Sarasota County Schools has announced that the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has awarded 18 schools with the Five Star School Award and 41 schools with the Golden School Award for the 2017–18 school year. These prestigious awards are given to public, specialty and charter schools statewide. The Five Star School Award is presented annually by the FDOE Commissioner's Community Involvement Council to schools that have demonstrated in-depth community involvement. In order to earn this designation, a school must prove that it has achieved 100 percent of the established criteria and must also earn a grade of "C" or above, or school improvement rating of "maintaining or improving" for the year of nomination. Similarly, the Golden School Award is issued annually. The award recognizes elementary, secondary and adult schools that report a minimum of 80 percent of school staff participation in training related to school volunteerism. Additionally, the total number of hours of volunteer service of the school must equal twice the number of students enrolled in the school. For a complete list of local award-winning schools, visit the link below.

Sarasota County Schools Award Winners