Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2227 union reached a tentative agreement on Dec. 14 for the 2023-2024 salary and benefits package totaling an increase of $4…

Polk County Public Schools announced on Dec. 13th, that a tuition-free, full-day preschool will soon be coming to Lakeland. Bezos Academy Lakeland will be housed in a section of Oscar J. Pope Elementary, at 2730 Maine Ave. in Lakeland. The…

Polk County Public Schools has announced our district’s principals of the year! Congratulations to Principal Wanda Aponte from Lake Marion Creek Middle, and Assistant Principal Gian Monacelli from Mulberry High. Aponte and Monacelli were…

Polk County Public Schools and the Polk Education Association have reached a tentative agreement regarding salaries and benefits for the 2023-24 fiscal year. PCPS has more than 13,000 employees. PEA represents approximately 9,000 of these…

Today was the final stop for the PCPS surprise patrol. Congratulations to the District 6 finalists for the 2023-24 Polk County Teacher and School Related Employee of the Year: - Kelsea Matthews, Teacher of the Year finalist, second-grade and ELA…

Guess what day it is! Hump Day. But also, the day we announce the District 3 finalists for the 2023-24 Polk County Teacher and School-Related Employee of the Year. Congratulations to: – Kelly Larrow, Teacher of the Year finalist, gifted…

Congratulations to our District 5 finalists for the 2023-24 Polk County Teacher and School-Related Employee of the Year: - Kara Holt, Teacher of the Year finalist, ESE facilitator, Sleepy Hill Middle - Debra Glisson, School-Related Employee of…

PCPS announced the District 7 finalists for the 2023-24 Polk County Teacher and School-Related Employee of the Year: – Elizabeth Ashmore, Teacher of the Year finalist, third-grade teacher, Padgett Elementary – Laura Kovachy,…

Lake Region High’s football stadium will receive a new name on Friday night (Sept. 15). The stadium is being named in honor of Stephen White, LRHS’ first principal, who will be in attendance. The name will be officially announced…

McLaughlin Academy of Excellence will host a celebration on Tuesday (Sept. 12) to recognize students enrolled within its newest career-readiness program. More than 100 students are currently enrolled within the Duke Energy Academy. Through this…

May 25 Event to Celebrate Crystal Lake Elementary Becoming a UCF-Certified Community Partnership School A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at Crystal Lake Elementary to celebrate the school becoming a Community Partnership School certified…

Good morning, - The Polk County School Board will have a work session at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, followed by a regular board meeting at 5 p.m. Please see our website for details:…

Rick Runion has joined the media relations team here at Polk County Public Schools. He is a veteran photojournalist and has spent the past several years as a teacher with PCPS. For all media inquiries to PCPS, please contact…

Polk County Public Schools will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, March 9, for Central Florida Aerospace Academy – Winter Haven Senior High. The event will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 9, at the Winter Haven Regional…

Polk County Public Schools is asking the community to help name our newest elementary school. The school, located at 9525 State Highway 653 in Winter Haven, is expected to open in August 2023. Measuring 126,834 square feet, the school will serve…

Polk Education Foundation Receives AT&T Full STEAM Ahead for Florida’s Future Grant to Fund Learning Innovation and provides $5,000 to Berkley Charter School! Students at Berkley Charter School will benefit from a statewide investment…

Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) and Varsity Tutors have launched a new online tutoring partnership that brings live instruction and lessons to 40,000 students across the district. The first-of-its-kind program enables district educators to…

Polk County Public Schools’ graduation rate decreased to 78.3 percent in 2021-2022, according to the latest data released today by the Florida Department of Education. District officials continue to analyze the data, but they anticipated a…