Around the District

74 Broward Schools Earn Five Star School Award
Seventy-four Broward schools earned the prestigious 2003-04 Five Star School Award, the Florida Department of Education's highest award for exemplary family and community involvement.  The schools were honored at a gala Five Star Award Luncheon held last month at the Renaissance Hotel in Plantation.  Each principal accepted a plaque, signed by Jim Horne, former Florida Secretary of Education, on behalf of his or her school.

Rigorous criteria must be met to be named a Five Star School, but three Broward schools have continued to meet the challenge every year since the program was introduced 10 years ago: Central Park and Embassy Creek elementary schools and Plantation High School. Six schools received the award for the first time: Chancellor Charter School at Weston; Coconut Palm, Parkside and Eagle Ridge elementary schools; New Renaissance Middle School; and Western High School. 

Keynote speaker at the luncheon was Steve Knagg, recipient of the 2004 National School Public Relations Association's President's Award.  Mr. Knagg is Director of Communications for the Garland Independent School District, Garland, Texas.  Deputy Superintendent, Chief of Staff James F. Notter offered words of congratulations and Andrew Leone, Hands On Network Volunteer Manager, Volunteer Broward, served as Master of Ceremonies. The Singing Ambassadors, a group composed of Broward high school students, provided entertainment for the event.


Sawgrass Springs Music Instructor Is Arts Teacher of the Year

Broward's Art Teacher of the Year Jeanne Halberg (right) with runners-up Marian Sennett(left) and Julie Prock(center)

Jeanne Halberg, the orchestra and choir director and music instructor at Sawgrass Springs Middle School, has been named Broward's 2004 Arts Teacher of the Year. Ms. Halberg serves on the Broward Orchestra Directors Association and the Florida Orchestra Association Board. She is also coordinator for the All-State Grades 7 and 8 Honors Orchestra and the Silver All-County Orchestra. Music is an all-encompassing endeavor for Ms. Halberg. Not only does she encourage her students to play instruments, but she also recruits her school's top brass to perform in concerts. Runners-up for the award included Marian Sennett (visual arts) of Westglades Middle School and Julie Prock (music) of Winston Park Elementary School.

Compassion Demonstrated by Employees
The devastation a hurricane can cause is nothing compared to the loss of life. Unfortunately, Marie Lucie Pierre, who assists in the nightly cleaning of the North Central Area Offices and the Technology Support Services Center, lost her mother, father, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins when Hurricane Frances ravaged Haiti.

The staff in both buildings, upon hearing the sad news, came together to help Marie. Contributions totaling over $1,100 towards funeral expenses and numerous boxes of clothing were collected to help the few survivors of Marie's family. Marie was extremely touched that the staff in both buildings reached out to her and was truly at a loss for words when the presentation was made.

This is just another example of the caring and concern our employees show not only to the community, but to each other as well.

Bethune Elementary Receives 2004 Arts Innovation Award
For the third time in four years, Bethune Elementary School of the Arts has received the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education Award for Arts Innovation. This prestigious award recognizes schools committed to taking innovative artistic risks in using the arts as a vehicle for teaching academics. Through the school's Science Through the Arts program, Bethune has created a richer academic environment for its students by enabling teachers to teach science concepts through the arts - drama, dance, movement, music and visual art.

Broward Assistant Principal Named Tops in Florida
Last year, Thomas Howard, the assistant principal at Sawgrass Springs Middle School was named the 2003 Assistant Principal ACCLAIM Award winner for Broward County. Now, Broward's top assistant principal has received the 2004 Outstanding Assistant Principal Award from the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Association of School Administrators. Mr. Howard, along with the top elementary and high school assistant principals, will be honored at an awards luncheon during the FASA Assistant Principal's Professional Development Conference this spring.

Social Studies Teachers of the Year Named
Congratulations to the following Broward County Social Studies Teachers of the Year who were honored at the recent Annual Conference of Florida Council for the Social Studies (FCSS) held in Sarasota: Jill Putney, Tradewinds Elementary; School; Lisa Dos Santos, Forest Glen Middle School; and Rebecca Miller, Atlantic Technical High School.

Linda Medvin of the Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOL Education Department was also honored at the conference. She received the International Relations Award, that is given to a member of FCSS who has - through teaching, research or community activities - furthered the cause of international/intercultural relations.

Broward Virtual Education Wins Award
The District's online high school - Broward Virtual Education (BVE) - won the grand price in the Non-Profit/Public Sector Category of the Cisco Growing with Technology Award. The program was nominated by BVE instructional leader Daryl Diamond. BVE was recognized for its creativity in using the Internet and networking technologies to better serve students. As the grand prize winner, BVE will receive $25,000 worth of Cisco products and a networking assessment and consultation valued at $3,000. A case study of BVE will also soon appear on Cisco's Web site.

Scholarship Offered
Broward County Association of Media Specialists (BCAMS) is offering a scholarship for those county residents and/or teachers who are pursuing graduate studies in Library Science or Educational Media. The scholarship has traditionally offered a $400 to $500 cash award. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2005. Log on to
http://www.bcams.org or contact Gayle Spinell-Gellers, Scholarship Chairperson at g.spinell-gellers@browardschools.com for further information.