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Polk board introduces new administrators and recognizes student and career‑tech accomplishments
Summary
At the Aug. 12 meeting the Polk County School Board introduced several administrative promotions and honored student achievements and career-technical program accreditations, including an ASC accreditation for Mulberry High's automotive program and student participation in NASA's TechRise Challenge at Kathleen High's CFAA campus.
The Polk County School Board on Aug. 12 introduced multiple promotions within the district’s leadership and presented recognitions for student achievements and career-technical education accomplishments.
Promotions announced Superintendent Hyde introduced the following promotions: Ty Bruno from senior director for high school programs to regional assistant superintendent for the high‑school region; Cynthia Cangelos, principal at Mulberry Middle School, promoted to acting regional assistant superintendent for the Northeast Region; Angela Clark, formerly Ridge Community High School principal, promoted to acting senior director for high schools; Roger Gray, formerly Laurel Elementary principal, promoted to acting senior director for school improvement; Elizabeth Smith (not present) named acting senior director for professional development; and Darren Williams, formerly principal at Polk Virtual, promoted to senior director for information services. Each promoted leader addressed the board, thanking mentors and family and pledging to support students and staff.
Student recognition and program accreditations Eighth‑grader Kylie Jirappon Paisan of Sleepy Hill Middle School was invited to speak at the meeting; she described extracurricular interests including orchestra, chess and civil air patrol and told the board she is pursuing flight training and aerospace interests. Kylie introduced family and school guests and received a round of applause from the board.
The district’s career technical and adult education department recognized Mulberry High School’s automotive program for receiving ASE (ASC) Education Foundation accreditation in maintenance and light repair. CTAE officials said the program underwent a national evaluation against industry standards for instruction, facilities and equipment and that the accreditation signals entry‑level employability for program graduates.
The board also recognized Kathleen High School’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program and students who participated in NASA’s TechRise Challenge. Instructor Joel Bressler described a student‑designed experiment that flew on a high‑altitude balloon to roughly 70,000 feet to test 3‑D filament degradation in the stratosphere. Bressler and students — including Mason Cessna, Josh Johnson, Camille Foreman, Preston Hopper and others — described data recovery and next steps to analyze results.
Ending The board presented district coins and banners to the programs and praised students and instructors for applying classroom work to industry and research opportunities.
