About

History of the Organization

PEP is a volunteer driven non-profit organization supporting quality and collaborative programs for Winter Haven’s public schools, teachers and students. Programs and initiatives range from providing opportunities to students and families with limited resources to encouraging innovative curriculum and connections to challenge Winter Haven’s brightest young minds.  PEP seeks to facilitate the innovation and partnerships necessary to make Winter Haven’s public school system one that effectively serves all students and is viewed as a benchmark for other communities.

How it All Started . . . 

Out of concern for the quality of Winter Haven’s public schools, The Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce (“The Chamber”) formed the Educational Outcomes Steering Committee (“The Committee”) in early 2011. The members selected by the Chamber to serve on the Committee were Eileen Holden, the President of Polk State College; Dr. Samuel Bennett, the Dean of the College of Education at Southeastern University; the Honorable Jeff Potter, the Mayor of Winter Haven; Dr. Sherrie Nickell, the Superintendent of the Polk County School District; Seretha Tinsley, an owner of PenGeo, Inc. and related business entities; and Douglas A Lockwood, III, an attorney with Peterson & Myers, P.A.  In addition, Dr. Sharon Miller, Nat West, Suzanne Threadgill, Dr. John Stewart, Thomas Costello, Honorable Edward Threadgill, Charles McPherson, Tom Oldt, Bob Gernert, the Executive Director of the Chamber, and Cindy Price, President of the Chamber were involved in the Committee’s efforts to assess the current situation in the schools.  There were many others who also contributed to the initiative. The Committee’s task was to survey Winter Haven’s public schools and recommend strategies to improve the schools through the involvement of every sector of the community. Months of interviews, research, presentations, meetings, and discussions with enumerable educators, businessmen and women, students, and concerned citizens ensued. In May of 2011, The Report of the Educational Outcomes Steering Committee was published and presented to The Chamber.

It was determined that, although there was reason for concern over the quality of our schools, the many successes of our schools were impressive and should continue to motivate all the area residents to engage in the work of helping our children achieve their best. The passion of many of the teachers and administrators interviewed by members of the Committee was evident, sincere, and compelling. Good teachers teach because they love teaching; this despite the difficult challenges facing their profession. These educators deserve respect, recognition, and support.

Creating a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting Winter Haven’s public schools was one of the fourteen recommendations spawned from the Committee. The development of The Public Education Partnership of Winter Haven, Inc. (‘PEP’) fulfilled that bullet point. PEP also took on the task of refining and implementing the Committees other recommendations. The dream is that every citizen in our community from every walk of life will join in PEP’s vision to get involved in our public schools and make Winter Haven’s public school system the hallmark of education in the United States.