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Polk County charter high school keeps students' hopes of earning diploma alive

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Published  June 6, 2025 11:28pm EDT
Lakeland
FOX 13 News
High school grads get new beginning

High school grads get new beginning

Carla Bayron reports.

The Brief

    • A charter high school is celebrating the graduation of nearly 200 students.
    • The charter school offers a standard high school diploma up to the age of 24.
    • There's a growing need for non-traditional education in Polk County.

LAKELAND, Fla. - A charter high school is celebrating the graduation of nearly 200 students who've been thrown curveballs and obstacles in life and have overcome them.

Big picture view:

New Beginnings High School, which started in 2011 in Polk County, gives its students from all walks of life a second chance. The charter school offers a standard high school diploma up to the age of 24.

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It also offers a flexible schedule and a digital platform, allowing students to work at their own pace if they have jobs, childcare responsibilities or others they need to care for.

"It's absolutely powerful, because these are students that many people wrote out and who some of them actually gave up themselves. So, for them to get to this point tonight is monumental," said principal, Marvin Pitts. 

Local perspective:

Zach Roth, 18, is one of 197 graduates this year, 60% of whom will seek post-secondary education. Others become entrepreneurs, enter the work force, or join the military.

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It has been a bumpy road getting to this point after losing his mother at 10 years old, but Roth now has a full-ride scholarship to play college baseball, and he's thankful to those who didn't give up on him.

"I didn't care about high school my freshman year. I flunked high school and slept in every class. I just didn't care, but now they gave me a chance, and I focused and worked hard," said Roth. "It feels amazing someone took a chance to give me another shot, and they didn't regret their decision."

What's next:

Because of the growing need for non-traditional education, the high school is looking to open a fourth campus next year in the Four Corners area in the northeast side of the county.

The high school serves more than 1,300 students in and around Polk County.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron. 

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