Florida
The SERVE Center has a significant history of working with educators in Florida, beginning in 1990 with the US Department of Education's regional Educational Laboratory-Southeast (REL-SE). SERVE Center's state liaison helps link research, public policy, and resources to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) an statewide school improvement initiatives. The SERVE Center's vision of an educational system that empowers and equips all people to realize their infinite possibilities and promise is aligned with the FLDOE's vision of changing "the culture of our schools from PreK to postsecondary by raising the ceiling and raising the floor to better enable our students for success in the 21st century." Below are some examples of the work that we do through the REL-SE to support FLDOE's vision.
Career Academies
In 2007, the Florida Legislature passed the Career and Professional Education Act (CAPE), requiring districts to establish at least one operational career and professional academy as part of a larger district plan to address needs identified by local business and education communities. SERVE Center's Issues & Answers report, Characteristics of Career Academies in 12 Florida School Districts is a response to a Florida Department of Education request for information on Florida career academies prior to passage of CAPE. The report examines career academies in 12 Florida districts—their structure, characteristics of high schools offering career academies, and student characteristics of those enrolled in career academies during the 2006-2007 school year.
Dual Enrollment
In an effort to better prepare students for postsecondary education and careers, many districts across the nation provide access to accelerated course-taking programs, such as dual enrollment programs which allow high school student to take college-credit courses. This report describes participation of Florida students in dual enrollment programs and other accelerated courses during the 2006-2007 school year and examines the process of establishing dual enrollment programs in nine Florida districts. The Issues & Answers Report is intended to inform policymakers and other stakeholders interested in developing and expanding similar programs.
Science Academy Network
Since 2007, the SERVE Center has supported nine Florida district teams who are interested in applying evidence-based decision making to improve middle school to high school transition. Over the year, the Science Academy Network (SAN) teams have worked with three goals in mind—(1) to build district and school leaders’ knowledge and expertise in the use of data, research, and evaluation as a means of improving science teaching and learning; (2) to develop a science improvement decision-making process using the Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM) cycle; and (3) to create a network of informed professionals dedicated to and prepared for improving science teaching and learning. With these goals as the focus of their work, teams have identified local needs based on student and teacher data, developed goals based on those needs, and participated in professional development, collaboration, and extensive group discussions to examine the progress teams have made on improving science outcomes for middle school students.