Dear PCPS parents and guardians,
It’s hard to believe, but the summer is almost over and the 2024-25 school year is nearly here!
The first day of school for students is Monday, Aug. 12.
Below are some important back-to-school updates to help you get ready for another exciting year of learning:
- New technology will help deter motorists from illegally passing our buses during stops.
- Another tech upgrade on our buses will improve how we monitor student ridership, and parents can access a mobile app to know when their child’s bus is picking up or dropping off at stops. This technology will be slowly rolled out in coordination with Student IDs over first quarter.
- We also included a summary of how our students and schools performed on the latest statewide assessments — many achieved significant gains! There is much to celebrate but more work to be done.
In addition, I would like to take a moment and share some exciting details about our new initiative: Polk Together.
As part of this effort, we are launching a new website – polktogether.com — to serve as a convenient, one-stop clearinghouse for family and community engagement information.
Throughout the year, we will also be hosting family engagement conferences where families can learn more about education-related topics and resources available to them. Our first conferences will take place on Oct. 5 at Davenport High and Oct. 12 at Kathleen High.
You will hear more about Polk Together in the weeks, months, and years to come!
Polk Together is our commitment to fostering strong two-way communication and positive, productive relationships between our schools, students’ families, and community partners.
Working together, we can help students achieve their highest potential and foster a passion for lifelong learning. We can build a solid foundation of trust, and a spirit of collaboration, if we keep in mind that we all want students to succeed.
We must always listen to our stakeholders and do our very best to address their needs and concerns. This mindset will help us better serve students and assist our families with becoming true partners — not passengers — in public education. With your support and encouragement, we can bring out the very best in your child.
Please enjoy the rest of your summer. We look forward to your children returning to our classrooms. Thank you for taking the time to review this extensive back-to-school guide.
Sincerely,
Fred Heid
Superintendent
Polk County Public Schools