Mark of Excellence – Superintendent Letter – The Year in Review

As the calendar year comes to a close, it is important to reflect upon the many successes that our District has been blessed with over the last 12 months.
As you read through this list, you can’t help but note the significant accomplishments of our students, teachers, administrators and support staff.

Last January, Brevard Public Schools received an unqualified opinion from the Florida State Auditor General based on the Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. Brevard is first in Florida in the percentage of funds spent in the classroom and 66^th in spending in administration. Our Finance office continues to be recognized as one of the best in the nation. We also received the Government Finance Officers and
Association of School Board Officials Awards of Excellence for the fifth year in a row.

In February, we recognized 61 new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) in a pinning ceremony, bringing our district total to 309. We are first in the
number of National Board Certified Teachers in the10 largest districts in the state, and even though we exceeded our goal of six percent two years early,
we are on track to meet the new goal of 10%. Brevard is first in the nation of districts over 50,000 students in the percentage of National Board Teachers.

We honored our 82 Teachers of the Year in March and named Elizabeth Windover as our top choice for Brevard Public Schools. We also partnered with
the King Center for the Performing Arts and were selected by the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to be in its “Partners in
Education” program.

After months of public input, the Seven-Year Facilities plan was approved in April by the School Board, ensuring all our older schools will be upgraded for
the next 15-20 years as well as building seven new schools to combat the growth happening in our area. We also thanked our many school business
partners, including our Business Partners of the Year, The Viera Company and Bartman Enterprises, for their support in our schools.

In May, we graduated more than 5,000 seniors and 44 students graduated with dual diplomas from Brevard Public Schools and Brevard Community College
as part of our Dual Enrollment program. Brevard is first in the state in the number of dual enrollment students. We also sent five teams to the World Finals
for Odyssey of the Mind, Dianne Peterson was honored by President Bush with the 2004 Presidential Award in Math and Science, and nine Brevard students
competed in the 2005 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona.

We launched our most successful ever Summer Opportunities for Advancement and Remediation Program (SOAR) in June for students in Kindergarten
through 12^th grade. More than 15,000 students all across Brevard County participated in a myriad of options enrolling in remedial courses, credit make-up,
and exciting enrichment classes. We also hosted a successful Career Fair and hired more than 400 new teachers for the fall.

We analyzed our Districtwide FCAT test scores in July and celebrated that Brevard is first in five of 22 subtests, up from two the year before, in 6th grade
Math; 6th grade Reading; 5th grade Science; 11th grade Science; and 9th grade Math. Brevard is in the top 10 in every one of the 22 FCAT
assessment areas!

In August, we launched a redesigned web site to enable parents and the community to better access information via the web and started an on-line
payment service for student lunch accounts. These services were added to provide you with more convenient ways to reach us and conduct business with
our cafeterias. We also revamped our school menus to be more nutritious and promote healthier eating habits among our students.

Several of our schools participated in training on disaster preparation during the month of September as a result of two grants totaling $900,000. We also
convened a task force on Emergency Response to Crises to improve communications and protocols for the future.

In October, Brevard Public Schools was named by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) as one of the nation’s Best Employers for Workers
over 50. Brevard was one of only two employers in the entire state to win the award and was also the first school district to ever receive the award.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools awarded us with District Accreditation in early November. We are only the second district in the state to
achieve this designation. Also, another seven of our schools were named Music Demonstration Schools. This means that of 21 Music Demonstration Schools statewide, 15 are from Brevard, ranking us First in Florida. There were seven statewide honorable mention sites as well and all are from Brevard Public
Schools.

When reviewing a year like this, I want to take time to stop and thank our employees of Brevard Public Schools, who have obviously embraced one of our most important organizational values…”We work as a team to accomplish our mission.” Successes like these would not be possible without the dedication and hard
work of our teachers, administrators and support staff.

Finally, I want to assure you that the next year will bring even more exciting prospects for our schools, especially as we embark on breaking ground for our
new schools, refurbishing our older ones, and creating secondary schools of national prominence. I wish each and every one of you and your children a
healthy and happy holiday season, and best wishes for the year to come.