Brevard Public Schools
Clifton Colored School was built around 1890 in north Merritt Island where students were taught trades such as carpentry, concert and masonry and agriculture.
[4] In 2010, with the end of the shuttle program and the subsequent loss of jobs in the area, officials have been concerned that a quarter of the schools would fall below 70% enrollment capacity.
In March 2013, a group of parents and community leaders initiated a lawsuit against the board, claiming a racial bias in the decision to close the three schools.
The Board of County Commissioners publicly supported the lawsuit and started a dispute resolution process as well on their own behalf.
A political action committee (PAC) was formed to oppose the current school board members in future elections and vowed to effect a change in leadership.
[26][27][28][29] In 2014, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch gave the county good marks on its management affecting predictability of cash flow.
Moody's commented that the board's leaders gave consistently made accurate and conservative cash flow assumptions.
[34] The district is split for administrative reasons into four "areas" which tend to have east and west lines in the narrow county which extends 72 miles (116 km) north and south.
[35] To get hands-on learning experience about science, the local environment and math, all fourth-graders are given a one-day field trip to the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most diverse estuaries in North America.
To circumvent the need for public approval for borrowing, both the county and the school district have used certificates of participation.
[40] Brevard County's system for high school class rankings is based around "state-weighted GPA.
"[41] This system as practiced by Brevard County Schools actually does not refer to any specific state standard, leading to controversy over how rankings are determined.
[42] The school board dress code requires lower garments, including pants and skirts, be worn at the waist and prohibits undergarments from being visible.
of Brevard County, which questioned the school's legal right to limit body piercings as a First Amendment expression.
[44] Brevard has been in the top ten school districts in the state in each of the 22 areas of assessment on the standard statewide exams given students each year.
State officials encourage other districts to send their staff to these schools for insight into establishing or improving solid music programs.
[47] A team consisting of Brevard high school students stood second in the robotics world championship.
Brevard leads the state in the number of high school students dual enrolled in secondary and college courses.
[53] In 2010, 3/4 of all students at Saturn Elementary were receiving subsidized meals, considered the most dependable predictor of low performance.
[38] In 2011, the Center for American Progress evaluated Brevard as one of the top three large school districts in the state for "return on investment.
[56] Students gain entry to these schools based on a lottery system and are required to be on grade level to apply.
The program is designed as a comprehensive two-year curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfill requirements of many different nations' education systems.
As with the AP and dual enrollment programs, students completing IB courses and exams were eligible for postsecondary education credit.
Brevard has started an Engineering magnet program known as Bayside Engineering and Technology Academy (BETA) Bayside High School includes the ENCORE Performing and Technical Arts Academy, focusing on the performing arts and the technical side of artistic endeavors.
The Brevard County School system attempted to serve nutritional food to children in 2005 that would address the rising obesity issue while still maintaining appeal.
An atheist and Buddhist parent took the board to federal court, where the judge allowed the locale, but ordered them to change in 2006.
For five years they met in the abandoned hospital of the Naval Air Station, until 1958, when Stone High School was opened.
As of 2007, of the 67 public school districts in Florida, Brevard is one of 18 that have unitary status, meaning that de facto segregation exists, but is not the result of state-sponsored discrimination while 16 remained under federal court jurisdiction.
The Northern Brevard chapter of the NAACP filed a complaint with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
[68] In 2007, third graders stood first in statewide reading and math tests out of the ten largest school districts.
