Information for Parents

Graduation Requirements
To graduate from high school and receive a diploma, students must earn 24 credits (grades 9-12) and pass the High School Competency Test (HSCT), which is initially offered in the fall of the student's 11th grade year.

Scholarships
The total value of the scholarships awarded to graduating seniors for 1999 is $41,316,754. Some 2,599 graduates received scholarships.

Dress Code
The Palm Beach County School District has a policy governing the appearance of students, but each school has a more specific dress code written by the school advisory council, which includes parents, teachers and administrators. Parents should contact the school, preferably before shopping for school clothes, to learn dress code restrictions. Parents are responsible for making certain their children dress accordingly. Some schools offer uniforms as an option.

A There are 139 public schools in Palm Beach County. New schools that opened this year include Coral Reef Elementary, a relief school for Manatee Elementary and Binks Forest Elementary (scheduled to open January 2000). Four new buildings at Pahokee Elementary, a new replacement school for Lincoln Elementary and a new athletic building at Atlantic High School.

A Palm Beach County is the third largest school district in Florida and the 14th largest in the nation with more than 146,000 students.

A The district has over 40,000 computers available to teachers and students arranged in a combination of networked computer labs, distributed workstations and stand-alone computers to best support the instructional needs of the school centers. A broad array of standard productivity and curricular software packages have been selected and purchased to support the teaching/learning process. Students and teachers have the ability to research topics using on-line research software, CD-ROM titles and the Internet.A wide variety of instructional resources and support material are accessible through the District's web site.

Parents are invited to visit the School District of Palm Beach County web site at: www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us

A The budget for FY 1999/00 was $1.7 billion.

A In June of 1998, the School Board authorized a business partnership with ServiceMaster, an Education Management Services Company. The business partnership is being implemented through the Maintenance & Plant Operations Department to enhance custodial, maintenance and grounds services to District schools and ancillary facilities.

A During the 1998-99 school year, the School Food Service Department served 3,322,692 breakfasts and 12,307,192 lunches.

A Over 600 buses scheduled for daily route operations travel approximately 65,000 miles each day transporting 61,000 students. In addition, buses travel 350,000 miles a year to provide opportunities for after-school activities.

A An On-line High School Program has been implemented to enable students to access high school diploma courses and GED courses via computer.

A Twenty-nine magnet schools or academy schools are open to qualifying students from a broad geographical area (see list).

The Family Place
The Family Place is a resource center providing families of students attending Title I Schools with materials and skills to be involved in their children's education. Available services offered include the Family Place Lending Library, Educational Materials & Interpretation in Spanish and Haitian/Creole, Parent Training Schedules, Computer Workstations and Transportation. The Family Place is located at 1199 Australian Ave., Riviera Beach, FL 33404. The hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please call 561-881-3704 or fax 561-840-3294 for more information on the Title I schools and their services.

FAN
The Family Action Network is a network of school district staff dedicated to improve the delivery of family support services through collaborative planning and shared responsibility. The network assists parents by providing training for School Advisory Councils and School Improvement Teams in effective family involvement, schedules of parent workshop opportunities and resources and contacts within the District. For additional information, contact Marilynn Kable, Dept. Federal Programs at 561-881-3703 or Connie Berry, ISS/Multicultural Dept. at 561-434-7348.

The C.A.S.A.S. Project
The purpose of the C.A.S.A.S. (Communities and Schools Accellerating Language Minority Students) is to provide systematic initiatives in the school district to insure that language minority students achieve optimum levels of reading, writing and speaking proficiency through a comprehensive parent, community and school collaboration. Guidance Counselors may be contacted at 561-434-8303, District Parent Liaisons at 561-357-7692.

Child Care Resource & Referral, Inc.
Child Care Resource & Referral, Inc. is a non-profit agency serving the county. Free referrals to all types of child care are provided, including center based care, out-of-school care, summer camps and more. Call 832-0844 North County or 265-2423 South County.

Palm Beach County Student Crime Stoppers
After the Barry Grunow shooting, "Initiative 2000" was begun to reinforce the Student program. Approved by the superintendent and in cooperation with the county police, this program offers cash rewards for anonymous tips leading to an arrest or administrative action. This has resulted in a number of cases where drugs and/or weapons were recovered. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.CrimeStoppersPBC.com

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PALM BEACH COUNTY INFORMATION