Building a Tradition of Distinction

How a Teacher of the Year and High Achieving Students Demonstrate Bartow Senior High’s Success

PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL AND PROVIDED BY LOCAL SCHOOLS

In the historic and burgeoning town of Bartow stands an aged brick building, with ascending white columns and patterned glass that give it a timeless feel. 

This campus has served Bartow since the early-20th century and remains the town’s lone high school. 

Bartow Senior High School has built its legacy on quality education, competitive athletics and outstanding programs. The school holds local renown that attracts students from throughout Polk County. 

In 1996, the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma was first introduced at Bartow Senior High School. This prestigious curriculum offers high-rigor collegiate coursework that challenges students to discover their full potential. It has earned a reputation as being one of the most difficult but rewarding academic programs in Polk County.

The Summerlin Academy is also part of what makes the school special. The Academy began in 2006 as Florida’s first public Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) institution, sharing the campus with Bartow Senior High School. Students or “cadets” are immersed in an environment realistic to the armed services, required to wear uniforms and adhere to formal behavior guidelines. Various specialized tracks and afterschool activities offer a window into a career in the military. 

Staff and administrators of Bartow Senior High School have proven they are willing to evolve, time and time again, always striving for better. All three academic pathways provide a place for students and teachers to grow, and ultimately make a difference in the world.

Elizabeth Heaton is an A+ representation of what the school stands for. Recently named as the Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) 2026 Teacher of the Year, she is set apart by a teaching philosophy that welcomes curiosity through discovery learning.

Though the courses she teaches—AP Computer Science and IB Business Management—might sound intimidating, Ms. Heaton does not ask for perfection from her students. She invites mistakes as part of their learning process. “They can expect to be held to a high standard,” she noted, “They can also expect to be held when they fall.”

Ten years before, Ms. Heaton noticed that some of her own children’s best teachers were leaving the profession. She didn’t let her concerns consume her. Instead, she stepped back from her career of 20 years in the hospitality industry and took a job at Bartow Senior High School to become part of the solution. 

Not surprisingly, coming from a consumer focused career, she has a teaching style characterized by building strong relationships with her students. 

“It’s all about making someone comfortable—hearing them when they speak, seeing them and giving them a chance to make mistakes in a safe place,” she explained. 

She has tested many methods in her classroom, some proving to be more effective than others. 

Ms. Heaton said that being named the district’s Teacher of the Year was truly a team effort. She has leaned on other teachers at the school since joining the team, striving to become an improved educator herself.

“The fact that I have been able to learn and grow so much here and only here, I think certainly speaks to all the other teachers that supported me and taught me and listened to me,” she described. 

In Ms. Heaton’s classroom, students find they can embrace the school experience without fear of failure. She invites them to practice on their own, motivated by a lesson from one of her first school training sessions where she remembers being taught, “Whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning.” 

When students move past initial failure and muster the courage to keep on trying, the result is often very fulfilling. They are constantly reminded that they are capable of overcoming obstacles, which is exactly what problem-solving demands. 

Not long ago, she taught a student whose priority was to earn top marks. At the end of the school year, he gave her a letter.  It read, “Thank you for making me realize that learning can be fun, too.” 

Another student started off in Ms. Heaton’s computer science course so she could avoid a required math credit. She was uninterested in computer programming, though she preferred it over calculus. But after taking Ms. Heaton’s class, she soon found a love for the subject. Now pursuing a degree in computer science, she completed an internship with Harvard and is doing high level work in Artificial Intelligence through coding. 

Ms. Heaton’s recognition as Teacher of the Year brings pride to a school devoted to academic excellence. Just as the educators lead their classes to success, the students at Bartow Senior High School are determined to achieve.

The National Merit program recognizes high school juniors for exceptional scores on the preliminary SAT (PSAT) exam. In the Class of 2026, five PCPS students were recipients of this award—and all of them are IB BHS students: Lucas Auto, Jacob Heist, Abigail Jennings, Navin Lall and Indrani Nakka.  

Such a feat takes more than just recruiting “smart” students. It demonstrates the importance of student work ethic at Bartow Senior High School. Cooper Jenks, a National Merit finalist and IB student, emphasizes that discipline was most essential to undertaking a challenging curriculum. “We might have gotten different test scores, but we had to do the same papers and tests, and that takes a tremendous amount of work,” he described. 

While these accolades bring attention to current success, it is not the first time the Bartow Senior High School has received scholastic distinction. In 2013, Newsweek ranked BHS IB as the second best public school in the United States, based primarily by impressive marks in Advance Placement testing and high graduation rates. 

Between 2022 and 2024, 18 IB BHS students were named National Merit Scholars. Alongside Ms. Heaton’s recognition as a teacher, construction instructor Jimmy Giles was honored with an Outstanding Educator award in 2025, lauded for his quality teaching of a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) course. 

These triumphs empower teachers and students alike to move forward in their dedication to learning, in the classroom and beyond, paving the way for future generations to chase their dreams and achieve all they are capable of.