Education - Education & Child Care
Truth be told, Florida is not highly ranked among the states when it comes to education. However, Broward County public—and private—schools have won notice for the quality of the educational experience offered here.
Broward is the sixth-largest school district in America—and the largest fully accredited school district. Under superintendent of schools James F. Notter and the county school board, the district’s motto is “Educating Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s World.” The system has over 255,000 students, 288 schools and centers, three virtual schools, more than 15,000 teachers, and 37,000 full-time employees in all. It’s by far the largest employer in Greater Fort Lauderdale, with an annual budget of over $5 billion.
As noted earlier, people around the country have taken notice of the work being done here. Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) was a finalist for the Broad Foundation’s Annual Urban Education Award for the second year in a row—receiving its second consecutive award of $250,000 in scholarships. In addition, the district also earned the inaugural Award for Excellence in Financial Management from Washington, D.C.-based Council of the Great City Schools. And—for the 14th consecutive year—the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) named the School Board of Broward County as a recipient of its Meritorious Budget Award.
And that’s not all. Broward County Public Schools was a finalist for the National School Board Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Annual Award. Three Broward County schools—Pompano Beach High School, McFatter Technical High School, and City of Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School—were selected as Florida Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the Florida Department of Education. And 10 BCPS high schools and one charter high school were recognized among Newsweek magazine’s 2009 “Top High Schools in the Nation.”
Folks in Greater Fort Lauderdale seem to realize that, to reap real dividends, educating the area’s youth must be a cooperative effort among the schools, the parents, and the community. As a result, this school system boasts some 35,000 volunteers. These people gave of themselves to the tune of nearly 600,000 hours, an estimated value of over $11 million in added services to students.
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Address: 600 SE 3rd Ave.
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Address: 1799 SE 17th St.
3. Broward College
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-7350
Address: 111 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Description: Broward College was founded as Broward Community College back in 1959 as part of an effort to give as many Floridians as possible an opportunity for post-high-school education. Nearly 50 years later, in 2008, the legislature gave the college the right to offer four-year degrees as well as associate degrees, and Governor Charlie Crist signed an order changing its name to Broward College. Most of the bachelor’s degrees offered are in the field of education, in specialties such as middle grades math, middle grades science, secondary math, secondary biology, and exceptional-student education. Broward College has three campuses spread out over the county, as well as several learning centers.
4. Broward College–Davie Branch
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-6500
Address: 3501 Davie Rd.
Description: The A. Hugh Adams Central Campus was Broward College’s first permanent campus. When it opened, it had seven buildings; now, however, it has more than 30, including the well-respected Buehler Planetarium and Observatory, a favorite spot of amateur astronomers in Greater Fort Lauderdale. Also here are the Institute of Public Safety, an aquatic complex, the Mayer Gymnasium, a health sciences complex, and the Ralph R. Bailey Concert Hall, another focus of community events. The library is owned jointly by Broward College and Florida Atlantic University. And the Adams Campus also is home to the College Academy at BC, a college preparatory institution run in partnership with Broward County Public Schools.
5. Broward College–Judson A. Samuels South Campus
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-8997
Address: 7200 Pines Blvd.
Description: The Judson A. Samuels South Campus is named for a South Broward community leader and one of the college’s most influential trustees. It’s located on a 100-acre tract just west of the Florida Turnpike, in the southwestern Broward city of Pembroke Pines. This is the home of the college’s Aviation Institute, which is located here for a reason—it’s next to North Perry Airport, which is used for private planes. Also adjacent is Broward College/Broward County South Regional Library, the first building in Broward County designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) rating system.
6. Broward College–North Campus
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-2240
Address: 1000 Coconut Creek Blvd.
Description: The North Campus of Broward College is in Coconut Creek, on the west side of the Florida Turnpike. Its 14 buildings include the Omni Auditorium (also home to various community events and presentations), the Health Science Center II, the Toski-Battersby Golf Training Center, and the joint Broward Community College/North Regional Broward County Library. This campus is also home to Junior Achievement’s largest “Enterprise Village.” It’s called the Junior Achievement Huizenga Enterprise Village, named after Broward County entrepreneur (and former Miami Dolphins owner) Wayne Huizenga and his wife, Marti, who contributed several million dollars to get the ball rolling some years back.
7. Broward College–Pines Center
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-3604
Address: 16957 Sheridan St.
Description: The Pines Center serves southwestern Broward; it’s on the campus of the Pembroke Pines Academic Village, a 77-acre tract built in the Jeffersonian style. Other entities in the academic village include the Southwest Broward Regional Library, Pembroke Pines Charter High School, an athletic/aquatic complex, and a wetlands preserve.
8. Broward College–Weston Center
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-8501
Address: 4205 Bonaventure Blvd.
Description: The Weston Center is not a campus. It’s located within the Weston Branch Library, and offers a variety of credit and noncredit courses, along with a fast-track associate’s degree in Business Administration.
9. Broward College Maroone Automotive Training Center
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-8621
Address: 7451 Riviera Blvd.
Description: This facility opened in 2007, just off the Florida Turnpike, in the southern Broward town of Miramar. The center provides classrooms, work bays, and administrative offices for the college’s automotive programs.
10. Broward College–Tigertail Lake Center
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 201-7350
Description: The Tigertail Lake Center is a different kind of college campus. Situated alongside I-95 in Dania Beach, this spot has conference and picnic facilities, as well as aquatic and water-sports classes. Here you’ll also find the BC Adventure Learning Center, with “challenge” rope-climbing programs and team-building exercises.
11. Florida Atlantic University–Dania Beach Branch (SeaTech)
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 924-7000
Address: 101 N. Beach Rd.
Description: This campus is also known as SeaTech, and with good reason. It’s the home of a well-regarded research and educational facility for programs in ocean engineering. In addition, the Dania campus is headquarters for two of Florida’s Centers of Excellence. The Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology program is dedicated to searching the seas for new medicines to treat disease, and to searching the markets for more expeditious ways of getting them to the people who might need them. And the program in Ocean Energy Technology researches ways of harnessing energy from South Florida’s ocean currents.
12. Florida Atlantic University–Davie Branch
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 236-1000
Address: 2912 College Ave.
Description: This is FAU’s second-largest campus, behind only the main campus in Boca Raton. The Davie campus offers a variety of programs in partnership with Broward College, with which it shares a campus. This campus is the site of the innovative Teaching & Leadership Center, as well as the home of FAU’s Everglades research and restoration efforts in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey.
13. Florida Atlantic University–Fort Lauderdale Branch
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Telephone: (954) 236-1000
Address: 111 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Description: Located in downtown Fort Lauderdale, this campus gives students the opportunity to enjoy city life (during the daytime), and all the cultural, social, and educational benefits that entails. The campus is home to a range of diverse professional and design-oriented programs, among them architecture, business, computer animation, graphic design, public administration, and urban planning. And, because of the location, students in the urban planning program are able to see first-hand the results of competent (or incompetent) planning.
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Address: 17195 Sheridan St.
City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Category: Education
Address: 3301 College Ave.