In 2010, Bartow High School developed one cohort class of Freshman English, paired with students who were in Medical Skills or Health Science 1. There were some scheduling issues, and students moved on to have non-academy English teachers. In 2011, the incoming Freshmen class of 2014 started in Mrs. Susan Kearns' class and were able to move through all 4 years of English including AP Language and AP Literature. In 2013, another teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Patton, was added to the Medical and Fire Academy to teach English. Now, all students who have a Medical, Fire, or Police Academy class, should have one of these two teachers.
We have since added a Fire Academy in 2012. Mr. Calandros and Mr. Miles are active and full time firefighters with Bartow Fire Department, and a Criminal Justice Academy in 2013. Mr. Craven is a former Bartow police officer and acted as our Student Resource Officer prior to entering the teaching world. We are ever expanding and working toward getting students ready for a career in public service.