Polk County Public Schools
License plate tag project to raise funds for elementary art programs
The artwork of Polk County public school students is now available for sale to be displayed on the license plates of vehicles or other favorite places.
With the start of the 2008-2009 school year, seven community partners launched the Polk County Kids Tag Art project where fifth graders created art to be used for individual poly-vinyl specialty license plates. Designs were drawn by more than 4,200 fifth graders in approximately 70 schools and judges chose the top 134 designs to be sold to the public. The license plates sell for $15 and proceeds will raise funds for elementary art programs. The plates measure 12-inches by 6-1/4 inches.
The license plate designs for sale to the public can be ordered by visiting www.polktaxes.com and clicking the Polk County Kids Tag Art link. The Polk County Tax Collector’s Office is one of the community partners coordinating the project. The public can scroll through the winning tags and order a tag using the order form on the link. Tags ordered before December 10 will be delivered in time for the holidays.
Thirty-three Polk County teachers or guidance counselors earned prestigious certification or renewal certification in 2008 from the Arlington-Va.-based National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The NBPTS released the names of the 2008 class of national board certified teachers on December 9.
The school district began NBPTS certification programs in 1999 when 14 teachers became certified. Polk currently has a total of 345 NBPTS certified teachers. According to NBPTS, national board certified teachers make up approximately 7.8 percent of Florida’s teaching force.
NBPTS candidates go through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and includes intensive study, evaluation by experts, self-assessment and peer review. Through the process, they document deep knowledge of their subject area and demonstrate advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices. As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, video and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching.