Diversity Management | District Information | Polk County Public Schools

Staff

Otis Anthony, Senior Director of Diversity Management
1915 South Floral Avenue - Bartow, FL 33831
519-3670 Ext. 51341 Fax: (863) 519-7548

Jodi Stidham, Secretary
519-3671 Ext. 53815

Biography

Otis Anthony is a native of Tampa, Florida, and a graduate of Blake High School. He hails from a family of nine children, wherein he was the first in the family to attend and graduate from college. Mr. Anthony has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, a Bachelor of Arts degree in African Studies, and a Masters degree in Urban Administration.

Mr. Anthony has served as the Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri and to the Mayor of Tampa, Florida. He has also served as a Conciliator for the U.S. Justice Department on minority relations issues. He has taught alternative education, peer mediation and students with learning disabilities. Mr. Anthony has given motivational speeches and lectures on public policy.

Mr. Anthony has been the host of his own television talk show, entitled “Keep the Dream Alive“ and the host of a popular radio talk show. He is a published poet and the author of Black Tampa, The Roots of a People, and A History of African-Americans in Tampa. The oral history component of his research is rich with the history and characters of the Hispanic communities in Ybor City and West Tampa where Anthony spent his childhood. His record of service to the community has also been featured in La Gaceta, the well-known Hispanic newspaper.

Mr. Anthony has received numerous awards; recognition and fellowships for his leadership ability and his work with young people. He was awarded a “Distinguished National Urban Fellowship, New York City." He is a graduate of Leadership Tampa and Leadership Florida sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce to ensure leaders of tomorrow. He is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Leadership Award from Tampa Organization of Black Affairs and the Youth Leadership Award from the Junior League of Tampa.

Otis Anthony believes in the power of mentorship for young students and developing professionals. His mentor in Polk County for two years was Ann Darby, former Mayor of Winter Haven and current Director of the Elderly Services Division, Polk County. His work with elderly services gave him the opportunity to serve a vulnerable population and their caregivers in workshops throughout the county. He currently plans to work diligently with parents and students throughout the district, implementing the educational vision of Dr. Gail McKinzie, Superintendent of Polk County Schools.

The Diversity Management office provides effective leadership to ensure the issues of diversity and inclusion are addressed:

Monitor academic progress of minority students and staff
Facilitate cooperation between staff, administration and community
Develop strategies that address demographic change in the school district
Research solutions to systemic barriers
Outreach to communities and churches
Advise on policies and minority relations

The Diversity Focus

Diversity Awareness means that Polk County School district is cognizant of the students, parents, volunteers, and communities we serve. We are proud to recognize that our district includes: Hispanic/Latino Americans, African Americans, Asians Americans, Native Americans, Arab Americans, Haitian/Creole Americans, Americans of European Descent and others.

Our goal is to be responsive to the diverse learning needs of all students regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender or national origin. Our success is based on a collaborative working relationship with our diverse stakeholders.

Rationale:

Diversity is a core set of values that emphasizes inclusion, empathy, teamwork, openness and a genuine respect for differences.
Diversity recognizes that we are all tied to a single garment of destiny and our fates are inextricably linked.
Diversity is leadership driven as opposed to externally driven by laws, sanctions, and decrees.
Diversity is a core value that is practiced and promoted by leadership in order to benefit from the intelligence, talents, and contributions of all staff members, including people of color.
Diversity deliberately creates an environment and climate of hope, belonging, acceptance, tolerance and consensus.
Diversity recognizes that change is here and that we are prepared to manage that change for the success of the organization and human relationships.

Diversity and the District, Diversity implies a clear grasp of demographic change and a willingness by leadership to examine the following:

Achievement and learning gains
Climate and culture of schools
Progress of school improvement plans
Attitudes and expectations of teachers and instructional leadership
Perceptions of minority students and staff
Parent and community involvement

Diversity and Barriers, Diversity is a leadership strategy that addresses possible systemic barriers to academic access and performance. Diversity strategies are data driven to determine such issues as:

Disproportionate number of minority students in low performing schools
Disproportionate number of minority students in exceptional student education
Disproportionate number of minority students in out of school suspension
Lack of access to advanced placement and honor classes
Program selection criteria that has the effect of exclusion
Absence of cultural images and diversity in curriculum and books
Absence of strategies to address the disproportionate number of low achieving minority students
Absence of an emphasis on college guidance for minority students
Absence of a preventive strategy to improve graduation rates of minority students
Retention rate of minority students

