POLK COUNTY, Fla — More people are moving to Polk County than anywhere else in the country, which means more students.
Octavio Hernandez has been a teacher in Polk County Public Schools for a decade. He said his classroom looks a lot different these last few years.
“We’re exploding at the seams. The classroom sizes—the state law is 25, but classroom sizes are 30, 27, 33,” said Hernandez.
The algebra teacher said the student-teacher ratio plays a big part in a student’s ability to learn.
“When you have a smaller class size, it gives you more time to be one-on-one to actually help them with their needs and help them grow. When you have 33 kids in a class, it makes it more difficult,” Hernandez said.
People are picking up and planting roots in Polk County in record numbers.
Class size is just one of the challenges facing the school district as it tries to keep up with quickly increasing enrollments.
The district’s enrollment has increased by 5,000 students a year for the past three years, according to Superintendent Fred Heid. The projected enrollment of students this upcoming school year is 125,000.
“When our schools are open, we are the largest city in Polk County,” said Heid.
Haines City High School reached maximum capacity during the 2022-2023 school year. It is in the northeast portion of the county, which is seeing the most growth.
To relieve overcrowding in that area, a new high school is in the queue in Poincina. Heid said the district's strategy is not solely rooted in new construction.
“It’s a combination of rezoning our schools to ensure that we’re maximizing our efficiencies. That you don't have three schools over here that are over capacity but a neighboring school that’s only at 40% utilization,” said Heid.
The superintendent said the district's biggest challenge is teacher vacancies. There are about 300 openings. He said recruitment efforts have ramped up as the county grapples with a nationwide teacher shortage.
“Because of state initiatives, we’re able to collaborate with our local colleges and universities to get our para-educators to become certified instructors. We have several academies that are pre-education academies so we can start funneling our students who have an interest in potentially becoming teachers,” said Heid.
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