Polk County Public Schools
Lakeland’s Dixieland Elementary has a won a $5,000 first place award in the 2009 Expanding Breakfast Program of The Dairy Council of Florida.
The Expanding Breakfast Awards annually recognize three Florida schools for bringing a healthy breakfast to more children in creative ways. Innovative or alternative methods increase breakfast participation among children arriving to school late, children preferring to socialize before school instead of eating breakfast or children avoiding the cafeteria altogether in the morning.
Dixieland dining hall manager Cindy Wickham started a “To Go” breakfast concept when she noticed that late arriving students were missing breakfast. With the support of Dixieland principal Debbie Henderson, the To Go concept allowed students to pick up a bag breakfast and eat while in class. Dixieland staff supported the concept by going with students to pick up the bag breakfast and teachers created space in classrooms for students to eat during learning time. Dixieland students were often heard reminding late-arriving classmates to pick up their bagged breakfasts. The school’s breakfast participation rose from 34% of the student population to 42% with the renewed focus on breakfast and the inception of the To Go program.
In February 2009, Wickham was named the school district’s School-Related Employee Of The Year in the district’s annual recognition awards program for support staff.
Schools in Apopka and Fort McCoy won second and third place awards respectively in the Expanding Breakfast Program.
Click here for further information on the program.
Martha Santiago, principal at Haines City’s Boone Middle, gave the keynote presentation at the recent 3rd Annual Diversity Conference hosted by Polk State College and the University of South Florida Polytechnic at the Lakeland campus of USF Poly.
Santiago was appointed Boone’s principal in July. During her three-decade career with the school district she was also principal at Lake Wales’ Hillcrest Elementary, Haines City’s Sandhill Elementary and Dundee Ridge Middle. She was the first-ever principal at Sandhill. Her stint with the school district includes positions as coordinator, senior coordinator and director of the English For Speakers Of Other Languages department.
Santiago is a former trustee of Polk Community College, is on the Steering Committee of Polk Vision and is involved with the Winter Haven Vision process. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of South Florida.
