Palm Cove Elementary - Where Everyday is a Home Run

Palm Cove Elementary opened in October 1992 and baseball is the way of life and learning at our school. Located in Pembroke Pines, Florida, the baseball inspiration came from the Florida Marlins as the National League team’s first season at nearby Joe Robbie Stadium began soon after Palm Cove opened. Our school’s mascot is “the players,” our school goal is “Teaming for Tomorrow,” the vision is “They’re building a club and we’re building a team.” Our school motto is to promote student achievement and celebrate all stakeholders in a safe, family-oriented environment.

Teamwork is a lot of what learning is all about. Team teaching, group learning, and a whole-language approach to education are all pedagogical trends that find a home at Palm Cove. The goal of using baseball terminology is to make learning fun, motivate the children, and keep students excited. Some of our key terms on how the game is played at the school: Boosters=PTA; Coaches=Teachers; Concession Stand=Cafeteria; Fan club=Parents; General manager=Principal; Grand slam=Straight A’s; Learning fields=Classrooms; Little leaguers=Kindergarten Students; Major Leaguers=Fifth-graders; Minor Leaguers=1st - 4th graders; Players=Students; Press box=School library.

Our school offers i-Ready computerized instruction, gifted/high achievers’ class referred to as PCE Excels program, Kindergarten through 5th grade autism spectrum disorder cluster classes, winter and spring academic afterschool camps for our Kindergarten through 5th grade students, as well as programs for our English language learners. Our administration staff averages more than 20 years of experience as leaders in Broward County Schools. Our teaching staff includes highly qualified teachers, a literacy coach, guidance counselor, ESE Specialist, and resource teachers. All our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms have gone digital and offer students a fresh approach to learning by enabling students to use digital devices and curriculum content for learning in the classroom. Students use Lenovo ThinkPad laptops equipped with the Clever application to provide access to all materials needed for class assignments. Wireless Laptop Carts are also used in all classrooms. The media center is now using NOOKs and Electronic tablets to help increase reading fluency for all students.

At Palm Cove Elementary, students can participate in daily core subjects such as mathematics, language arts, reading, science, and social students. They also attend special subject areas including computer lab, media center, music, physical education, and science lab. In addition, our extracurricular activities available to our students are chorus, piano club, violin club, safety patrol, student government, daily morning news led by our students, student leadership club, and peer mentorship program. In the Science Lab, students can apply the Science skills they learn in the classroom. Each week the students conduct hands-on experiments with their classmates and put into practice the FSA standards they are learning in the classroom.

Palm Cove Elementary is located at 11601 Washington Street in Pembroke Pines. We can be reached at (754) 323-6800 and encourage you to visit our school website www.browardschools.com/palmcove.

By Priscille Elie, Proud Principal