The mission of the Broward Education Foundation, the fund raising arm of the

Broward County public schools, is to provide resources for students, teachers,

 and other employees to help them achieve  educational success.

BRACE Scholarship Fund

The BRACE Scholarship Fund is an established program of the Foundation which awards last dollar scholarships to qualifying students who have exhausted all avenues for financial aid and still fall short of their monetary need to pursue a post secondary education.  Long term education may include community college, university or vocational school.

Student selection is based on un-met financial need.  BRACE Advisors meet early in the summer and complete a complex screening process to determine this need based on factors such as awarded federal financial assistance, other scholarships, annual household income and more, to ensure these scholarships are awarded to the students who need it the most.  To date, the Broward Education Foundation has raised of over $4.2 million dollars for this program.

The Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program

The Foundation continues to invest in the future with it’s partnership with the Florida Prepaid College Tuition Foundation.  The Broward Education Foundation, with a match from the Prepaid Foundation, is able to purchase prepaid contracts through the State of Florida.  It provides a defined benefit college tuition contract for State universities, community colleges, and vocational/technical centers.  Administered by the State of Florida, The Broward Education Foundation invests in this program for many reasons: it provides a defined benefit, its value is guaranteed, as a long term investment it acts as a hedge against inflation, but most importantly the contracts are matched 1:1 by the Florida Prepaid College Tuition Foundation.

The Broward Teacher Fellowship Program

In response to the need for qualified teachers, the Broward Education Foundation and the School Board of Broward County, has created the Broward Teacher Fellowship program. The program provides a 2+2 Florida Pre-paid college tuition scholarship that covers tuition for 60 hours at Broward Community College and 60 hours of tuition or it’s equivalent value at one of the participating universities in the Broward Education Consortium to graduates who are committed to teaching in Broward County public Schools.  The selected Teaching Fellows will receive a Florida Pre-paid College Tuition scholarship contract from the Broward Education Foundation.  Teaching Fellows will be eligible to renew their scholarship monies for up to four years while they are successfully completing a degree leading to teacher certification.  The Fellows will in return agree, through a legally binding contract, to teach in a full time position in Broward County Schools the amount equal to one school year for every year the scholarship was received.

The Endowment Fund

The Foundation Endowment Fund was created to ensure that Broward public school students and teachers will benefit from Foundation programs in perpetuity.  These funds will help to further our students’ education and serve as an incentive for teachers to continue using their imagination and creativity to enhance classroom instruction.  The objective of the Endowment is to maximize the funds available for grants and scholarships by achieving market interest rate returns on the Endowment’s investment principal without compromising the integrity and safety of the principal.

IMPACT II - The Teachers Network

The IMPACT II program is an investment in success, bringing out the entrepreneur in our classroom teachers.  Funded cooperatively by community donors and School Board employees, IMPACT II provides teachers with grant money to package and export their ideas plus grants to adapt and franchise other teachers’ winning ideas for their own classrooms.  In addition to providing grant funding, IMPACT II conducts workshops, arranges inter-school teacher visits, produces publications for teachers, and disseminates program information and materials.

Citibank Success Fund

For the past sixteen years, Citibank has supported the Broward Education Foundation through the Citibank Success Fund, during the 2004-2005 school year, the Foundation awarded 32 grants, totaling over $41,300, which will reach more than 7,700 students in the Broward County School District.  Since its inception, the program has awarded more than 550 grants totaling more than $431,000 to Broward County teachers.

The Broward Education Foundation’s Grant Fund

The Broward Education Foundation’s Grant funds are used to support the District’s goals and objectives and are focused each year on the most needed programs to be highlighted, this past year, Reading Skills were  designated as a focus for student improvement   Thirty-Six grants were awarded in the 2004-2005 school year totaling almost $16,000.

Education First - Payroll Deduction Program

The Foundation administers a successful Payroll Deduction Program in the Broward County School District.  All proceeds from this program are allocated to the BRACE Scholarship Program, IMPACT II, The Teacher Fellowship Scholarship Program and Project Opportunity Scholarship Fund for District Personnel. 

Project Opportunity Scholarship Fund

The Foundation awards scholarships to public school paraprofessionals and support services personnel who want to become future educators.  Funding for the scholarships is generated through the Payroll Deduction Program.  Last year, the Foundation awarded 36 scholarships totaling over $24,300.

License for Learning Program

In 1994, the Florida Legislature approved the design and sale of the education license plate, of which $20 of each plate sold in Broward County benefits the Foundation directly. The Foundation receives over $47,500 annually through the License for Learning program.

Kids in Need Resource Center

The Broward Education Foundation opened the Kids In Need Resource Center, part of a national program sponsored by the School, Home, and Office Products (SHOPA) Foundation for Educational Excellence.  The program provides free school supplies and funding to aid students and teachers in low-income, under-funded schools.

The center, located on the campus of Fort Lauderdale High School, impacts the majority of the district’s 280 schools - the fifth largest school district in the country.  Fort Lauderdale is one of eleven major markets where Kids In Need Resource Centers operate. Since it’s opening in January 2001, over 3,500 teachers have accessed the center that includes notebook paper, pens, pencils, computer software, teacher supplies and over $1,300,000 worth of other much needed school supplies.

For additional information about these programs, please call Michael Long at 754.321.2031.

or visit our website at www.browardschools.com/BEF