, we turned to legal action.”

Ludtke and others praised the judge who presided over the lawsuit, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge. On September 25, 1978, Motley ruled that the MLB had “substantially and directly” interfered with Ludtke’s 14th Amendment rights in pursuing her profession as a sports reporter.

Ludtke’s lawsuit and Kuhn’s subsequent order, however, did not level the playing field for female journalists. 

In 1990, the Boston Herald’s Lisa Olson publicly revealed that New England Patriots players exposed themselves to her while she was trying to work, prompting hundreds of women journalists to disclose similar instances of harassment. In 2015, three female reporters were temporarily denied locker room access following a Jacksonville Jaguars-Indianapolis Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Numerous other instances of harassment of female journalists have also been reported.

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First women’s college basketball game played

On March 22, 1893, the first women’s college basketball game is played at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. With each made basket counting as one point and the game lasting two 15-minute halves, a sophomore class team prevails over a freshmen team, 5-4. Men are not permitted inside the gym at the all-women college, but a crowd of fascinated women cheer on their fellow classmates from the running track of the campus gymnasium. The winning team earns a gold and white banner.

“The running track of the gymnasium was crowded with spectators, and gay with the colors of the two classes,” according to a newspaper account. “One side was occupied by sophomores and seniors, the other by juniors and freshmen, and a lively rivalry between the two parties was maintained throughout the contest.”

READ MORE: The Lithuanian Immigrant Who Launched the First Women’s College Basketball Game

This first women’s college basketball game was organized by the college’s gymnastics instructor, Lithuanian immigrant Senda Berenson, less than two years after the invention of the game in late 1891 by Dr. James Naismith. Berenson’s rules were adapted from Naismith’s rules for men, making basketball one of the rare sports that developed the male and female versions on a parallel timeline.

It was truly a game of “basket ball” in those early years: The object of the game was to land a soccer ball into peach baskets suspended at opposite ends of a court. 

Despite playing with rules intended to limit physical contact, a player on the freshmen team dislocated her shoulder at the beginning of the game, leaving her team a player down for the rest of the game. 

Versions of Berenson’s game quickly spread to other women’s colleges throughout the country. The first women’s intercollegiate game, between Stanford and Cal, was played in 1896.

Berenson, who died in 1954, was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1985. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. 

READ MORE: Who invented basketball?

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Marvin Miller elected first full-time MLB Players Association executive director

On March 5, 1966, Marvin Miller, the 48-year-old assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers of America, is elected the first full-time executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Miller, whose role with the United Steelworkers of America included serving as lead negotiator, takes over at a time when the average yearly MLB player’s salary is only $19,000 and the minimum salary is under $10,000. By the time Miller, a fierce advocate for MLB players, retires in 1982, the average salary for a player is $241,497.

Looking back on the early days of his leadership of the MLBPA, Miller said the biggest problem was the low self-esteem of the players. “They had been so beaten down [by management] that they really didn’t understand their value in the game,” he said. 

With the MLBPA, Miller also helped players win the right to seek arbitration to resolve contract disputes and advised Curt Flood when he sued the MLB over the reserve clause, which kept a player bound to his team. The reserve clause was struck down in 1975, leading to free agency for players. Miller described Flood as “a union leader’s dream” for pursuing the lawsuit despite knowing that it would effectively end his career, but would benefit future players.

Miller was a Brooklyn native with an economics degree from New York University. He worked with the National War Labor Board, then worked for the International Association of Machinists, the United Auto Workers and finally, the United Steelworkers of America.

Miller, who died in 2012, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2019. “He is, for lack of a better term, the Godfather of it all,” MLBPA representative  Andrew Miller, a St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, told the Associated Press about Miller’s advocacy for players.

By 2017, five years after Miller’s death, the average player salary was nearly $4.1 million, according to the Associated Press.

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BCPS Launches Alyssa’s Alert in Partnership with SaferWatch and Motorola

October 4, 2021

News Conference – Tuesday, October 5, at noon

As part of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) commitment to create a safer and more secure learning environment for all students, staff and visitors, the District has launched Alyssa’s Alert – a mobile duress alert app – in partnership with SaferWatch and Motorola.

This new mobile app meets the criteria for compliance with Alyssa’s Law (SB 70), signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 30, 2020, which requires every school in Florida to implement a mobile duress alert system connected to a public safety answering point (PSAP) and first responders. The law is named in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, one of the 17 victims of the February 14, 2018, tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Alyssa’s Law does not suggest users replace 911 as the main way to report emergencies.  Alyssa’s Alert is an augmented tool for reporting information, allowing District employees to instantly report emergencies to all relevant administrators, security staff and local public safety emergency operation centers. The alerts include detailed information, such as user profile, location coordinates and supporting videos, pictures or audio recordings to provide 911 operators with real-time intelligence for a unified operational view of events to share with first responders en route to a school.

