Polk Times

There were 46,454 Black students enrolled in Polk County districts in the 2022-23 school year, a 5% increase over the 44,250 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Polk County welcomed a total of 228,966 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 20.3% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county. The most represented ethnicity was Hispanic, accounting for 94,072 (41.1%) of the students, followed by white students who represented 77,810 (34%) of the student population.

Both districts in Polk County enrolled 23,227 Black students in the 2022-23 school year.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

District	% of Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Polk County School District	20.3	114,483
Lake Wales Charter Schools District	20.3	114,483