Sixty-six Broward County schools have received the Florida Department of Education's most prestigious award for community involvement – the 2002/2003 Five Star School Award. This is the largest group of Broward public schools to earn Five Star Awards (736 across Florida were honored this year.)

The Five Star School Award is presented each year to schools that have shown evidence of exemplary family, school, and community involvement. To qualify for the Five Star School Award, each school must meet 100% of established criteria that require the full engagement of business partners, volunteers, students, families and the School Advisory Council in the educational process. Every Five Star School must document how they model excellence through specific community involvement programs. It is the goal of the Five Star School Award program, now in its ninth year, to generate behaviors that improve education for all students.

Three of Broward's award recipients this year have met the rigorous Five Star criteria every year since the program began. These schools are Central Park Elementary (Plantation), Embassy Creek Elementary (Cooper City) and Plantation High. Plantation High is the only Broward high school to earn a 2002/03 Five Star Award. Five schools received the award for the first time: Manatee Bay Elementary (Weston). Sandpiper Elementary (Sunrise), Stirling Elementary (Hollywood), Seminole Middle (Plantation), Tequesta Trace Middle (Weston) and Westglades Middle (Parkland). Manatee Bay Elementary earned the award in their first year of operation.

The following schools received their 2002/2003 Five Star School Award from the Florida Department of Education and Broward County Public Schools at a celebration held Tuesday, October 21.