Newsletter: September 2025

Elbert Elementary’s students and staff enjoying their rebuilt campus complete with new classrooms and other amenities

Elbert Elementary

The Eagles are back and ready to learn!

For the past two years, Elbert temporarily relocated while a complete modernization could take place.

“We now have a beautiful campus that will serve the community for many years to come,” said Principal Julie Thomas.

This year, the campus reopened with fresh classrooms, science labs, a cafetorium, TV studio, media center, an early learning center, two playgrounds, and designated areas for car lines and buses.

Elbert instills positive values within its students, including the importance of teamwork, accountability, honesty and integrity. The school hosts open houses, book fairs, and academic learning nights to foster clear and open communication with families.

The school has also built strong partnerships within the community, including several local churches and businesses that support its teachers and staff. These partners include Winter Haven Baptist Church, Redeemer Winter Haven Presbyterian Church, Keller Williams Realty and Suffolk Construction, just to name a few.

Jewett School of the Arts is a fine arts academy with special areas of study, including visual arts, dance, music, theatre and more.

Jewett School of the Arts

Jewett School of the Arts earned an “A” grade for the first time in 13 years!

What’s the secret?

Principal Michael Sears credits his hard-working students and incredible staff for their intense focus on academic achievement.

“We are so proud of our students,” Sears said. “We set high goals, and they were driven to succeed. I can’t thank our teachers, staff and leadership team enough for working together and supplying the standards-based instruction and creative, engaging lessons to make this possible.”

The school is also a fine arts academy with many special areas of study in the visual arts, dance, music, theatre and more. Students’ families and the public can view students' abilities in showcases held throughout the year.

The school also hosts events to help parents learn about test-taking strategies for their children, and tools to foster good study habits. The school uses “data dives” to explain to parents how standards-based testing works, and how the data is used to help their students learn.

Lake Region High’s students earned more than $8.5 million in scholarships last year!

Lake Region High

Show me the money!

Lake Region High is proud of its students’ academic achievement, which is helping them earn huge scholarship dollars. Last year alone, Lake Region students earned an astounding $8,591,000 collectively in scholarship offers!

“This figure reflects not only their academic excellence but also their dedication, resilience, and ambition,” said Principal Amy King. “Each scholarship represents a story of hard work, late nights, and a commitment to achieving future goals.”

The school has many different interesting areas of study. The new 3DE program by Junior Achievement focuses on students tackling modern problems faced by businesses. They rely upon their knowledge, talents and skills to develop a plan and professionally present their findings — just like a real-life corporate scenario.

Lake Region also celebrates student achievement through the Renaissance program. Students receive special celebrations and fun activities for positive behavior, improved academic performance and good attendance.

“By spotlighting student accomplishments and creating shared experiences, the Renaissance program strengthens the bond between school, families, and our wider community,” King said.

Doris A. Sanders Learning Center students recently got a hands-on lesson about turtles. The educational center serves students with varying exceptionalities.

The Ignite Leadership Program is helping PCPS employees explore and prepare for potential leadership roles.

Ignite Leadership Program

The Ignite Leadership Program helps PCPS employees learn what it takes to become the district’s leaders of the future. The program — now in its third year — is creating a strong pool of internal talent who could apply for potential leadership roles.

The goal is to create a succession plan, keep PCPS running smoothly, and minimize any disruption if administrator vacancies suddenly arise.

Through this program, high-performing employees can participate in job-shadowing and mentor opportunities with experienced assistant principals, principals and district administrators.

Teacher leaders, instructional coaches and senior coordinators can explore the skills and traits necessary to become assistant principals.

Assistant principals can team up with principals to learn what it takes to become the top leader of an entire school.

Principals interested in district leadership roles can discover what the next step in their career will require.

Mulberry High’s JROTC program won its first Florida State Air Rifle Championship in January 2025

JROTC Program – Mulberry High

The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) is an important program at many PCPS schools and is sponsored by the U.S. Armed Forces. JROTC instills discipline and develops leadership skills that students will use in their future military service, or wherever life takes them.

We will share spotlights from several different programs over the next several editions of PCPS Proud. This month, we salute Mulberry High!

Mulberry High’s JROTC program really hit the bullseye in 2025 with a historic year!

The MHS team won the top prize at the 2025 Army JROTC State Championship, held at Island Coast High in Cape Coral in January.

Steven Beck, the MHS rifle team instructor, said he thinks this is the first state title in school history. Beck started the team just a few years ago, and they placed 18th at their first state competition.

Mulberry has also won three consecutive county titles.

They continued their historic year by qualifying for their first JROTC National Championship in Camp Perry, Ohio. They finished fourth in the U.S. Army and 11th place overall out of all the armed forces.

The Teacher Apprenticeship Program is creating an alternative pathway for paraeducators to become teachers.

Teacher Apprenticeship Program

Our school district is partnering with Polk State College to expand the local teacher talent pool.

The Teacher Apprenticeship Program creates an alternative pathway for paraeducators to enter the teaching profession through on-the-job training.

Educational expenses for these aspiring educators will be covered by Polk State College through a grant made possible by the Florida Department of Education.

As they work toward their degrees, the paraeducators will spend two years in the classroom with mentor teachers to develop their instructional skills. During this period, PCPS will be paying for their salary and benefits. Once they complete the program, they'll have a job waiting for them.

Seven PCPS paraeducators are taking advantage of this unique opportunity to earn their degrees from Polk State and become certified teachers.

“These teacher apprentices are doing very well,” said Ann Everett, senior director of Acceleration and Innovation. “They are genuinely supportive and encourage each other in their coursework and in their teacher apprentice role. They are amazing individuals, and we can’t wait for them to achieve their goal of becoming teachers.”

Safe Kids Florida Suncoast

Johns Hopkins All Children is the lead agency for Safe Kids Florida Suncoast — a coalition of health and safety experts working to decrease the number of preventable childhood injuries.

Safe Kids Florida Suncoast focuses on decreasing motor vehicle related injuries in kids and teens, increasing properly fitted bike and other wheeled sport helmet usage, and decreasing fatal and non-fatal drownings of children of all ages.

The organization has provided bicycle and pedestrian education to 950 Polk County students, as well as fit and distribute brand new helmets to 709 children. Students also participate in a Bicycle Safety Poster Contest. In Polk County, the organization reached 2,617 students representing nine schools through this initiative.