Lee Today

There were 251 Alaska Native students enrolled in Polk County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 5.9% increase from the 237 Alaska Native students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Polk County welcomed a total of 114,483 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Alaska Native students comprised 0.2% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the county.

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.