• In the last five years, Polk had 215 students recognized in various levels of the National Merit Scholar program.
• Three Polk teachers in the past six years were Florida Teacher of the Year finalists, one winning the state title.
• 28 students were honored for prefect FCAT scores in reading and math in 2009.
• Polk County Schools is ranked 19^th in the nation for the number of National Board Certified Teachers.
• 169 seniors attained Superintendent’s Scholars status with at least a 3.74 GPA and high scores on the SAT or ACT in 2009.
• The Polk County School District’s Florida Department of Education grade was a “B” for both 2008 and 2009.
• More than two-thirds of Polk County Schools received an A or B grade from the state in 2009.
• 32,000 volunteers provided more than 1.7 million volunteer hours and 12,000 students performed 130,000 hours of community service.
• NASA has awarded Polk County Public Schools a $1.4 million grant to enhance the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, an aviation-oriented career academy for high school students.
• 27 Polk schools received the prestigious Five Star School designation for outstanding community service and community involvement.
• The Polk County School District has applied for and received over $315 million in grants over the past five years to benefit students.
• The Polk County School District was named a Top Employer for African Americans by Black Collegian Magazine.
• The Polk County School Board was named School Board of the Year by the Florida Alliance for the Arts.
• The Polk County School Board received the Kennedy Center’s Award for excellence in arts and education.
• Superintendent Gail F. McKinzie, Ph.D. was named Administrator of the Year by the Florida Music Educators Association.
• Over the last three years, the Community Relations Department’s efforts to inform and engage the community have resulted in 16 awards from state and local professional PR organizations.
• More than 2,049 classrooms throughout Polk County Public Schools were upgraded with state-of-the-art digital, wireless and audio technology to enhance the learning process.
• For five consecutive years, the school district has received a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for satisfying nationally recognized criteria and guidelines.
• Polk County Schools recently received the Top Performer Award from the EPA and US Department of Energy for energy conservation.
• State reports show that Polk has the best energy conservation program among Florida school districts. Polk’s energy consumption is the lowest of any Florida school district.
• For safety and security, digital cameras were installed on all busses that were purchased after 2006.

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