Polk Times

The most represented ethnicity among Polk County district's students was Hispanic, accounting for 41.1% of the student population, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Of the 114,483 students attending Polk County district schools, 41.1% were Hispanic. White students were the second largest ethnicity in Polk County district (34%).

In the previous school year, hispanic students were the most common group in Polk County district, representing 38.3% of the student body.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in the county increased by 3.8% when compared to the previous year.

Florida's choice to stick with in-person classes during the pandemic may have shielded students from significant learning setbacks. A recent Harvard study highlighted that districts heavily reliant on remote learning saw the most significant declines in student achievement amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“Interestingly, gaps in math achievement by race and school poverty did not widen in school districts in states such as Texas and Florida and elsewhere that remained largely in-person,” said Thomas Kane, professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

District	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Polk County School District	Hispanic	41.1%	114,483