Top Principal and Assistant Principal Named
Principal Kim Flynn, Olsen Middle School, and Assistant Principal Priscilla Ribeiro, Cypress Bay High School, were recently named 2009 ACCLAIM Award winners – Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year. The ACCLAIM Awards were created to honor an outstanding principal and assistant principal each year for their hard work and dedication. The awards seek to recognize school leaders who excel in the following areas: Achievement, Communication, Compassion, Leadership, Accountability, Innovation and Motivation. In addition to other prizes, Flynn will participate in an exchange program. She will travel to Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia this summer to shadow school administrators and observe teaching practices in areas of common interest including science, math, use of technology, marine science and environmental education. Her Australian counterpart will visit Broward County this fall.

District Third Grade Students Increase FCAT Reading and Math Scores
Broward County Public Schools third grade students continued to demonstrate increased performance in the FCAT Reading and Math examinations, according to the 2009 results released by the Florida Department of Education. Overall, 71 percent of District third grade students produced reading scores of level 3 or above (proficiency), while 80 percent of the third grade students reached level 3 or above on mathematics. The District’s FCAT math results showed even greater results, as the percentage of proficient students increased for the seventh straight year.

The District’s third grade students matched the state average in reading proficiency, while surpassing the state average in mathematics. Additionally, Broward’s third graders performed better than students from the state’s four other largest school districts (Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Orange and Palm Beach) in both reading and mathematics.

District High School Students Collect 11 Silver Knight Honors, 41 Awards Overall
Broward County Public Schools high school students collected 11 of the county’s 15 Silver Knight Awards, recently presented by the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. The Silver Knight winners demonstrated both excellence in academics and contributions to the community. Students also earned 30 of 45 Honorable Mention recognitions, claiming 41 of 60 awards overall. Winners from Broward County Public Schools:

Sarah Benckenstein, Coral Springs High - Athletics
Jay Adam Shechtman, Cypress Bay High - Business
Lauren Allison, Western High - Drama
Janette Hernandez, Hallandale High - Foreign Language
Megan Barron, Coral Springs High - General Scholarship
Edward Andre Pino, Hollywood Hills High - Mathematics
Kayla O’Brien, Hollywood Hills High - New Media
Renata Dinamarco, Pembroke Pines Charter High - Science
Ganavya Doraiswamy, Cypress Bay High - Social Science
Lauren Marie Barriere, Nova High - Speech
Jasmine Brown, Hallandale High - Vocational-Technical

Winners of Holocaust Writing and Visual Arts Contest Announced
Three Broward students have been selected as first place winners in the 2009 Writing and Visual Arts Contest sponsored by the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Hollywood. Over 400 elementary, middle and high school students from Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties took part in the annual contest. Alex Han, a fourth grade student in Rose Wyda’s class at Lakeside Elementary School won in the Elementary School Writing category with his essay, “Never Again.”
Liana Hoffman won first place in the category of Elementary School Visual Arts for the 3-D poster she created with pen and ink, markers and a silver braid that looked like barbed wire. Hoffman is a fifth grade student at Coral Park Elementary School.

Coconut Creek High School student Donnatoni Zawackis was the winner in the High School Visual Arts category with his untitled, mixed media entry.  Zawackis is a 10th grade student in Marcus Bickler’s art class. The winning students will be recognized at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center’s Annual Meeting on June 4.

Two Schools Honored for Outstanding Federal and State Achievements
The State Board of Education recently recognized two schools in Broward County for their excellent performance on both state and federal accountability standards. James S. Hunt Elementary, which has a student population of more than 68 percent who are economically disadvantaged, has maintained a state school grade of “A” for the last two years, while at the same time meeting stringent federal requirements known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for more than five years.

Boulevard Heights Elementary, which has a student population of more than 57 percent who are economically disadvantaged, has made significant progress in closing the achievement gap between white and minority students for the last two years, maintained a state school grade of “A” for the last two years and has met AYP requirements for two consecutive years.

Pompano Beach Elementary PTA Hosts Beach Clean Up
Students, staff, and families of Pompano Beach Elementary School recently participated in their First Annual Beach Clean Up on Pompano Beach. The project, initiated and hosted by the Pompano Beach PTA, is part of an ongoing effort by the school to promote a sense of community service, environmental stewardship and conservation of natural resources among students and families in the Pompano Beach area. The beach clean up is a follow-up to the “100 Trees for 100 Years” event at which students, staff, families, and community members planted 100 native trees on campus to celebrate the 100th birthday of the city of Pompano Beach. American Watersports at N Ocean Blvd. hosted a family beach social following the clean up.

