Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) serves approximately 103,378 students of which 14,327 students have been identified as eligible for Exceptional Student Education (ESE). Eligible students with disabilities are provided services from age 3 through age 22. ESE services are available at all public-school sites throughout the district. PCPS is committed to providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to all students who receive ESE services in accordance with federal, state, and local mandates.

In keeping with this philosophy, PCPS:

Additional resources regarding Child Find, Parent Services, Professional Development, and more can be accessed at https://www.fdlrs-sunrise.com/

The ESE Department is in need of paraprofessionals. Graduation from an accredited high school or completion of GED, sixty (60) or more college credit hours or an Associate's degree or higher from an accredited school, or a passing score on the Para Pro exam required. If you know of someone who has the drive to provide assistance to students who receive ESE services, encourage them to apply at https://www.polkschoolsfl.com

The Middle School Region is "piloting" an automated google form that is used to document ESE Inclusion Services. The IEP Implementation Log document is easy to use and time efficient with all data downloaded directly from Enrich. The google form is pre-populated based on IEP data from Enrich, which allows teachers to use drop-down box options instead of manually typing in the data. The data is automatically saved in an Excel spreadsheet and uploaded monthly to each student’s file.

Davenport School of the Arts (DSA) creates schoolwide, class, and student WIGS (Wildly Important Goals). This allows students at DSA to look at what gaps currently exist between where they are and where they want to be as a school, class, and as individuals. All students come up with their own individual goals they want to work on academically and personally. They then create an action plan that is broken down into more manageable steps. All students routinely track, check, and update progress in their individualized Student Data Notebooks. When creating academic goals, each student looks at their STAR data and choses areas they need to improve in that will help increase their proficiency in reading and math. Most students, including ESE students, have already started to see gains towards their goals when looking at their September to October STAR assessments. Some students have not reached their grade level benchmark; however, they are still progressing which is reason to celebrate their increases and encourage their continued efforts. Even those that may have had a set back at this time can reflect on what they and their teachers may need to adjust moving forward to support their progress.

Student Spotlight. Mulberry Middle School was proud to name Connor Logan as 7th grade Student of the Month for November. Connor is described as someone who brightens the day of everyone he meets. He works hard on his academics and was recently inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Connor is friendly, kind, and does a fantastic job of encouraging others. The Student of the Month award is voted on by the Mulberry Middle School staff, so it is a very select group who are named. We are so proud of Connor’s accomplishment!

McLaughlin Middle School's Exceptional Student Agriculture Program is growing! According to staff, they recently welcomed four donkeys to their chicken, goat, rabbit, hog, and human family. The Farm is managed and maintained by McLaughlin's two classrooms for students with Intellectual Disabilities.

The students are responsible for maintaining the property, caring for the animals, and growing a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The program is currently funded through the student sales of fresh farm eggs, produce, woodworking projects, and staff donations.

As the program expands, they hope to provide more students opportunities to learn skills for independent functioning and future employment.

Kudos to Principal, Dr. Deborah Wright-Hudson, on her leadership and support for this unique style of hands-on learning!!

The North-East Area ESE Region has been supporting our High School Region by collaborating with our amazing school-based LEA (Local Education Agency) facilitators, our wonderful ESE School Administrators, our outstanding School Guidance Counselors, and our great ESE staff; to ensure that our students with disabilities, who are Seniors this year are on track to graduate. It takes the entire North- East Area team; consisting of the Senior Manager, the Staffing Specialists, and the District Coach to look at each student’s student record, review standardized assessments, verify scheduling needs, and coordinate any remaining courses, or assessments that must be completed, for students to meet all the graduation requirements. This task requires teamwork between the Learning Support Division, the high school-based teams to support our students with disabilities, and cooperation with our parents and guardians in meeting the needs of our graduating seniors. While this task is daunting, our teams all work collectively to verify that our students with disabilities are making progress in their rigorous academic courses and meeting state requirements to achieve their personal and academic goals.

As families begin finalizing university selections for their students, it is essential to explore options available within our state college system in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Several resources are listed below as families begin this college journey.

Please see below which features a flyer from the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) for more information on virtual mini camps on college admissions workshops.

Chandra Hall, Lisa Miller, Carley Jackson, Tiffany Kitchens, Kris Newman-Lake

Look at all the stars! Our students are working hard and enjoying the rewards they earn. Students at Doris Sanders Learning Center are using a token economy system designed to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors. How do token economy rewards systems work? Students receive tokens immediately after displaying a preferred behavior. Once they earn the required number of tokens, they exchange them for their predetermined reward! Our students are thriving with this system, enjoying choosing what they are working to earn.

These pictures show various students using their token economy boards in their classroom at Doris Sanders Learning Center.

This student is using the CORE vocabulary board in class.

If you have any questions about our ESE Pre-K program, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kris Newman-Lake at kris.newman-lake@polk-fl.net.

Below is a wide variety of resources and professional development opportunities related to exceptional student education. We hope you find these resources helpful!

The following are the dates for our parent trainings. Parents can email Stephanie Brooks directly if they have questions related to any of the trainings. Her email address is stephanie.brooks@polk-fl.net .

Florida Inclusion Network (FIN) Administration Project Professional Development The FIN Administration Project is pleased to announce the availability of a new 10-hour independent course, “Building Inclusive Schools,” in the Bureau of Exceptional Student Education (BESE) Portal to Professional Development Alternatives. This course provides information to assist district and school administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders in creating and supporting an inclusive school culture for all students. Units lead participants through a brief viewing of disability history, establishing a vision and processes for an inclusive school culture, focusing on the components of universal education, and implementing specially designed instruction and individual supports so that all students with disabilities exit school as college, career and life ready. To view the BESE Portal to Professional Development Alternatives, go to https://fl-pda.org/#/home.

Parents can go to the FDLRS website and use the Google Form link for the course of their choice to register. Our web address is: http://www.fdlrs-sunrise.com/.

Parent Webinar Series available on our FDLRS website daily include (links are live):

Age of Majority Parent Webinar

Teachers interested in professional development opportunities offered through FDLRS please access the information using the following link:

The chart below provides a list of the ESE Senior Managers, their contact information, and the area that he/she is responsible for supervising.

Driving: 1915 South Floral Ave., Bartow, FL 33830

Mailing: P.O. Box 391, Bartow, FL 33831

Send what's happening at your school to ESEConnections@polk-fl.net.