The Polk County School Board meeting room was awash in rainbow colors Tuesday evening for the district’s annual Pride Proclamation.
Category: Schools
Posted inNews, Schools
Polk School District Considers Hiring-Policy Changes After Scrutiny of Teacher Charged with Sexual Battery
Polk County Public Schools is proposing a major change in its hiring practices after a special education teacher and basketball coach was hired at Haines City High School more than a year after he was found not guilty of sending a sexually explicit image to and kissing a student at Poinciana High School.
Posted inSchools, Sports
Polk Schools Consider Offering More Sports, Especially for Girls
Polk County Public Schools is considering adding four sports to its lineup to stem a decline in girls sports participation.
Posted inSchools, Social Services
Program Offers Free Summer Meals for Any Child at 33 Lakeland Sites
Polk County’s school system is participating in a statewide Summer Breakspot program to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all children up to 18 years old. Nearly three dozen schools, businesses, and city recreation centers are taking part in the program in Lakeland, with more than 70 schools participating throughout Polk County.
Posted inSchools
School Superintendent: Challenged Books Will Return to Libraries After Opt-In/Opt-Out Plan Developed
The 16 books that had been challenged as inappropriate for youth should be returned to Polk public school library shelves, schools Superintendent Frederick Heid has determined. But several of the books will not go back to elementary or middle school shelves, based on the recommendations of two committees that reviewed the books. The books will […]
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Attorney: School Board Not Required to Vote on Challenged Books
Polk County School Board members learned Tuesday that it will not be necessary for them to vote on whether to allow 16 challenged books back into school libraries, The Ledger reports. They had anticipated voting on the issue at their May 10 meeting after two committees complete their reviews of the books, which were challenged […]
Posted inSchools
School Board to Discuss Challenged Books Today as Committees Recommend Returning Two More to High School Libraries
Polk School Board members will discuss the 16 books challenged as inappropriate for students at their 12:30 work session today but have delayed a vote on the books until May 10, The Ledger reports. The two committees reviewing the books voted last week to return two more — “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and […]
Posted inSchools
Two More Books Should Be Returned to School Libraries, Committees Recommend
Two more books that were challenged as inappropriate for those under 18 should be returned to Polk County middle and high school libraries, two review committees recommended. The Ledger reports that “Thirteen Reasons Why” got 16 votes out of 18 for return to middle and high schools, and “Real Live Boyfriends” got 14 votes out […]
Posted inNews Roundup, Schools
Read It in the Morning Paper: Challenged Books, Charter School
CHALLENGED BOOKS: Two more books that were challenged as inappropriate for those under 18 should be returned to Polk County middle and high school libraries, two review committees recommended. The nonfiction ”It’s Perfectly Normal” got 14 votes out of 18 for return to middle and high schools, and the novel “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” […]
Posted inActivism, Schools
Ukrainian Student at FSC Prompts Drive for Medical Goods, Donations
Daily conversations with her family in Ukraine and images of war prompted Florida Southern College student Maria Rezhylo to work with the Student Government Association to collect medical goods and monetary donations to be sent to her homeland, News Channel 8 reports. Medical supplies are being collected on campus through April 7 and monetary donations […]