Polk County Public Schools
In order to celebrate Disability History and Awareness Weeks a series of 10 videos has been developed to show to students throughout the Polk County School District beginning October 20, 2008. Each video is approximately 3 minutes in length and there is an optional follow-up activity at the end of the video. Classroom teachers may use classroom projectors to show the videos, or students can access individual computers to view.
Select a video from the list below and click the Play button to begin.
Florida Senate Bill 856 created “Disability History and Awareness Instruction.” The bill was signed into law by Governor Crist on June 13, 2008. It allows districts to designate two weeks of October as Disability Awareness and History weeks. The School District of Polk County will designate October 20-31, 2008 as Disability Awareness and History weeks at the School Board meeting on October 14, 2008. There are approximately 400,000 students with disabilities in Florida’s K-12 education system. The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 is founded on four principles: inclusion, full participation, economic self-sufficiency, and equality of opportunity for all people with disabilities. A key method of promoting these four principles if for our schools to provide instruction in disability history and people with disabilities. The Exceptional Student Education Department has provided posters to the schools to display entitled “We Are All More Alike Than Different,” and will be showing a daily video highlighting a variety of disabilities, a famous person with a disability, and a student with the same disability. Additionally, in a community effort the District will participate in Disability Mentoring Day on October 15, 2008.
Polk County’s Exceptional Student Education Department meets the needs of over 15,000 students from preschool through 22 years of age. A continuum of services is provided for each of the exceptionalities. Transition programs are also available to those students who are graduating with a special diploma so that they may become functional adults within their society. The ESE Department has over 800 teachers that participate in in-service training throughout the year to insure continued success for the children and young adults that they serve. Additional support services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, mental health counseling, assistive technology and audiological evaluations are provided to the students as needed.
The Exceptional Student Education Department enhances the instructional program of every school by helping students who are encountering roadblocks to successful learning.
The Polk County Schools’ ESE Department is supervised by a Director. There are five Senior Managers that serve as liaisons to schools within their designated areas. The Senior Managers assist parents with providing programming needs for their children. If you have any questions or need addition information, please call the ESE District Office at 534-0930 and the secretary will direct your concerns to the appropriate person.
| Name: | Title & Location: | Phone: | Fax: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nancy Woolcock | Assistant Superintendent of Learning Support | 534-0931 | |
| Norma Hayes | ESE Director | 534-0930 | 519-8407 |
| Leslie Allore | Senior Manager Northwest Area Office 304 North Fern Road, Lakeland, FL 33801 |
499-2826 | 499-2882 |
| Teri Crace | Senior Manager Northeast Area 945 N Buena Vista Blvd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850 |
956-2082 | 956-2088 |
| Lisa Martin | Senior Manager Southwest Area - Lakeland Highlands Middle 740 Lake Miriam Drive, Lakeland, FL 33813 |
648-3248 | 648-3254 |
| Teri Bronson | Senior Manager Southeast Area Office 1785 East Wabash, Bartow, FL 33830 |
534-7480 | 519-3627 |
| Nancy Skelly | Senior Manager Countywide - Karen Siegel Academy 945 N. Buena Vista Blvd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850 |
968-5123 | 968-5124 |
| Vacant | Senior Manager Transition - Bartow Municipal Airport #270, Bartow, FL 33830 |
534-0934 | 519-8861 |
| Angela Bottom | Senior Manager Bartow Municipal Airport #270, Bartow, Fl 33830 |
519-8870 | 519-7559 |
Visit our Staff Directory to contact any staff member via e-mail.