Students and faculty of the Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach gathered to celebrate the school's new "A" rating from the state recently at the Broward County Commission meeting.

In honor of the school's achievement, Broward County District 9 Commissioner Dale Holness issued a proclamation declaring January 10, 2012, as "Blanche Ely High School Appreciation Day" in Broward County.

"You can feel the enthusiasm in the air as we get together to recognize the great work of Principal Karlton Johnson, the teachers, the students and the community support groups that have helped Blanche Ely High School achieve excellence," said commissioner Holness.

It's a school that, over time, has had its ups and its downs, but with the superb leadership of Principal Johnson and his team, they have been making steady advances."

Blanche Ely High School is noted for its medical and engineering magnet programs, vocational programs and LPN nursing program. The school also boasts a 96 percent rate of students attending four year universities after graduation. Currently, reports Principal Karlton Johnson, 200 students at Blanche Ely are dual enrolled in college courses.

Some lucky students at Riverside Elementary in Miami received toys in celebration of Three Kings Day (El Día de los Reyes Magos) at their school last Wednesday, January 11. The celebration is a part of the school district's wider educational efforts to promote cultural celebrations reflecting the diversity of the county's students.

Dressed in the traditional garments of the legendary Three Kings who visited Jesus Christ at his birth, the Three Kings visited the students and gave out toys as presents. The student body welcomed their special visitors by singing traditional Spanish carols (villancicos).

The toys were donated by local toy manufacturer, Cife Sunny, a popular, international producer of children's crafts, stationary, accessories and activity toys.

School Board Member Raquel Regalado and City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado also attended the event intended to promote awareness of the traditional Hispanic holiday.

Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, is traditionally celebrated on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, by Catholics in honor of the Three Wise Men delivering gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold to the baby Jesus. Traditionally, presents are left by the Three Kings for children in memory of this event.

Broward County Public Schools' new superintendent, Robert W. Runcie, will be "hitting the road" soon as he conducts a blitz of listening sessions across Broward County. The "listening tour" is part of the kickoff of his tenure as superintendent of the nation's sixth largest school district.

Runcie wants to meet and connect with parents and community members to establish a channel of two-way communication and build support to improve student achievement and performance. The perspectives, experiences, opinions and concerns expressed by parents and community members will be used to develop the next district strategic plan. The listening sessions, to be held at several high schools throughout the district, are open to all parents and community members.

"In my meetings and conversations with parents, teachers, students, business and community members I'm finding a common theme. Our school system is Broward County's biggest asset, and everyone I speak with is tremendously proud of the Broward County Public Schools and the quality of education we provide to our students. I hope to get our stakeholders' perspective on that which we do very well and that which we can do better," said Runcie.

Charter schools have developed as an important alternative to traditional public schools over the past decade. However, while these schools, located in Florida and all over the U.S., have been making a valuable contribution to the nation's educational advancement, there are nonetheless a large percentage of parents and children who do not understand what are charter schools, and how they operate. In a two-part series commencing today the National Weekly aims to provide its readers with the relevant information.

Definition

Charter schools, as described by the National Education Association of the USA (NEA), are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that are not restricted by some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to traditional public schools, in exchange for some type of accountability for producing strong academic results as set out in each school's charter (contract).