Brevard Public Schools is home to No. 1 elementary school in Florida
VIERA, Florida—Freedom 7 Elementary School of International Studies in Cocoa Beach is the top elementary school in the state, according to data released by the Florida Department of Education.
“We are so happy and proud to not only continue with our consistent high rankings in Florida, but to have achieved the No. 1 ranking, again,” said Dorine Zimmerman, principal of Freedom 7 Elementary. “Our students, staff and parents all play an integral role in our success through ongoing commitment and support. Over the years, without this collaborative culture across all groups, I doubt we would be celebrating such accomplishments.”
Dedication to excellence by Freedom 7 Elementary staff and students yielded impressive Florida Standards Assessment scores. At least 93 percent of students in grades 3 through 6 earned a satisfactory score on English Language Arts and math tests. In sixth grade, 100 percent of students earned a three or higher on the math assessment with 57 percent earning a score of five, the highest possible rating.
The school has an earned an “A” grade every year since it opened, was previously ranked No.1 for Florida elementary schools and placed in second twice. It is nationally recognized as a model professional learning community (PLC) school and has been an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme school since 2005.
“Our creative, collaborative and reflective teachers engage students in concept based learning allowing them to make connections across the curriculum through research, inquiry, problem solving and action,” said Zimmerman. “We are a concept-based learning environment teaching and learning through transdisciplinary units of inquiry. All students learn Spanish as teaching a world language is a requirement of the program.”
Furthermore, Freedom 7 Elementary was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school in in 2008 and again in 2014. Schools earn this prestigious distinction based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The school also was the recipient of the 2016-2017 Five Star School Award. The recognition is given to schools in Florida with exemplary business partnerships, family involvement, volunteerism, student community service and school advisory councils.
Zimmerman said, “Believe it or not, when we opened Freedom 7 in 2000, the vision was not to be the number one school or have the highest scores, but to maximize teaching, learning and growth. I think these results are evidence that we kept our sights on what is most important to achieve our goal.”
