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Bartow High, International Baccalaureate School and Summerlin Academy at Jenkins Arena during Commencement Exercises, Monday, May 20, 2024 at the RP Funding Center. | Polk County Public Schools
The 2025 rate represents a 5.5 percentage point increase from 2024, according to the district and continues an upward trend across Polk County schools. Traditional PCPS high schools, excluding charter and alternative schools, posted an even higher graduation rate of 92.7%.
“These are outstanding results that reflect the hard work of our students, teachers, school administrators and staff,” Superintendent Fred Heid said in a statement.
Graduation rate gains at select Polk County high schools (2024–2025). | Source: Polk County Public Schools | Chart by Kayla Borg
Haines City High School: Culture + systems
At Haines City Senior High, the goal is to have every student graduate. It’s a shared expectation that permeates through faculty and support staff, according to principal Brad Tarver.
Haines City Senior High’s graduation rate is at 91.2% — a 10.5 point increase from the year before.
Tarver notes that concrete systems such as student tracking, mentoring with success coaches and scheduling, made a meaningful difference in getting the school’s students across the graduation stage with diploma in hand.
Tarver also said that his faculty and staff are already discussing how they can improve their graduation rate even more.
“That’s the positive shift in the school culture,” Tarver said.
Tenoroc High School: Early intervention + belonging
At Tenoroc High School, principal Ave’ Wright-Gayner credited the school’s graduation gains to intentional, student-centered systems designed to identify and address challenges early. The school’s graduation rate jumped from 78.1% to 91.2%, placing Tenoroc among the district’s most improved campuses this year.
School leaders strengthened data-driven warning systems, increased real-time communication with families and created individualized graduation pathways to help students stay on track. Extended learning opportunities — including after-school credit recovery and Saturday tutoring — also gave students added flexibility to meet graduation requirements.
“We didn’t just raise a number,” Wright-Gayner said. “We strengthened the heartbeat of our school,” pointing to a culture focused on belonging, persistence and refusing to give up on students.
Beyond just a handful of campuses
Several high schools across the district posted year-over-year graduation rate gains of seven percentage points or more, signaling that the improvement extended beyond just a handful of campuses.
A full breakdown of the graduation rates and year-over-year changes for every PCPS high school is available on the district’s website.
Leaders point to early intervention, clear expectations and refusing to give up on students as shared strategies behind the district’s record setting results.
As graduation rates reach new highs, principals say the focus is on sustaining momentum — and ensuring more students cross the stage prepared for what comes next.
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