Dillard Center for the Arts Nominated for Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Picks Awards
Dillard Center for the Arts (DCA) has been nominated in two categories for Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Picks Awards. The DCA Music Department is a nominee for “Best Music Classes in South Florida” and the DCA Art Department is a nominee for “Best Art Classes in South Florida.” Chosen due to high ratings and comments by ParentsConnect.com (a resource center for parents), Dillard Center for the Arts was recently notified of their nomination. The public is invited to vote once daily online through July 15. Winners will be announced on August 17, 2009.

To vote for the Art Department Award, go to
(http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-art-class).

To vote for the Music Department Award, go to
(http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-music-class).

McFatter Technical Center and OSHA Form Alliance
The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and McFatter Technical Center/High School have formed a new maritime industry Alliance to protect workers during marine terminal, long shoring, ship repairing, and shipbuilding operations. Over the past three years, OSHA has investigated nine fatal maritime industry related accidents in Southeast Florida. Safe work practices could have prevented these tragedies. McFatter has originated an Alliance to focus on providing safety and health training and education for employers and employees of the maritime industry that highlights “best practices” to reduce hazards during marine terminal, long shoring, ship repairing, and shipbuilding operations. The Alliance is part of the Labor Department’s ongoing efforts to improve worker safety and health through cooperative programs with employers, labor and trade organizations, and community groups.

South Plantation High School Wins Fairchild Challenge
For the second consecutive year, South Plantation High students won the Fairchild Challenge, a multi-disciplinary environmental competition. Students earned $1,000 to help with their environmental projects next year. More than 67 schools in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties competed. "I am really proud that our students are able to rise to this level of achievement," said teacher Pamela Krauss who coached the team. "It is more difficult every year as more schools become involved." The yearlong regional competition has 10 options that are available for students to enter including art, photography, drama, science, language, debate, journalism, architecture, culinary, gardening, research, alternative energy and environmental outreach.

The South Plantation Paladins tied for first in the Eco-Skit: "What a Waste." Vivian Gil and Debbie Desravines performed with teacher Matt Zealy (a requirement of the skit). Other first place winners were Kyra Berman-Gestring and Natasha Borja for their Newsletter in Two Languages; Vincent Mariano for his Solar Invention; Dominic Lindsay for Debate.

Sheridan Technical Center Students to Restore a 1969 Mustang
WURTH USA Inc. and Sheridan Technical Center have partnered to restore a 1969 Ford Mustang, in celebration of WURTH’s 40th Anniversary in the United States. The Auto Body Repair students at Sheridan will perform the restoration of this American classic. Using as many WURTH USA products as possible, students will work to completely refurbish this 40-year-old classic. The renovation will result in a top of the line machine. The refurbishing process and progress updates will be available for viewing at (www.MakeItWurth.com). Upon completion of the restoration, the Mustang will be auctioned by WURTH USA and the proceeds will be donated to Sheridan Technical Center to support their scholarship programs for Automotive Education.

Florida’s Vision Quest Provides Free Eye Exams and Glasses to Students at Lauderdale Lakes Middle School
Florida’s Vision Quest recently brought its Mobile Outreach Program to Lauderdale Lakes Middle School. Vision Quest is a non-profit organization, which travels to schools throughout Florida to provide students in need with free vision exams and new eyeglasses, all inside a fully equipped 37' traveling mobile vision care unit. The program helps teachers and nurses identify students in need of help, recruits doctors to give free vision exams and has developed a state-of-the-art optical lab that manufactures beautiful, contemporary glasses. Approximately 30 students benefited full eye examinations and glasses during the mobile unit’s visit. School Board member Benjamin J. Williams and Florida Representative Hazel Rogers visited the mobile unit to personally thank the volunteers for their generous donation of time and resources to the school and community. Over the past 10 years, Florida’s Vision Quest has provided services to more than 20,000 students in Broward County and 130,000 across the state of Florida.

Broward School Employee Honored By State Department Of Education
The State Board of Education and Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith recently named Jannette Thompson-Irwin as the 2009 Florida School-Related Employee of the Year.  Thompson-Irwin earned the award for her exceptional work at Pompano Beach Middle School, where she serves not only as Confidential Office Manger, but also serves as nurse, counselor and community liaison. Thompson-Irwin was selected as Broward’s Non-Instructional Employee of the Year in December. As Florida School-Related Employee of the Year, she receives an award check for $1,000 from the Department of Education.

The 411 Newsletter and News & Views Available Online
For environmental and budgetary reasons, The 411 is no longer printed. The quarterly newsletter is now published only online at (www.browardschools.com). Just click on “Employees” and click on “The 411” banner to read current and back issues. News & Views is also available online. Just click on the News & Views banner next to The 411 banner. Both newsletters are in CAB’s District Announcements. If you have any questions or suggestions concerning these publications, contact Communications & Media Relations, 754-321-2300 or (news@browardschools.com).

Submissions for News & Views
Send articles and suggestions for News & Views to (news@browardschools.com) or contact the Communications & Media Relations Department, 754-321-2300.