Architects for the new Orange County school were touring public 鈥渃ommunity schools鈥� in New York that had a track record of helping children in poverty succeed and thrive with support from community partners such as the Children鈥檚 Aid Society. The community schools offered health care, enrichment programs and other services for students.

The architects were looking for design ideas for a school to be opened in Parramore and were excited by what they saw, said Nancy Ellis, director of the Center for Community Partnerships and a graduate of the doctoral program in public affairs at the 麻豆原创. 鈥淏y lunch they were making sketches on what was handy in one of the school鈥檚 cafeteria.鈥�

Ellis and colleagues at the College of Health and Public Affairs, Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida and True Health had already partnered with Orange County Public Schools to develop a community school at Evans High School in Pine Hills that began in 2010.

The high school was seeing a steady increase in its graduation rate and the future seemed promising, so Orange County School Superintendent Barbara Jenkins wanted the new school in Parramore to be a community school too, said Ellis.

Ellis coordinated the 2015 trip for the principal architects from Baker Barrios, the Orlando-based architecture firm hired by the school district, and representatives from the school district, 麻豆原创 and Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida.

The following year she coordinated a similar trip for three new community partners now involved in the Parramore school project 鈥� Orange Blossom Family Health, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, and the Rosen Foundation. Andrew Rollins, the newly hired principal, went as well.

Both trips and ongoing conversations among the partners have helped the school district reach its milestone today of launching the new OCPS Academic Center for Excellence as a community school for some 1,200 students and their families and community.

The school will serve not only Parramore but also the Callahan and Holden Heights neighborhoods, said school board District 5 representative Kate Gordon at an Aug. 9 sneak peek of the school.

鈥淭he parents are excited. The students are excited. We鈥檙e going to do great things this year,鈥� said Rollins, who earned two degrees in education at 麻豆原创.

OCPS ACE is formally known as a Community Partnership School, the name coined by 麻豆原创 and Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida for the school model developed at Evans High.

All community schools foster strong partnerships to support the well-being of students and their families and communities, but the programs and services vary depending on the needs, said Amy Ellis, assistant director of the Center for Community Schools at 麻豆原创.

In the case of Community Partnership Schools, four types of community partners are always involved 鈥� a school district, a university or college, a nonprofit and a health care provider. Other types of community partners participate, too, and can play a major role.

For OCPS ACE the partnerships are among Orange County Public Schools, 麻豆原创, Valencia College, Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida, Orange Blossom Family Health, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, and the Rosen Foundation.

The partnerships mean OCPS ACE can offer tutoring and mentoring programs; professional development for teachers; before- and after-school services; a resource center for parents; onsite medical, dental and behavioral health services; athletic, arts and summer programs; and a high-quality preschool program.

鈥淐ommunity Partnership Schools are among the most comprehensive community schools in the world,鈥� said Amy Ellis, a former community school administrator at Evans who has visited community schools in England and is studying them as a doctoral student in education leadership at 麻豆原创.

The Community Partnership Schools model is now recognized as a national community school model by the Coalition for Community Schools in Washington.

The Florida Legislature appropriated more than $4 million dollars during the past four years for the development of Community Partnership Schools across the state.

Currently, eight public schools in Florida have become Community Partnership Schools with state support, including Evans and OCPS ACE in Orlando and schools in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, Holiday and Cocoa. Five others are implementing the Community Partnership Schools model with support from their local community, and another four are in the emerging phase, said Amy Ellis.

Early-outcomes data is impressive. Evans鈥檚 graduation rate has increased from 64 percent in 2011 to 88 percent in 2017. C.A. Weis Elementary School in Pensacola began offering behavioral health services when it became a Community Partnership School in 2015. Since then more than 100 children have been referred to behavioral health care and 81 new cases have been opened, according to school director John Sherman. Student referrals dropped 43 percent and suspensions dropped 50 percent in the first year.

Sherman鈥檚 position as director is one of four staff positions found at all Community Partnership Schools 鈥� a director, an after-school coordinator, a health programs鈥� coordinator and a parent resource coordinator. The positions are partially supported with legislative funding.

