Beulah Middle students showcase Digital Discoveries Academy, report hundreds of credential completions

Director Tom Harrell introduced students from Beulah Middle School’s Digital Discoveries Academy and praised teachers for high certification totals. “LaRenee’s students earned 665 digital tool certificates,” Harrell said, and he noted that Ina Floyd Johnson’s students earned “119 social media strategist certifications and 208 additional digital tools.”

Ina Floyd Johnson, who leads the program at Beulah Middle, thanked the board and introduced students who described classroom projects teaching Google tools, typing, financial literacy and employability skills. Sixth-grader Danielle Lee said program work — from typing club to Google Docs projects — builds confidence and “real world” abilities for future academic and career success. Eighth-grader Renee Robbins, who participates in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), said the organization helps members become “more confident when speaking to others” and prepares them for leadership and teamwork.

Other students described hands-on learning in TV production, creating and editing segments, and exposure to high-school career academies such as Tate High School’s Multimedia Academy and Pine Forest’s program. Jan Stewart, an eighth-grader, said the pathways helped her plan to major in architecture at West Florida and later attend Florida State University.

Board members offered unanimous praise. One member described the student group as “one of the most articulate groups I’ve seen in a long time,” and several thanked teachers and administrators, including Dr. Murphy and Elizabeth Buswell, for supporting the visit. The board invited parents of the presenting students to stand and acknowledged the program as a model for career and technical education across the district.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; the students were invited to remain for the regular monthly meeting.