Central Park Elementary is the first Broward public school to win the Everglades Foundation's George Barley Milestone Award, for eight years at Gold level.

Central Park Elementary in Plantation has become the first Broward County public school to win the Everglades Foundation’s George Barley Milestone Award. The award goes to schools that have held Gold-level Everglades Champion School status for eight years.

The foundation presented it at a ceremony at the school Monday, according to Broward County Public Schools’ announcement. The district said the award recognizes “long-term commitment to environmental education.”

The club behind it

The work is driven by the school’s Everglades Ambassadors Club. The district said it has 120 student members, and their parents volunteer alongside them.

The ambassadors run environmental stewardship projects at the school and around the community, the district said. A short district video, Building an Everglades Culture, shows the club at work.

The award is named for George Barley, a co-founder of the Everglades Foundation. The foundation’s Champion Schools program asks schools to build Everglades lessons, projects and sustainable practices into how they run, according to the district.

A second honor the same week

Central Park was also on the district’s list of 50 Broward schools named Schools of Excellence by the Florida State Board of Education for 2025-26. The district published the list Thursday, Oct. 22.

To qualify, a school must rank at or above the 80th percentile of schools at its grade level in at least two of the previous three years under Florida’s school grading system. The designation brings more flexibility on administrative and instructional rules, and access to extra funding, the district said.

Central Park is the only one of the nine Broward County Public Schools campuses in Plantation on that list. It earned an A in the state’s 2026 school grades, with 70% of possible points, and also earned A grades in 2025 and 2024, according to the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file.

What it means for you

  • Central Park is Plantation’s largest elementary school. The district counted 873 students there on Aug. 21, 52 more than a year earlier. About a quarter of Plantation addresses are zoned for it. Our Central Park Elementary page has the zone map, feeder schools and calendar.
  • Parents at the school can ask the front office, 754-322-5700, about joining the Everglades Ambassadors Club.
  • Comparing schools? Our guide to every public school in Plantation lists each school’s grade, enrollment and zone.