GFLCC Weekly Newsletter September 22

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		CHAMBER WEBSITE	ADVERTISING INFO

Friday September 22, 2006

Dear Members:

We always like to highlight Chamber members when they have contributed to our community with a great project. The following is an outstanding example from our great friends and supporters, Citrix Systems, as well as Regions Bank and JM Family Enterprises.

We thank them for their tireless efforts to better our community.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla — Sept. 5, 2006 — The South Florida Community Leadership Foundation (SFCLF) today announced that it has gained significant momentum, financial backing and leadership to drive its mission of enriching the teaching and learning environment in South Florida schools. The Foundation has welcomed three new corporate memberships, named the superintendent of Broward and Palm Beach counties to its Board and expanded programs with the University of Virginia’s Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE).

The SFCLF, established by Citrix Systems in 2003, is able to sponsor this pioneering program thanks to the growing ranks of South Florida businesses that have pledged their support and through strong partnerships with the education community. Joining the Foundation are the Mary & Robert Pew Public Education Fund, Regions Bank and JM Family Enterprises Inc., which have each made substantial financial commitments to the SFCLF. Citrix has issued a challenge grant of up to $500,000 to match contributions and encourage even broader participation by local and national organizations through 2008.

In addition, Broward County Superintendent Dr. Frank Till and Palm Beach County Superintendent Dr. Arthur Johnson have joined the Foundation’s board of directors to provide their executive leadership and direction to the board. This leadership will be critical in enabling the Foundation to understand and support the requirements and priorities of South Florida school districts as they carry out their 2006-2008 plans.

“The collaboration among the SFCLF, our local school districts, the PLE and individual schools shows that our focus goes beyond developing lone leaders, to extend to leaders within the larger contexts of our school systems, businesses and the rest of the community,” said Superintendent Till. “The SFCLF exemplifies how we can bring various organizations together to create meaningful change.”

Florida education demonstrates a mix of successes and challenges in a state that received an “A” rating from Education Week for school standards and quality but also ranks 47^th out of 50 in per-student spending. Broward county school district is the sixth largest school district in the country. Across the state, reading, math and SAT scores have risen. Educators are implementing programs like the Turnaround Specialist Program to jump start improvements in consistently low performing schools.

The Turnaround Specialist Program will provide an executive education program specifically designed for the needs of a cadre of South Florida educators who are charged with turning around consistently low-performing schools. The program focuses on leadership challenges, strategic change, decision-making, communications, and partnering, and establishes targets and metrics to drive achievement and measure results.

The SFCLF has its roots in Citrix’s commitment to make the South Florida business community a catalyst for real and lasting change in education. The company established the SFCLF in March 2003 and has invested $760,000 in education programs through SFCLF since that time. Nearly 300 educators have completed training programs sponsored by SFCLF to date. The company has pledged an additional $500,000 as a challenge grant to encourage companies to participate to take SFCLF to the next level.

About the South Florida Community Leadership Foundation

The South Florida Community Leadership Foundation (SFCLF) is a community based 501 c3 non-profit organization dedicated to building and enhancing the executive leadership capacity and development of the District Superintendents and their staff in South Florida. This effort is a major catalyst in driving systemic change within the school systems that will lead to greater student achievement and overall school improvement.

The SFCLF is dedicated to bringing together a broad base of community and business partners with financial and volunteer support to provide best-in-class business executive leadership development for school district executives in South Florida. For more information, contact 954-267-2312.

The Chamber offers several advertising opportunities in the ChamberLink newsletter, weekly
e-mails and on our website. Visit FtlChamber.com/ads for information.

September 21 - Women's Council Circle of Excellence Luncheon
September 13 - Taste of Weston
August 25 - Xtreme Karting Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening
August 25 - Business Perks
July 28 - Business Perks
July 14 - Uptown Council Luncheon
June 28 - Weston Business after Hours
June 16 - Annual Golf Tournament
June 9 - Women's Council Scholarship Luncheon
May 23 - POC Buffet & Grill Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening
May 23 - Leadership Fort Lauderdale Graduation Luncheon
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