School Board of Highlands County

Today is School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day! Each day these dedicated individuals help thousands of Highlands County children get safely to and from school. THANK YOU School Crossing Guards!

CODE OF CONDUCT COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, February 12, 2025 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM Learning Lab

Today we observe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. To honor his legacy, and his dream for all children, we strive each day in Highlands County schools to instill critical thinking and character in our students, nurturing the future generations that Dr. King envisioned.

CALENDAR REMINDER: There is no school on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

UPDATE 01/06/25 12:39pm: The power has been restored at our district office and phone lines are operational. We appreciate the quick response to restoring our power! 

☎️☎️ Phones are down ☎️☎️ Our district office is experiencing a power outage which impacts our telephones. Duke Energy is assessing the outage. As soon as power is restored, we will post an update. Thank you for your patience! 

𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 𝗝𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝟲 We are excited to welcome students back from winter break tomorrow. Here are some important reminders that will help get 2025 off to a safe start! 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐁𝐔𝐒/𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐙𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 🚌 Be alert and watch for children especially near schools, bus stops, school buses and in school parking lots. 🚌 Children on bicycles can be unpredictable and can make sudden changes in direction. Be especially careful when children are present in school zones and residential areas. 🚌 Pay extra attention to lower speed limits in school zones. 🚌 Watch for and obey signals from school crossing guards. 🚌 Only drive or park in authorized areas to drop off or pick up children at school. 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 🛑 Motorists are required to stop when approaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing and STOP arms extended. (See the different situations in the diagram) 🛑 All drivers moving in either direction on a two-way street must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal, and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children AND the school bus stop arm is withdrawn. (see diagram, TWO-LANE) 🛑 On a highway divided by a paved median, all drivers moving in either direction must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal, and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children AND the school bus stop arm is withdrawn. (see diagram, MULTI-LANE) 🛑 The only time traffic approaching an oncoming school bus does not need to stop, is if there is a raised barrier such as a concrete divider or at least five feet of unpaved space separating the lanes of traffic. (see diagram, DIVIDED HIGHWAY) 🛑 On a highway divided by a raised barrier or an unpaved median at least 5 feet wide, drivers moving in the opposite direction do not have to stop for the bus (painted lines or pavement markings are not considered barriers). However, these motorists should slow down and watch for students loading or unloading from the bus. (see diagram, DIVIDED HIGHWAY)

Don't forget tomorrow is a two hour Early Release! We will see you back on MONDAY, JANUARY 6th!

CODE OF CONDUCT COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, December 10, 2024 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Learning Lab

PARENTS /GUARDIANS: The Commissioner of Education requires that training is available for parents/guardians on the consequences of making a school threat or false report via FortifyFL . Please discuss with your student the seriousness of this issue. Click to access course -www2.highlands.k12.fl.us/threatsweaponsinfo

𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 11-02-2024 It’s that time of year again- Don't forget to turn clocks back one hour before going to bed tonight!

CALENDAR COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, October 29, 2024 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM Large Conference Room

HURRICANE MILTON UPDATE All Highlands County schools and district offices will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We will do an assessment on Thursday afternoon and make an announcement regarding Friday once we have more information. Wednesday is predicted to be the day we feel most of the storm’s impact in our area. We have been through this before in our community, and we know how predictions can change in the days and hours leading up to landfall. Make sure to continue to monitor local news and reliable media outlets, including our Board of County Commissioners Facebook page, for accurate and timely updates. Please continue to make preparations, and stay safe. Thank you- .

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Based on our afternoon call with Emergency Management, all schools and District offices will be open for normal operations tomorrow, Friday, September 27.

WEATHER UPDATE: We are monitoring the weather developments in the Gulf and as with all storms we will be in communication with Highlands County Emergency Management. It is too early to predict what the potential impact will be to our area, but we will update school information as we move through the next few days.

Insurance Committee Meeting Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM Board Room

⭐🎉Congratulations to our Highlands County Principal of the Year Courtney Floyd and Assistant Principal of the Year Patricia Smith, both of Lake Placid Elementary School! These amazing leaders work tirelessly to support their students, staff, and families. Thank you Mrs. Floyd and Mrs. Smith for all you do to ensure that your LPE students succeed!⭐🎉

𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗟 We have been working with local law enforcement this weekend due to the social media screenshots containing non-specific threats to schools. The Highlands County Sheriff's Office investigation indicates that there is NO credible threat to ANY Highlands County school campus. The HCSO shared, “The screenshot with the name Darius on it was determined to be in Manatee County and an arrest has been made there in that case. We will be conducting extra patrols around all schools in the coming days out of an abundance of caution, but once again, there is NO reason to believe any of these threats are local.” All threats are taken seriously and investigated immediately and thoroughly. Unfortunately, the viral spread of random social media screenshots has become an issue across our state and around the nation. Please know that we have multiple layers of safety and security measures in place on and around our campuses all day, every day. We look forward to welcoming all students to school in the morning.

We are aware of a social media post being shared this morning indicating a potential threat to schools across Florida, including some Highlands County schools. We have been working with law enforcement on this since it was posted. The investigation has not revealed any reliable information at this time. There has been a tremendous increase in posts like this across the nation, and all potential threats are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. Out of an abundance of caution the schools mentioned have been put on a Controlled Campus as an added layer of security.

𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 All Highlands County schools and School Board offices will be closed tomorrow, September 2, in observance of Labor Day.