After Hurricane Wilma, while many Broward residents were attending to their homes and families, or fleeing the inconveniences of power loss to sneak in a few days away, Non-Instructional staff worked long, hard hours putting the pieces back together to make our schools and offices whole again. The following are some examples of their tireless efforts.

Prior to the storm, Food and Nutrition Services managers and employees prepared cafeterias to feed Broward residents who had to evacuate their homes. Approximately 40,000 meals were served including meals to maintenance staff members. In addition, plans were made to shift food from one location to another to reduce food loss during power outages. Food deliveries were coordinated based on power outages and damage sustained to some school kitchens. And, menus were planned for the reopening of school. All of this was successfully accomplished through the tireless efforts of Food and Nutrition Services managers and employees.

Plans for getting our schools prepared for the storm and restored after the storm were in place long before Wilma arrived. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the District established a Hurricane Committee. “We plan work orders and assign assessment teams ahead of the storm. We begin to button up everything and prepare the emergency facilities as soon as the Superintendent releases schools,” said Ted Mowery, Manager with Physical Plant Operations and Chair of the committee since inception. “Our people go out after the storm as soon as it reduces to gale force to begin assessing the damage,” he said.

The task of assessing 300 sites, assigning the needed employees and equipment, and doing the clean-up and restoration is nonstop until school begins. “The entire department” (Physical Plant Operations) “is going full bore.” said Ron Eggenberger, Supervisor of Grounds. “That’s seven hundred plus employees. People on night shift switched to days; there was no electricity for them to work

at night. Until we had electricity, we worked 7AM until 7PM.” The first day off for many was the day before school opened.

Every Building Operations Supervisor and custodian in the District faced and met challenges head on. John R. Gallagher, Building Operations Supervisor at Plantation High School, arrived at his school about three hours after the storm. He began securing windows and doors that had blown open and for the next two weeks he and his crew of custodians cut and hauled debris; mopped floors; replaced ceiling tiles and cleared sidewalks and parking lots. He even moved his RV onto the school lot for a few days to provide coffee, heat food for lunches; and charge cell phones for his staff and District Maintenance employees working at the site.

Lou-Jean McCain, Secretary III at Professional Standards and Special Investigative Unit is proud of her co-workers. “They were everywhere, from securing school sites to manning the gas pumps to passing out ice and water to providing security. Their goodness and caring really came through for our schools and community with their willingness to be out there on the front lines to assist and serve,” she said.

Gina Dempsey, a School Resource Officer at Lloyd Estates Elementary, took time to check in on “her kids” in the neighborhood after the storm to be sure all was well. Her visit deflated some of the fear students had resulting from the hurricane. Doris Carpenter, a grandmother in the neighborhood, said that Officer Dempsey is a “wonderful example of the SRO Program in our schools and the true meaning of “Protect and Serve.”

Non-Instructional staff are to be commended for their efforts before and after the storm and for all they do on a daily basis to provide a safe, secure and sanitary environment for both students and employees.

Bit Of History

As the population increased, construction of schools also increased. Among the new schools opening were Oakland Park Elementary School in January, 1925; Deerfield Beach Elementary in 1926 and North Side Elementary in 1927. The historic core of Oakland Park Elementary School remains today, surrounded by new buildings. These three schools are among the oldest in Broward County utilized today.

Learn more about the history of Broward County Public Schools at
(www.browardschools.com/history).

Social Studies Teachers of
the Year Honored

Broward County’s three Social Studies Teacher of the Year honorees received their awards on October 14th during an awards ceremony sponsored by the Florida Council for the Social Studies. Honored were: Miladys Cepero-Perez of Griffin Elementary School, Nicole Marsala of Coral Springs Middle School and Robert C. Palumbo from Atlantic Technical Magnet High School.