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 (9) 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

In 2023-2024, eleven (11) additional Escambia County Public Schools Earned Purple Star School of Distinction Recognition. They are:

• Bellview Elementary
• Beulah Elementary
• Hellen Caro Elementary
• Lipscomb Elementary
• Pleasant Grove Elementary
• Brown Barge Middle School
• Ernest Ward Middle School
• J.H. Workman Middle School
• Booker T. Washington High School
• J.M. Tate High School
• Pine Forest High School