The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Math. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Whiddon Rodgers Education Center
Whiddon-Rogers Education Center sits in Fort Lauderdale, a few blocks south of the New River, and operates as a public alternative school within Broward County Schools. Understanding what that means in practice is the starting point for any family considering it.
Alternative schools in Florida typically serve students who are not thriving in a conventional setting, whether due to academic, behavioral, credit-recovery, or other circumstances. The grade band here spans sixth through twelfth grade, but the enrollment pattern tells that story plainly: the vast majority of students are concentrated in the upper grades, with very few in the middle grades. That shape strongly suggests this functions primarily as a credit-recovery and re-engagement pathway for older students working toward a diploma rather than a traditional middle-into-high-school progression. A parent whose child is in that situation should ask the school directly about its specific program model, how credits are earned, and what the pathway to graduation looks like.
A substantial share of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school squarely in a high-need population context. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic population and very small shares of other groups. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
On state assessments, the school reports results for seventh and eighth grade in math and ELA, and for eighth grade in science. Proficiency rates across all three subjects are low relative to what Florida's state assessments would typically show at a well-resourced comprehensive school. Science proficiency in eighth grade is particularly thin. These numbers are worth understanding in context: alternative schools serving students who have experienced disrupted schooling, credit gaps, or other barriers often show suppressed test scores that reflect the population's entering circumstances more than what the school is actively doing. That does not make the numbers irrelevant, and a parent should ask the school how students are progressing once enrolled and what the school's own completion and transition data look like. A graduation rate was not reported in the data available here, which is a meaningful gap given that diploma attainment is the central purpose of a school like this.
Program details were not available in what was provided. Whether the school offers career and technical coursework, dual enrollment, or specific wraparound supports is something a family would need to ask directly. Chronic absenteeism data was also absent.
Fort Lauderdale itself is a city of sharp contrasts by neighborhood. The block containing this school is in a section of the city distinct from the high-rise downtown corridor that has seen intensive residential development along Las Olas and in Flagler Village. Publicly reported development activity suggests the city is adding a large volume of new housing stock, concentrated downtown, with projects ranging from large mixed-use towers to eventual redevelopment of the Galleria Mall site. The housing market here is expensive relative to state and national medians, and rent as a share of income is high, making affordability a genuine constraint for many families in this part of Broward County. Transit options include Broward County Transit, the Sun Trolley, Brightline intercity rail, and a water taxi network, which gives Fort Lauderdale more transit infrastructure than much of suburban South Florida.
For Broward County Schools district-level changes that might affect Whiddon-Rogers, the research did not surface confirmed recent developments, so that context was left out rather than guessed at.
The school fits a specific family circumstance: a student who needs an alternative path to completing their secondary education within the Broward public system. For that student, the right questions are about program structure, student supports, and outcomes data that this school can provide directly, since the standardized metrics available here tell only part of the picture.
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