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BPS rakes in Five Star Awards
The Florida Department of Educa on (FLDOE) selected 64 Brevard County schools as recipients of the 2016-2017 Five Star School Award. The recogni on is given to schools that have shown evidence of exemplary community involvement.
“It is an honor to recognize these schools with the Five Star Award,” said Commissioner of Educa on Pam Stewart. “As
a former teacher and principal, I have seen rsthand the posi ve impact family and community involvement can have on the lives of students. I commend our state’s parents, guardians and community members for going above and beyond for Florida’s students and the schools for encouraging parent and community involvement.”
Cocoa High students volunteered more than
450 total hours through their community clean-up project.
Seventy-eight percent of the district’s schools earned the award by mee ng prerequisites in ve categories: business partnerships, family involvement, volunteerism, student community service and school advisory councils. Schools are also required to have at least a “C” grade or an improvement ra ng of “maintaining or improving,” for
the year of nomina on.
The award was created by the FLDOE Commissioner's Community Involvement Council. It was established to recognize that community involvement is fundamental to student success.
“We have a wonderful school community that celebrates student achievement and rewards academic excellence,” said John Harris, principal of Heritage High. “The Five
Star Award is a marvelous way for our students, sta and community to receive recogni on for crea ng a posi ve school culture and climate for all students.”
To meet business partnership criteria, partners must work with the school to plan ac vi es and remain involved in recurring events. These partners also help develop and implement the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and donate goods, services and nancial resources.
Volunteerism requirements dictate that schools need to provide volunteer program training to at least 80 percent of the sta , appoint and train a volunteer coordinator and recognize school helpers. They are also obligated to accrue volunteer hours equaling at least twice the
amount of the school’s enrolled students.
The student community service category includes providing students with service-learning opportuni es focused on iden ed community needs. Students must develop and implement a service project, and a minimum of 50 percent of the school’s enrollment must par cipate in it.
“We had more than 7,000 volunteer hours last year with nearly half of the hours coming from students,” said Bobby Prue , principal of DeLaura Middle. “DeLaura is truly a community school with support from a variety of di erent areas and all stakeholders. We have a great partnership all in the name of helping our students.”
School Advisory Council criteria includes hos ng at least eight council mee ngs each year with an average of 80 percent of the members in a endance. Furthermore, the council must present the SIP to the community and o er con nuous skill development to members.
“Manatee Elementary has a collabora ve rela onship with the PTO, School Advisory Council and sta which uses its strong es to the Brevard community to provide our school with the resources to create meaningful social-emo onal programs that foster the importance of giving back,” said Shannon Daly, Manatee Elementary assistant principal. “Manatee Elementary is able to provide our students with a well-rounded learning experience that prepares them academically and establishes a founda on for future
civic engagement.”
A few of the requirements for family involvement include maintaining an ac ve parent organiza on and providing educa onal and support group opportuni es for parents.
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