The District will hold a news conference in commemoration of the launch at noon on Tuesday, October 5, at the Kathleen C. Wright Administration Building – Board Room, located at 600 S.E. Third Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. The event will also be live streamed at  www.becon.tv/newsconference. Facial coverings are required for all media in attendance.

In the spring of 2021, the Florida Department of Education announced 10 state-approved vendors for Districts to partner with in implementing a mobile duress alert system. The BCPS Division of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness convened a team of internal and external partners, including local law enforcement, the District Security Operations Center, Broward County dispatch centers, the Broward Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center and Broward County Emergency Management and Communications to evaluate, select, develop and implement the best solution for the District.

Based on feedback from this group, BCPS selected the SaferWatch/Motorola platform and began the development process. The District tested the platform with all three 911 dispatch centers over the summer to ensure full functionality for the start of the school year.

The app is available to all District staff, employees and teachers. Training has been provided for all school-based employees for the 2021/22 school year. Additionally, BCPS has provided training to Broward Sheriff’s Office School Resources Officers, guardians and school security staff on how to implement the application and respond to incidents.

For more information on the BCPS Division of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness, visit browardschools.com/safetyandsecurity.

 

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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. The District is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962 and has nearly 261,000 pre-K-12th grade students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers, and technical colleges, and 92 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, representing 170 different countries and 147 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app. 

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BCPS Offers Afterschool Supper Program at 119 Schools

October 1, 2021

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is offering its Afterschool Supper Program at 119 schools for the 2021/22 school year, serving nutritious suppers to students. The Supper Program ensures more than 14,500 students participating in regularly scheduled afterschool educational or enrichment activity programs receive the nutrition they need to learn and grow. The suppers are funded through the federal Child Care Food Program, which provides healthy meals in the childcare setting. Meals meet all USDA requirements. The meals are made available at no additional charge to students participating in afterschool programs, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

Aftercare Supper Program participating schools include:

 

Annabel C. Perry Elementary  Forest Hills Elementary Orange Brook Elementary 
Apollo Middle Fox Trail Elementary Oriole Elementary
Atlantic West Elementary Glades Middle Park Lakes Elementary
Attucks Middle Griffin Elementary Park Ridge Elementary
Bair Middle Gulfstream Academy at Hallandale Elementary Park Trails Elementary
Banyan Elementary Gulfstream Early Learning Center Parkway Middle
Bennett Elementary Hallandale High Pasadena Lakes Elementary
Bethune Elementary Harbordale Elementary Pembroke Pines Elementary
Blanche Ely High Hollywood Hills Elementary Pinewood Elementary
Boulevard Heights Elementary Hollywood Hills High Piper High
Boyd Anderson High Hollywood Park Elementary Plantation Elementary
Broadview Elementary Horizon Elementary Pompano Beach Middle
Broward Estates Elementary James Hunt Elementary Riverland Elementary
Castle Hill Elementary Lakeside Elementary Riverside Elementary
Challenger Elementary Larkdale Elementary Rock Island Elementary
Charles Drew Elementary Lauderdale Lakes Middle Royal Palm Elementary
Coconut Creek High Lauderhill 6-12 STEM Middle Sandpiper Elementary
Coconut Palm Elementary Lauderhill Paul Turner Elementary Sea Castle Elementary
Colbert Elementary Liberty Elementary Sheridan Hills Elementary
Collins Elementary Lloyd Estates Elementary Sheridan Park Elementary
Coral Cove Elementary Lyons Creek Middle Silver Lakes Elementary
Coral Park Elementary Maplewood Elementary Silver Lakes Middle
Coral Springs Elementary Margate Middle Silver Ridge Elementary
Coral Springs High Markham Robert Elementary Silver Shores Elementary
Cresthaven Elementary McNicol Middle South Broward High
Croissant Park Elementary Miramar High Stephen Foster Elementary
Crystal Lake Middle Morrow Elementary Stirling Elementary
Cypress Run Education Center New Renaissance Middle Stranahan High
Deerfield Beach Elementary New River Middle Sunland Park Elementary
Deerfield Beach High Nob Hill Elementary Sunrise Middle
Deerfield Park Elementary North Andrews Garden Elementary Sunshine Elementary
Dillard Elementary North Fork Elementary Taravella High
Dillard High North Lauderdale Elementary Thurgood Marshall Elementary
Discovery Elementary Northeast High Walker Elementary
Dolphin Bay Elementary Northside Elementary Welleby Elementary
Driftwood Elementary Nova, Blanche Forman Elementary West Hollywood Elementary
Embassy Creek Elementary Nova, Eisenhower Elementary Westpine Middle
Endeavor Elementary Oakland Park Elementary Wilton Manors Elementary
Fairway Elementary Oakridge Elementary Wingate Oaks Center
Flamingo Elementary Olsen Middle  

USDA Notice:

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online, at www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-programdiscrimination-complaint-form.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
or fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442;
email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 

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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 nearly 261,500 students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 92 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 177 different countries and 151 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow us on Twitter @browardschools, on Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools.com and download the free BCPS mobile app.

 

 

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