Social Workers Help
Students and Families

The Broward County School Social Work Association (BCSSWA) promotes and serves the needs of school social workers employed by the District through the provision of networking and educational opportunities and by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, information and skills among members and the community at large. It often works in tandem with the School Social Work and Attendance Department (SSWAD) – chaired by Dr. Laurel Thompson – to provide informative workshops and training for social workers, family counselors and guidance counselors.

School Social Work Month is celebrated every March and this year’s ceremony was held at the Hard Rock Cafe. SSWAD and BCSSWA joined together to present awards for the School Social Worker of the Year, Barbara Mills; Community Liaison of the Year, Nadette Noel; and Citizen of the Year, Essie Read. A posthumous award was given to Elisabeta Fogarty in honor of the dedicated social work she performed for the District in the North Area. The ceremony also highlighted several resolutions recognizing School Social Work Month.

The kindness of social workers goes above and beyond everyday duties. Kudos to all social workers and their friends who contributed to BCSSWA’s efforts to assist families of Broward County students who were displaced by Hurricane Wilma. More than $600 was raised and BCSSWA contributed another $100. The money was used to purchase Wal-Mart gift certificates that were distributed to seven families across the county for use during the holidays.

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Women’s History Match
Game Contest, 2006

As the annual celebration of Women’s History Month came to a close at the end of March, so did the annual Match Game contest for District employees, sponsored by the Diversity & Cultural Outreach Department (DCOD). The winner of dinner for two at Bahama Breeze, in Sunrise, was Joby Lynn Siepert, from the ESE Department at the K.C. Wright Administration Center. Joby’s contest entry form was the first received by the department with 100% correct answers.

The Women’s History Month Match Game was created in 2000. It is designed to bring attention to the accomplishments of women around the world and through the ages. The game is open to the public, but the contest is only available to District employees. Teachers have used the game as a reading and research tool in the classroom.

Just as the game celebrates women from around the world, DCOD celebrates the community’s diversity with the prize it presents -- dinner for two at a restaurant with a unique cultural theme. The cultural theme this year is Jamaican/Caribbean. Restaurants located throughout Broward County generously donate prizes.

For additional information about the Women’s History Month Match Game & Contest, contact Nancy Weintraub, Community Liaison, Diversity & Cultural Outreach, at 754-321-2090.

Women’s History Month Match Game winner Joby Lynn Siepert (left) and Nancy Weintraub, Community Liaison, Diversity & Cultural Outreach

District’s Urban Academies Named Among Top 50
Programs In Nation

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government – in cooperation with the Council for Excellence in Government – has announced that the Broward County Public School District’s Urban Academies Program is one of its Top 50 Government Innovations for 2006. It was selected from among entries submitted by governments at federal, tribal, state, county and city levels. The program has also been named as one of 18 finalists for the Institute’s prestigious Innovations in American Government Award.

The Urban Academies of Broward County (UABC), a partnership between the District and other members of the Broward County Educational Consortium, is an innovative program created to develop, hire and retain high-performing and motivated educators in Broward’s classrooms.

Beginning in 9th grade, students are identified as prospective teachers and prepared for teaching careers within their own urban communities. This includes a rigorous four-year curriculum, earned college credits and early classroom experiences in urban classrooms, leading to fully-paid college tuition and a guaranteed teaching position in the District.

As college students, undergraduate education majors attend college classes at one of 15 Urban Academies Professional Development Schools serving high need communities where they put the educational theories they are learning into practice in real classrooms.

Practicing UABC teachers become “master teachers” through comprehensive professional development. Once trained, these teachers mentor, advise, coach and model effective teaching strategies to UABC students.

The Ash Institute states that programs selected as Top 50 Government Innovations for 2006 exemplify “the most innovative, creative and results -oriented efforts in government today” and make “a real and significant difference in the lives of countless Americans.”