n the mid to late 1970s typewriters were still the mainstay in Broward’s business classes because “computers,” which only did word processing, cost $16,000 each. But in 1982, the District was one of the first school districts to purchase computers for students to use in business education programs.  By 1985, computers within business education labs began to be networked together and LCD panels began to show-up in most high schools.  The panels allowed a computer screen to be projected to an entire class.

In 1983, fifteen computers were in every secondary school and three in every elementary school. Although the computers were very basic did and not have hard drives as we know them today, teachers were able to begin using technology as a teaching and productivity tool.  Sunrise Middle School was the first in the District to have its computers linked to form an instructional network.

By 1983, enrollment in Broward County Public Schools had reached 124,895.

Partners In Education Inc., Broward County’s premier school-business partnership program, was founded in 1983.   The result of the collaborative efforts of the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc., The Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and the District, the program is devoted to school improvement.

Plantation High School

Gulfstream Land & Development Corporation gained the distinction as the first business to agree to partner with a school when it agreed to form a partnership with Plantation High School.  Although Gulfstream has moved the bulk of its operation to Florida’s west coast, some of the businesses that had “Charter Partnerships” in those early years are still active partners today including American Express, McDonald’s, Memorial Hospital, Bell South and SunTrust Bank.  During the 2004-05 school year there were 2,818 school-business partnerships in the District expanding the educational opportunities of students.

In August 1983, The Broward Education Foundation, Inc., a component unit of The School Board of Broward County, Florida was incorporated. The goal of the non-profit foundation is to enhance education in Broward Schools. Serving as the fundraising arm of the District, the foundation provides scholarships for graduating students, grants for teachers, supplies for needy classrooms and tuition reimbursement for the District’s paraprofessionals wishing to continue their education. 

Between 1984 and 1986 technology was introduced into school libraries.  Librarians began to use computers to track circulation and inventory.  By 2000, a centralized library automation system had been installed in all school libraries enabling students and teachers using a computer to connect to the Internet and locate a library resource in any school or public library in the county.

Beginning in 1984 the first high school computer programming courses were offered and a middle school course was offered that focused on what was then modern day computing. By 1986, the process of developing a computer literacy curriculum had begun.

Walter C. Young Middle School

In order to have unrestricted use of the Instructional Television Center (later to be renamed BECON), in 1984, the District reimbursed the funds it had received from the Florida State Department of Education to establish the center. The center placed emphasis on the production and broadcast of instructional programming, but it also produced programs for the community that were carried by cable companies that provided broadcast time to the District.   Another priority of the center was to provide “real-world” training opportunities for students studying television production at McFatter Technical Center.

In April 1986, ground was broken for a new school that would be a model for multi-used facilities across the nation.  The Walter C. Young Resource Center, which opened in 1989, accommodates the needs of not only staff and students, but also all Pembroke Pines residents. Representative Walter C. Young, a former principal, was instrumental is seeing that the facility was built.  The center houses Walter C. Young Middle School, a community school, a child development center, recreational facilities, a social service center, a multi-use center, regional library and a dinner theater.

In 1990, for the first time, students used telecommunication to collaborate with their peers on an international level.  Technology magnet instructors and students at Dillard High School used desktop publishing and other software to discuss social and political issues with students and teachers in England. 

Between 1992 and 1995 the District obtained its first Web server giving the school district its first presence on the Internet.  Today, approximately 11 million people visit the District’s Web site (www.browardschools.com) each month.

SEAS Program

In 1991 the school district formed a partnership with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts to enhance the arts education of students.   The Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) program enables students to attend and in some cases participate in professional theatrical productions.  The program, which continues today, has been honored by the National School Boards Association and the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network.  It has also received the prestigious Magna Award for excellence in student achievement and community engagement from the American School Board Journal.

In 1994 Broward was the first school district in the state to have a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.  Rona Wolfson, a fifth-grade teacher at Central Park Elementary School, was recertified in 2004 and continues to teach at that school. The ranks of Broward’s National Board Certified Teachers has continued to grow over the years – currently we have 617.  National Board Certification is a symbol of teaching excellence.  A voluntary process, it is achieved through an extensive series of performance-based assessments that take nearly a year to complete.

In June of 1996, the School Board decided that Rogers Middle School would better serve the District as the Whiddon-Rogers Education Center. That same year, what had been Edgewood Elementary School became the Whiddon-Rogers Education Center Annex.

Charter Schools first opened in Broward County in the fall of 1997. Charter schools are public schools holding state or local agency contracts to meet specified student achievement goals. They are allocated public educational funds for a stated period of time and are waived from all state statutes except those involving civil rights and health, welfare and safety of students.

Coral Spring Charter School

Broward’s first Charter Schools were Central Charter School in Lauderdale Lakes, Charter School of Excellence in Fort Lauderdale, and Somerset Neighborhood School in Miramar. There are currently 38 Charter Schools in Broward County with more scheduled to open in the coming years.

Keeping track of an ever-increasing student population is a daunting task.  To meet that challenge, between 1996 and 1999, the District implemented the Data Warehouse, an online storage center that houses District and student data.  In the old days, if teachers wanted to see the past histories of their students, they needed to contact their students’ former teachers or previous schools.  Thanks to the Data Warehouse, a teacher can log-on to any computer with Internet access and, with a few clicks, instantly see a student’s history which better enables the teacher to help the student succeed in the future.  In 2002 the Data Warehouse received the Best Practices Award from the Data Warehousing Institute and the Brio Software Achievement Best Practices Award for Business Intelligence.

Distance Learning began in Broward schools in 1996 with two-way, interactive video conferencing, but 1997 brought advances in technology and significant expansion of the program.    Today, every high school and most middle and elementary schools in the District are equipped with a video conference unit. Advanced placement and other unique academic classes are taught via distance learning and BECON, the District’s television station, produces and broadcasts a variety of educational programming into classrooms serving all grade levels.  Teachers and other staff members also use Distance Learning to expand their professional development (training) opportunities.  Teachers, administrators and other District personnel teach, learn and conduct meetings using the two-way, interactive video conferencing available at schools and BECON. 

In 1998, the District’s Instructional Television Center was officially renamed BECON to reflect the myriad of educational tools and communication technologies it utilizes.

To more effectively represent all the citizens of Broward County, in 1998 the Board was expanded to include nine members. Seven members represent specific areas of the county and two are elected as at-large members serving the entire county.

As technology changed the way the world did business, the District’s three vocational-technical centers, Sheridan, Atlantic and McFatter, evolved into state-of-the-art, technology driven institutions.  In June 1999, the School Board deleted the word “vocational” from the names of the centers to more accurately reflect the level of the instruction and the emphasis on educating high wage/high skill employees.

Today, Broward’s technical centers offer more than 50 different Certificate and Applied Technology Diploma Programs, as well as short courses for upgrading skills, Adult General Education (English for Speakers of Other Languages, General Equivalency Diploma) and two technical high schools. The three centers served a total of 24,527 students during the 2004-05 school year.