Initiatives

District's Collaborative Diversity Plan

Diversity Training for all instructional staff in conjunction with National Education Association
Develop an orientation on multicultural awareness for newly hired teachers
Implement 90 min. plus reading intervention for FCAT level 1 & 2 students
Increase the number of the minority students taking and passing Advanced Placement (AP) classes 9-12th grade
Encourage Supplemental Education and Enrichment FCAT level 1, 2, 3 students
Reduce out-of-school student suspensions
Monitor the progress of minority students academic improvement plan
Increase the number and variety of multicultural resource books in media services
Improve professional development of minority/bi-lingual teachers and administrators
Increase outreach to minority organizations, churches, and parents
Improve 10th grade FCAT level 1 & 2 reading scores of minority students
Decrease the number of minority students reading at FCAT Level 1 & 2
Increase the number of minority students performing at FCAT Level 3-5
Identify minority students at FCAT Level 3 or above for advanced classes and emphasis on college guidance
Ensure that curriculum and subject area text reflect changing demographics
Re-evaluate motivated students assigned to special education, ESE
Support the district's office of Supplier Diversity
Ensure gender equity and encourage female students in math, science and athletics
Mainstream the recruitment of minority/bi-lingual teachers in Human Resources
Infuse questions about diversity in all administrator interviews and hirings
Develop strategies to impact retention, drop-out and graduation rates of minorities

Diversity Goals

SP Strategy 1: We will ensure each student meets his/her academic and personal goals.

Diversity Goal: Ensure that pro-active strategies are implemented to both detect and eliminate any systemic barriers to minority students reaching his/her academic and personal goals.

SP Strategy 2: We will ensure that our instruction and curriculum meet the educational needs of each student.

Diversity Goal: Incorporate diversity benchmarks into the performance evaluation process for instructors and administrators. Recognize and provide incentives for those who initiate and implement innovative activities that make a difference in learning, diversity, multicultural education, and the unique contributions of minority history.

SP Strategy 3: We will establish a learning environment that ensures the academic and personal success of all students.

Diversity Goal: Promote initiatives that increase multicultural cooperation within the schools and community. Implement leadership team strategies that are designed to comprehensively impact academic performance, discipline sanctions and technology standards of low performing schools.

SP Strategy 4: We will guarantee effective staff.

Diversity Goal: Increase recruitment, retention, support, and professional development to ensure that instructors, staff and administrators reflect the changing demographics of our diverse community.

SP Strategy 7: We will acquire the resources necessary to accomplish our mission and allocate them pursuant to the strategic plan.

Diversity Goal: Encourage inclusive practices to ensure that every group in our community is a stakeholder and advocate for increased funding for Polk Schools.

SP Strategy 8: We will create a culture of articulation within a strategic organization to accomplish our mission.

Diversity Goal: Maintain a keen awareness of how traditions, customs, events and calendars are impacted by the broad diversity of a changing community.

Community Data

In Polk County schools there are 63 languages spoken, representing 151 countries.
Nearly 11,000 students in Polk County speak Spanish, 720 speak Haitian Creole and 100 speak Arabic Language.
39% of children age 0-17 in Polk County live below the Poverty Line. (19.3% of all children in Florida live below the Poverty Line)
As of February 2007, 58% of the students in Polk County met federal guidelines to qualify for free or reduced lunch.
59 out of 155 schools in Polk County are classified as Title 1 schools.
Polk County Population Breakdown by racial makeup:
- White 79.5%
- Black 13.5%
- Hispanic 9.5%
- Asian 1%
- Native American Less than 1%
- Pacific Islander Less than 1%

*Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census

Education Attainment for Polk County Population age 25 and older

(Published in The Lakeland Ledger March 20, 2005)

Education Level:	Number:	Percentage:
Less than 9th grade	22,100	6.8%
9th-12th, no diploma	61,682	18.9%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	106,917	32.8%
Bachelor’s degree	32,360	9.9%
Master’s degree	8,771	2.7%
Doctorate degree	3,758	1.2%

*Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2003 Community Survey

Polk County Schools

Polk County School District is the largest employer within the county. There are 155 schools in the district. There are over 6,000 teachers with a projection of 1,100 more to be hired for the 2007-2008 year. Overall the school district employs almost 12,000 individuals.

2007 Student Population

Total Students 92,088

Race:	Number:	Percentage:
White	47,885	52.2%
Black	21,180	23%
Hispanic	19,338	21.7%
Asian	1,139	1.4%
Indian	210	.20%
Other	1,039	1.2%

Closing the Achievement Gap

Implement strategies to reduce the Reading and Math Proficiency gaps between white, black, and Hispanic students
Introduce strategies to reduce the Reading Proficiency gap among Special Education and Limited English students
Develop strategies to reduce the differences in excessive absences over 21 days
Activate strategies to reduce the differences in the number of in-school and out of school suspensions
Establish strategies to ensure 100% of schools have written specific strategies to reduce the achievement gap
Prioritize strategies for educators by determining which standards are taught on the FCAT
Institute strategies to ensure Title I Schools in need of improvement spend ten percent of allocation to address areas in which students are not making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)
Provide strategies to ensure teachers and administrators are receiving Multicultural Competency Training

District Diversity Council

The Polk County School District believes that all children can learn and that it takes a whole community to produce a successful child.

The Diversity Council consists of leaders, professionals, parents and various community members who are known for their compassion for others.

This advisory council reviews various practices to ensure greater equity, inclusion, and respect for cultural diversity. Senior Staff members and administrative leaders are made available to the Council to help examine and resolve a range of issues with district programs, initiatives, and policies.