Help failing schools
It is inconceivable that Broward County Public Schools would turn down a $3.3-million state grant to attract the nation’s high-performing charter school operators. But that’s what happened last week.
The multimillion-dollar grant was aimed at harnessing the strengths of both charter schools and school districts in order to increase the number of high-quality school options for the district’s most disadvantaged and educationally under-served children.
The district submitted to the Florida Department of Education a bold and ambitious proposal to “pilot an innovative program of whole-child support in partnership with an established high-impact educational provider” that would have served the families living in the 33311 Zip code. Almost 40 percent of the population there earns less than $25,000 a year, and almost half of the families are led by single mothers.
The academic performance in this area is the worst in Broward County, with more D and F schools than any other area in Broward County.
Lynn Norman-Teck, director of communications, Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, Fort Lauderdale
This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Help failing schools."