| State: Florida | Number of Students: 271,105 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 63.4% |
| Grade Level: PK-12 | English Language Learners: 12.3% |
School Context
Raising the Bar: The district is committed to measuring and improving the quality of instruction in an effort to eliminatethe achievement gap and increase student readiness for middle school, high school, college and career.
Continuous Improvement: Broward aims to continuously improve all aspects of the school experience includingfood service, transportation, monitoring student behaviors that impact success in school and increasing access totechnological devices.
Boosting Communication: Broward County is focused on improving all aspects of communication such as gettingfeedback from community members, sharing school stories with the community and sharing school and districtaccomplishments through television, print and social media.
Computer Science: The district is focused on increasing access to computer science in schools through a partnershipwith Code.org.
State of Technology
Digital Classrooms: The district is undergoing a digital transformation.During the 2013-2014 school year, Broward County Public Schoolsstarted the Digital 5 (D5) program, a 1:1 initiative that offered teachersand students the opportunity to engage in digital personalized learningin their classrooms. In its first year, the program served 3,200 fifthgraders from 27 elementary schools and in 2014-2015 it expanded toserve third and fourth graders from 84 elementary schools. Now that theprogram is in grades three through five, it is called Digital Classroomsinstead of Digital 5. In January 2015 additional schools requested tojoin the initiative and now the Digital Classrooms program is in over 90schools. All of these schools completed an application which askedthem to share their level of readiness for integrating digital contentinto teaching and learning. Participating teachers received devices,curriculum resources for personalized learning, and professionallearning opportunities. To assist in the digital transformation, Broward isnarrowing in on a single LMS to be used district-wide.
Broward Codes: In 2013, Broward County became the first Floridadistrict to partner with Code.org to improve and increase access tocourses in computer science. Since then the district has had massiveparticipation in the Hour of Code in 2014 and 2015. Currently, all highschools in the district offer courses in computer science.
Virtual School: Broward Virtual School (BVS) offers K-12 students in thedistrict the opportunity to learn virtually. Students can enroll full timeor part time in some cases and can have flexibility of when and wherethe learning happens. BVS partners with Florida Virtual School formiddle and high school curriculum and with K12 Inc. for elementarycurriculum. Students can obtain a standard high school diploma throughBroward Virtual School. There is no face-to-face requirement for theschool, but it does provide traditional extracurricular activities to offerstudents the opportunity to interact and collaborate with their teachersand peers if they want. These activities include National Honor Society,Journalism Club, academic competitions, field trips, prom, a graduationceremony for seniors, and more.
Device Expansion: During 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, schools in thedistrict received student laptop carts and teacher laptops as part ofthe Technology Refresh Project. The district’s middle and high schoolsare using the devices to target sixth grade math, sixth through tenthgrade ELA and intensive reading support. Though the devices are notsent home with students, the programs are accessible from any devicesso students can log in from home or anywhere with Internet access. In2015, schools began receiving funding through the SMART Bond andnow they are able to purchase more devices. A major goal of the districtis to move to a 3.5 to 1 student to device ratio. The district primarilypurchases windows-based devices, though schools are allowed to fill outa waiver to purchase Apple devices specific courses they offer.
Tech for English Language Learners: In Broward County, there is alarge focus on supporting English Language Learners. Fourteen middleand high schools are using technology to support English languageacquisition for ELL students. The program is called Digital DLA and it ishelping ELL students with listening, speaking, reading and writing. Thedistrict’s vision is to provide a personalized learning environment forEnglish Language Learners using digital devices, tools, strategies andapps. It recently purchased ELLEVATION to support students andteachers with the WIDA standards.
Tech Needs & Requirements
The district is currently in the process of looking for a student information system and school and teacher websites.