Polk County Public Schools
Superintendent Gail F. McKinzie, Ph.D. was announced as 2007-2008 Administrator Of The Year at the Florida Music Educators’ Association conference held at the Tampa Convention Center on Friday, January 11.
This was the second significant award to McKinzie during the 2007-2008 school year from a state arts association. In October, she was honored in Orlando as Superintendent of the Year by the Florida Art Education Association.
The Florida Music Educators’ Association award is presented annually to the administrator demonstrating ardent support of school music programs and encouragement and promotion of music education.
McKinzie’s awards are part of a recent series of recognition awards for Polk’s arts program from state organizations and associations.
In 2007, under Dr. McKinzie's leadership, Polk received the School Board of Excellence Award from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education for exemplary arts education programs. The alliance names one school district each year for the award.
Also in 2007, three Polk schools were chosen as model arts schools by state organizations. As model schools, they will be used as examples for other state schools to improve arts instruction. These schools were Davenport School of the Arts and Lakeland schools Harrison School for the Arts and Rochelle School of the Arts.
Lakeland’s Southwest Middle and Haines City’s Daniel Jenkins Academy also received Florida Department of Education Music Enrollment Awards in 2007 for having high percentages of students enrolled in music programs and for their ability to attract, recruit and retain students in music programs.
Dr. McKinzie is in her 20th year as a school district superintendent. She was the first Polk superintendent appointed by the school board and became superintendent on November 16, 2004.
She previously held superintendent positions in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and in Indian Prairie School District 204 in suburban Chicago before accepting the Polk position.
She holds a doctorate in education from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
