All 14 finalists for Polk County Teacher of the Year and School-Related Employee of the Year are now named for 2026-27, after Polk County Public Schools announced the finalists from District 6 pair on Sept. 24, 2026. The countywide winners will be named Nov. 6 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
The last finalists named are Elvin Hanna Jr., music teacher and band director at Fort Meade Middle-Senior High, and Barbara Aourik, a paraeducator at Dundee Elementary Academy.
School Board Chair Justin Sharpless, who represents District 6, wrote on his official Facebook page that he is “proud to see the district represented by two people who, in his words, make a difference for our students every day.”…