The new school year has arrived, and for Superintendent of Schools Gail McKinzie, it marks her sixth year in Polk County.
McKinzie, 62, has headed the Polk County public school district since 2004. She says she has found much to admire and respect in Polk County schools, and she has high praise for Polk County teachers, administrators and parents.
"I think there's quite an investment in making things better," she says. "I think it makes for a more unified feeling in the schools."
McKinzie was the first Polk County superintendent to be appointed by the School Board, after a national search. McKinzie has been a school superintendent for 21 years, serving two districts in Missouri and Illinois before coming to Polk County.
She says she enjoys the feeling of tradition in Polk County, brought on when children attend the same schools their parents did. Each school, she says, is a "school community."
"I'm the anomaly. I didn't grow up in Florida," she adds with a laugh.
McKinzie's previous school district, the Indian Prairie School District in suburban Chicago, was quite different, she says. Several well-established high-tech companies were based in the area, and families from a variety of countries enrolled their children in the schools.
"They moved around a lot. It created a very different culture," McKinzie explains. "It was a much more intense situation, and pressure-driven situation."
In Polk County, on the other hand, she has found many families deeply invested in schools.
McKinzie says Polk parents and other residents seem to volunteer more often and are more willing to serve as mentors.
"I'm amazed at how people are generous with their time," she says. "I think that's really a positive."
Since McKinzie took up the superintendent role with Polk six years ago, the school district has seen many changes.
"We've become a much more focused school system," she says, referring to teacher training and subjects covered in their lesson plans. "Everyone seems to be on the same page."
Of course, the school budget has seen drastic highs and lows as well, which has posed many challenges, she says.
Still, two new high schools, Ridge Community High School in Davenport and Tenoroc High School in Lakeland, have been built, as well as many elementary schools. Twenty-nine new career academies have been started and two more are under construction, expanding options for high school students interested in getting professional skills. When McKinzie first arrived, Lake Gibson High School in north Lakeland had the only career academy.
McKinzie received her bachelor's degree in education in 1969 and a master's degree in English in 1971. She finished her Ph.D. in education at Iowa State University in 1976.
McKinzie lives in north Lakeland and commutes to the school district office in Bartow. She has three children and one grandson.
In her free time, she goes to Tampa Bay Buccaneers football games with her husband, Frank, who teaches education at the University of South Florida.
She says she enjoys golf, but she'll admit it - "I'm a terrible golfer," she says, laughing. She also likes to travel and read on the plane, especially biographies.
