Pompano Beach to celebrate parks
From David Volz
During the month of July, the nation celebrates Park and Recreation Month. This year’s commemoration takes on an even greater relevance, as local parks have played a central role during the pandemic. To honor these achievements, the City of Pompano Beach has issued a proclamation and will be spotlighting Parks and Recreation employees in a series of social media posts.
There will also be free community events throughout the month, for details visit https://parks.pompanobeachfl.gov/. Local parks have been essential throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with many community members gaining a new appreciation for the beautiful spaces and vital programs provided. In Pompano Beach, parks were designated as both COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites. In addition, the City’s acclaimed food drives were also supported with parks and recreation staff aiding in distribution. All of these activities required parks’ staff to run efficiently.
During the month of July, Pompano Beach will celebrate the parks and the people that make our community special on social media, follow the parks and recreation page, @CoPBParks. This year’s national theme is our “Our Park and Recreation Story,” and residents are encouraged to post their own memories and moments on social media using #OurParkAndRecStory.
Upcoming Parks and Recreation Events: July 4 | 5:30 –9:30 pm The Fireworks Extravaganza will be an in-person event beginning at 5:30 pm with live entertainment located on Pompano’s public beach, south of the Fisher Family Pier, followed by fireworks show at 9pm. The virtual event begins at 8:30 pm with livestreaming of the event and fireworks, via drones. Tune into the City’s Facebook page, @CityofPompanoBeach. The live and virtual presentations are both free as Pompano Beach is proud to offer patrons the freedom to choose how they celebrate Independence Day! All of the events below are free and “as supplies last.” July 8 | 4-6 p.m. National Freezer Pop Day Community Park located at 1660 NE 10th Street.
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Broward Schools receive a grant from the Helios Education Foundation
From David Volz
Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) Summer 2021 experience for the District’s youngest learners is getting a boost, thanks to a grant from Helios Education Foundation. The Foundation awarded BCPS $250,000 to help ensure students who just completed kindergarten are prepared to be successful when they begin first grade in the 2021/22 school year.
The grant is supporting a reading acceleration initiative for kindergarten students in the District’s summer program at five sites, including Challenger Elementary School, Driftwood Elementary School, Lakeside Elementary School, Stirling Elementary School and Tradewinds Elementary School. Each of these schools is serving as a feeder site, welcoming their students and students who attend other District schools during the regular school year.
During the six-week program, the students participate in four hours of intensive reading and writing instruction each school day. They also enjoy debate, music and art activities. The reading acceleration initiative aims to mitigate the summer slide, when students tend to lose some of the achievement gains made during the school year, as well as the impact of learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BCPS partnered with Scholastic to develop the reading acceleration pilot program and curriculum. As the students enter first grade, they will continue to be monitored for their academic progress and growth.
The District’s Summer 2021 learning experience began on Monday, June 21, and runs through July 29.
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Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie will face perjury charges
From David Volz
The perjury case against Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie will continue. A judge denied a request to dismiss the case. Runcie was indicted for perjury on April 15. Runcie’s lawyers argued the indictment did not provide enough details for a proper defense. Judge Martin Fein disagreed.
The judge suggested he had concerns that the state may have been too vague about Runcie’s charges since the indictment does not say what he lied about. Prosecutors argue that Runcie contacted grand jury witnesses to prepare his testimony and then lied about it under oath when asked. Runcie was charged with one county of perjury and prosecutors said he lied about it during two days of testimony.
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Top Broward Schools administrator resigns
From David Volz
Brian Katz, the Broward County schools safety chief has resigned from the Broward system. He is the latest high level administrator to resign. He was hired in February 2019 to oversee safety and security following the school shooting in Parkland. His final day will be July 30. Katz had applied to be the interim Broward Schools Superintendent to temporarily replace Robert Runcie who will be stepping down on August 10. Katz was the only high level administrator to apply for the position and was the focus of an intense debate before his application was denied.