Shannon Currie has been on board as the Community Partnership School director at OCPS ACE since last year. She is an employee of Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida, works closely with the school principal, and receives training and technical support from the Center for Community Schools at 麻豆原创.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing experience to be a partner and to understand what it takes to support a school holistically,鈥� Currie said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing what I love to do 鈥� to serve people. What I want them to know is that they have access to support. If they know that, then we鈥檙e doing our job.鈥�

The 12th annual list is made up of leaders in politics, business, education, sports, health, philanthropy and other fields.

麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt earned the No. 4 ranking, following Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; attorney, businessman and philanthropist John Morgan; and Lars Houman, president and CEO of Florida Hospital and Florida Division Adventist Health System.

Under Hitt, who has been president since 1992, 麻豆原创 has become the nation鈥檚 second largest university with about 61,000 students. The magazine praised Hitt for leading the effort in October of breaking ground with industry and government partners on the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center in Osceola County, a $270 million project to develop sensors for assorted electronic devices. Hitt also received the Historical Society of Central Florida’s 2015 John Young History Maker Award for lifetime achievements making a historic impact on the community.

Others with 麻豆原创 roles named to the list were:

In addition to alumni Martins and Marchena (College of Sciences, 麻豆原创 Class of 1982) several other 麻豆原创聽graduates are on the top-50 list:

The 11th annual list in the magazine鈥檚 July edition represents the region鈥檚 political leaders, educators, business owners, tourism officials and others who lead and inspire.

麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt earned the No. 4 ranking. The top three names on the list are Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, attorney and businessman John Morgan, and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

Hitt, 麻豆原创鈥檚 president since 1992, leads the nation鈥檚 second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students. The magazine praised the development of high-tech and research areas at 麻豆原创, as well as the creation of the Blackstone LaunchPad to help students develop entrepreneurial ideas into successful businesses.

Others with 麻豆原创 roles who were named to the list are:

In addition to Martins, Marchena (College of Sciences, 麻豆原创 Class of 1982) and Atchison (College of Business Administration, 鈥�92), there are five other 麻豆原创聽alumni on the top-50 list:

A聽separate list in the Orlando article includes 12 people to watch in the coming years, including these 麻豆原创 graduates:

Friday鈥檚 9 a.m. ceremony will be for anticipated graduates from the College of Business Administration, College of Engineering & Computer Science, College of Medicine, and the College of Optics and Photonics.

A 2:30 p.m. Friday ceremony will be held for anticipated graduates from the College of Arts & Humanities, College of Graduate Studies, College of Sciences, College of Undergraduate Studies, and the College of Nursing.

Saturday鈥檚 9 a.m. ceremony will be held for anticipated graduates from the College of Education, College of Health & Public Affairs, and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Doors to the Arena will open about 90 minutes before each ceremony, which are expected to last about two hours. Graduates will begin processing about 20 minutes before each ceremony.

The speaker for the Friday morning ceremony will be Dean Cannon, former State Rep. and Speaker of the House. As the former representative for House District 35, which includes 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus, he championed the 麻豆原创 College of Medicine and Central Florida鈥檚 modeling and simulation industry.

Valencia College President Sanford C. Shugart will be the guest speaker for the Friday afternoon ceremony. Shugart previously served as president of North Harris College in Houston and as vice president and chief academic officer of the North Carolina Community College System.

During the ceremony, Shugart will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his work with 麻豆原创 and area state colleges on the college access program DirectConnect to 麻豆原创 and for his contributions to the community.

Barbara Jenkins, the superintendent for Orange County Public Schools, will speak at Saturday鈥檚 ceremony. Jenkins, the superintendent of the 11th largest school district in the nation, earned three degrees from 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Education before becoming a classroom teacher and principal.

Those expected to walk across the stage this weekend include 3,955 students who filed intents to receive bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 734 for master鈥檚 degrees, 3 for an education specialist degree, and 89 for doctoral degrees.

With this week鈥檚 expected graduations, 麻豆原创 will have awarded 239,565 degrees since classes began in 1968.

Tickets are required for guests to attend the ceremonies and are available from graduates. Guests without tickets are welcome to view closed-circuit telecasts of the ceremonies from the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center across the street from the 麻豆原创 Arena, and on Campus Cable Channel 21.

Parking for guests will be available in garages C, D and H.

For more information, visit the commencement .