Purple Star Schools of Distinction

The Florida Department of Education recognizes Purple Star Schools of Distinction as schools that have made a significant commitment to support military families and students of servicemen and women. Purple Star Schools:

• have a designated Military Point of Contact on site to assist military families with enrollment, records transfer, accessing services, and tapping into school- and community-based resources,
• maintain a robust web page with resources for military families,
• provide a student-led transition program to support incoming military-connected students,
• engage staff in annual professional development concerning how to identify and respond to the needs of military students and families,
• participate in a controlled open enrollment process (a school choice process with a finite start/end date) that reserves at least 5% of controlled open enrollment seats for military students, and
• participate in multiple additional activities to celebrate, raise awareness of, or engage the military and military-connected families.

The 2022-2023 school year is the inaugural year of the Florida Department of Education's Purple Star School of Distinction program. Nine district schools have earned the Purple Star designation. They are:

• Bailey Middle School
• Beulah Academy of Science
• Blue Angels Elementary School
• Escambia High School
• Global Learning Academy
• Jim Allen Elementary School
• N.B. Cook Elementary School
• Pine Meadow Elementary School
• West Florida High School