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Broward County third grades meet or exceed academic performance standards
From David Volz
The Florida Department of Education released the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) English Language Arts (ELA) summary results for third grade students on June 22, 2021. The results for Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) show 53% of students meeting or exceeding satisfactory performance levels, a decrease from 60% in 2019 (state assessments were not administered in 2020 due to COVID-19). Overall, the state of Florida saw a decrease from 58% in 2019 to 54% in 2021.
Some of the major developments include:
- In BCPS, 53% of third grade students participated in brick-and-mortar instruction after the District reopened schools in October 2020. This was the second lowest rate of third grade students being in face-to-face instruction during the 2020/21 school year among the state’s 67 public school districts. Statewide data shows that districts with higher rates of in-person learning experienced more consistent outcomes compared to 2019.
- Districtwide, 91% of third grade students tested in 2020/21 while participation statewide was at 97%. At this time, there is no comparison data of participation rates with other districts.
- Sixty-eight percent (96 out of 141) of BCPS traditional elementary schools tested 90% or more of third grade students on the Grade 3 FSA-ELA.
- Twenty-nine percent (41 out of 141) of BCPS traditional elementary schools tested 95% or more of third grade students on the Grade 3 FSA-ELA.
- Despite the challenges of this past year, the following five schools increased performance by 10 percentage points or greater compared to 2019:
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary School (25 points)
- Deerfield Beach Elementary School (15 points)
- Silver Palms Elementary School (12 points)
- Sandpiper Elementary School (11 points)
- Mirror Lake Elementary School (10 points)
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Broward students to go to Washington for JROTC competition
By David Volz
Some Broward County High School students are advancing in the U.S.Army JROTC. Congratulations to Cypress Bay High School, Miramar High School and West Broward High School JROTC teams for earning spots in the 2021 U.S. Army JROTC National Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship in Washington, D.C. this summer.
During two phases of preliminary online competitions, the cadets were tested on their knowledge of current events, leadership values and leadership skills. The Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) high school JROTC teams earned top scores out of the 1,511 Army JROTC leadership and academic teams competing from around the world and are three of only 40 teams to advance to the finals, which includes an all-expense paid trip to the championship event, from July 19 – 23, 2021, on the campus of The Catholic University of America.
The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl is a nationally recognized competition created exclusively for JROTC students. By participating, cadets learn the values of citizenship, academic competition and college opportunities, while demonstrating their leadership abilities.
The winner of the U.S. Army JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship will compete against winning teams from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy in the JROTC Joint Service Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship.
The event is sponsored by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and is conducted by the College Options Foundation. One of the main goals is to prepare students for state graduation exams as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT.
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Fort Lauderdale Commission discusses budget
By David Volz
City Manager Chris Lagerbloom and Budget Advisory Board Chair Brian Donaldson presented an update on the City’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The workshop included a presentation by representatives from Stantec Consulting Services Inc. They are partnering with staff to develop a 10-year forecast to anticipate future conditions in each of the City’s major funds. The preliminary FY 2022 budget includes over $19 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan that will allow the City to advance capital improvement projects including the repair and replacement of seawalls, bridges, roadways, and sidewalks; the replacement of Fire Rescue Station 13 in Birch State Park; and beach nourishment. The Budget Advisory Board expressed unanimous support for the City Manager’s proposal to maintain the millage rate at 4.1193 for FY 2022. The City Commission is scheduled to set the ad valorem and non-ad valorem rates to be included on the TRIM Notice at their regularly scheduled Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 6 at 6 p.m. The next workshop between the City Commission and the Budget Advisory Board is scheduled for Tuesday, August 17.
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Former Broward Schools Superintendent applies for interim position
By David Volz
Jim Notter, a former Broward Schools superintendent has applied for the position of interim superintendent. He left the position about ten years ago after a very negative grand jury report. He served as Broward Schools superintendent from 2007 until 2011 and then on an interim basis in 2016.
Notter is age 74 and hopes to replace Robert Runcie who has agreed to resign and leave his position on August 10. He was indicted on a felony perjury charge. The individual selected will not be allowed to apply for the permanent superintendent position. The School Board had limited applicants for the interim position but opened it up to external candidates after the initial candidates were not considered qualified to fill the role of superintendent.
