School Enrollment

After decades of growth, enrollment in South Florida public K-12 schools is declining. For the past twenty-five years, the core counties of South Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade) have seen dramatic and steady school growth, from 436,453 students in 1980 to 808,414 in 2005.

Growth was consistent in all three counties from 1980 to 2000; then in 2000 it began to decline in Miami-Dade County. Now, Broward has followed suit. From school year 2005-06 to school year 2006-07student enrollment in Miami-Dade public schools fell by almost 16,000 students; it fell by over 8,000 students in Broward. Data from Palm Beach County is not yet available, but it is estimated that their enrollment fell slightly as well. This change is only partially explained by increased private school enrollment. From school year 1999-2000 to school year 2000-01, private school enrollment increased from 13% to 16% of total enrollment in Miami-Dade County and has remained consistent since. However, there was little change in the proportion of students enrolled in private schools in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

In the northern part of the region, enrollment increased slightly, but unevenly. In Martin County, student enrollment increased by 432 students. In St. Lucie it increased by 2,150. In Indian River, it declined by almost 1,000 students.

School Performance
The South Florida region boasts the top-performing elementary school in the state, Eagle Point Elementary in Weston, and the top-performing middle school, George Washington Carver Middle School in Miami. The Florida Department of Education released lists of the state’s top performing schools based on FCAT scores. FCAT scores are based on the accumulation of percentage points for six measures of achievement in addition to the percentage of eligible students who are tested and the percentage of low performing students who show progress from last year. For more information about FCAT scores, see the Department of Education’s Guide to Calculating School Grades. Among all of the top performing schools, South Florida boasts 40 of the top 100 elementary schools, 22 of the top 75 middle schools, 20 of the top 50 high schools and 21 of the top 50 combination schools in the state. The impressive achievements of South Florida’s best schools should not mask the fact that not all of the region’s students receive such a quality education. In school year 2005-06, 193 of South Florida’s 815 public schools received grades of C, D, or F, underscoring the fact there is still room for improvement.

For more information, visit http://www.soflo.org/idata/people.asp and http://www.soflo.org/events.asp.

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Dr. Lenore Alpert, Assistant Director for Research at CUES, and CUES Senior Research Associate MJ Matthews, JD, participated in two workshops in Monroe County to address the issue of working waterfront retention in the Florida Keys. The August 1st and 2nd workshops were held in the county’s Emergency Operations Center in the City of Marathon. Participants consisted of a broad range of marine industry, municipal and county government, and non-governmental stakeholders, in addition to members of the Marine and Port Advisory Committee. Dr. Alpert gave presentations on the work that CUES and its partner, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, completed earlier this year on the county’s Marine Management Strategic Plan (available online at http://www.sfrpc.com/mcmmsp.htm). The next phase of the project will include, among other tasks, the preparation of amendments to the county’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations in response to recent legislation aimed at preserving working waterfronts throughout the State of Florida.

Dr. Lenore Alpert and MJ Matthews participated in the kick-off meeting for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection/Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) cumulative impacts project in West Palm Beach on August 17th. Under a subcontract, CUES will be developing a methodology to review and assess cumulative effects of Maritime Industry and Coastal Construction Industry (MICCI) projects on South Florida’s coral reefs from Miami-Dade to Martin counties (i.e., MICCI Project 26). Such cumulative impact reviews are required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Partners on the project include the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at FAU, the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, and the CEPEMAR Group. For additional information on SEFCRI, see http://www.dep.state.fl.us/COASTAL/programs/coral/ and http://www.dep.state.fl.us/COASTAL/programs/coral/documents/
2005/SEFCRI_LAS_FINAL_20May05.pdf.

MJ Matthews attended the Port Everglades Master Plan Update 2006 meeting at the port on August 24th. The plan is being developed by DMJM Harris and is expected to be completed by Spring 2007. For more information, see http://www.broward.org/port/ .

 
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The Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS) 8th National Forum will be a terrific opportunity to surf the leading edges of regional stewardship. With its theme, Regional Stewardship from the Top Down AND the Bottom Up, the conference will explore how state governments like Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and California are embracing regional approaches to problem solving.  At the same time, Forum participants will learn from each other and from national experts how to advance their own regional agendas by putting cutting edge communications, research, and organizing tools to work. And what better place for diverse and dynamic leaders to gather than in South Florida, one of America’s most energetic, diverse and dynamic regions?

You will learn specific examples of how leading states are embracing regional problem-solving; new strategies for improving local government through municipal cooperation and consolidation; better ways to communicate regional issues to key constituents; and cutting edge ways to identify the trusted leaders in your community who can help lead change. Who should attend? CEOs; senior marketing and public policy staff; board leaders from regional business and civic organizations; leaders from regional and community foundations solving regional problems; and senior policy staff from state and county governments looking to drive regional problem-solving.

A tour of the Everglades is being offered as part of the Forum. The tour, to take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 15th, will include a top-level briefing about the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that covers 16 counties over an 18,000- square-mile area, includes more than 60 elements, will take more than 30 years to construct, and will cost an estimated $7.8 billion. It will be followed by a boat ride in the Everglades, where you’ll get up close and personal with one of our region’s and the nation’s great natural treasures. And you’ll be back to the Hotel Riverside in time for drinks and dinner.

CUES is a proud member of the ARS and is a co-sponsor of this forum. Registration and sponsorship opportunities can be found on the ARS website. For more information, please contact MaryBeth Burton at mburton@fau.edu.

 
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The 2005 A Guidebook to New Urbanism in Florida commemorates and celebrates Florida’s 120 plus New Urbanist developments and plans – over twice as many as the 2002 Guidebook that was developed by CUES.

The 2005 Guidebook features:

• Locations and essential facts about projects and plans
• Best practices from our state’s successful historic urbanism
• Articles by leading practitioners and observers of the movement
• Florida New Urbanism resource list organized for easy reference

To order your guidebook today, go to:
http://www.cnuflorida.org/guidebook/documents/guidebook_ad.pdf or contact guidebook editor, Jean Scott, at 561-620-3815

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