Pinellas County Schools

Last updated

Pinellas County Schools
3colorpcslogo.png
Address
301 Fourth Street Southwest
Largo
, Florida , 33770
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesPreK–12 [1]
NCES District ID 1201560 [1]
Students and staff
Students96,068 (2020–2021) [1]
Teachers6,829.44 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Staff6,858.36 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Student–teacher ratio14.07:1 [1]
Other information
Website www.pcsb.org

Pinellas County Schools is the public school district serving Pinellas County, Florida. The district is based in Largo. With over 104,000 students served in more than 140 schools and centers, the district is the 7th-largest in Florida and 26th-largest in the nation. [2] It includes the entire county. [3]

Contents

History

The district was created upon Pinellas County's split from Hillsborough County in 1912. Dixie M. Hollins was the county's first superintendent of schools.

Like other school districts in Florida and elsewhere in the United States, Pinellas County has had to deal with issues of desegregation, court-ordered busing, and school choice. In 2000, the district received "unitary" (desegregated) status from the court assigned to monitor integration issues, and from 2003 to 2007 operated a "controlled choice" program which set minimum and maximum percentages of black pupils in individual schools. [4]

In 2007 the "Choice" program was replaced with a "close-to-home' school program, where students go to the school that is nearest to their residence. The Tampa Bay Times was the biggest proponent of resegregation. In multiple editorials in 2007, the Tampa Bay Times, formerly the St. Petersburg Times, urged the school district to abandon integration efforts in favor of "close to home" schools. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

In addition to neighborhood schools, the district offers 70 application programs, including magnet, fundamental and career academy programs. [10] From 2007 and by 2015 student performance and behavior at five elementary schools in a mostly black area of St. Petersburg sharply declined. Hired in 2012, Michael Grego has launched reforms to aid students in the five schools. They include adding extended learning programs, extra summer instruction and bringing in counselors and social workers to connect families with outside services. In 2014, he began pumping more money into the schools, adding classroom aides, mental health counselors and liaisons to connect families with social services [11]

In March 2009, Pinellas County Schools announced that all schools would close one hour early every Wednesday starting with the 2009–10 school year. The district said that this schedule change was to provide teachers with more planning period time. After much controversy, the school district voted in September 2012 to discontinue early release Wednesdays beginning with the 2013–14 school year.

Superintendents

Kevin Hendrick (2022–present)

School Board

School board members: [14]

Districts 1–3 are at-large districts, elected by the voters of the entire school district. Districts 4–7 are single-member districts, voted on only by the voters who reside in the member district. The members from single-member districts are also required to reside within the district from which he or she is elected. [15]

Schools in Pinellas County

The district covers a total of 142 institutions: 76 elementary schools, 22 middle schools, 17 high schools, 6 alternative & exception education schools, 9 adult/vocational schools, 16 centers, and 14 charter schools. With more than 17,000 teachers, administrators and support staff, the district is also Pinellas County's largest employer. Additionally, over 20,000 people serve as volunteers. [16]

High schools

Middle schools

  • Azalea Middle School
  • Bay Point Middle School
  • Carwise Middle School
  • Clearwater Fundamental Middle School
  • Clearwater Intermediate School
  • Dunedin Highland Middle School
  • East Lake Middle School Academy of Engineering
  • James B. Sanderlin IB World School (K–8)
  • John Hopkins Middle School
  • Largo Middle IB World School
  • Lealman Innovation Academy
  • Madeira Beach Fundamental School (K–8)
  • Meadowlawn Middle School
  • Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School
  • Oak Grove Middle School
  • Osceola Middle School
  • Palm Harbor Middle School
  • Pinellas Park Middle School
  • Safety Harbor Middle School
  • Seminole Middle School [17]
  • Tarpon Springs Middle School
  • Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School
  • Tyrone Middle School

Elementary schools

  • Anona Elementary
  • Azalea Elementary
  • Bardmoor Elementary
  • Bauder Elementary
  • Bay Point Elementary
  • Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary
  • Bear Creek Elementary
  • Belcher Elementary
  • Belleair Elementary
  • Blanton Elementary
  • Brooker Creek Elementary
  • Campbell Park Elementary
  • Cross Bayou Elementary
  • Curlew Creek Elementary
  • Curtis Fundamental Elementary
  • Cypress Woods Elementary
  • Douglas L. Jamerson Elementary
  • Dunedin Elementary
  • Eisenhower Elementary
  • Fairmount Park Elementary
  • Forest Lakes Elementary
  • Frontier Elementary
  • Fuguitt Elementary
  • Garrison-Jones Elementary
  • Gulfport Elementary Montessori Academy
  • High Point Elementary
  • Highland Lakes Elementary
  • James B. Sanderlin IB World School (K–8)
  • John M. Sexton Elementary
  • Lake St George Elementary
  • Lakeview Fundamental Elementary
  • Lakewood Elementary
  • Lealman Avenue Elementary
  • Leila G. Davis Elementary
  • Lynch Elementary School
  • Madeira Beach Fundamental School (K–8)
  • Marjorie K. Rawlings Elementary
  • Maximo Elementary
  • McMullen-Booth Elementary
  • Melrose Elementary
  • Mildred Helms Elementary
  • Mount Vernon Elementary
  • New Heights Elementary
  • North Shore Elementary
  • Northwest Elementary
  • Oakhurst Elementary
  • Oldsmar Elementary
  • Orange Grove Elementary
  • Ozona Elementary
  • Palm Harbor Elementary
  • Pasadena Fundamental Elementary
  • Perkins Elementary
  • Pinellas Central Elementary
  • Pinellas Park Elementary
  • Plumb Elementary
  • Ponce De Leon Elementary
  • Ridgecrest Elementary
  • Rio Vista Elementary
  • Safety Harbor Elementary
  • San Jose Elementary
  • Sandy Lane Elementary
  • Sawgrass Lake Elementary
  • Seminole Elementary
  • Seventy-Fourth St Elementary
  • Shore Acres Elementary
  • Skycrest Elementary
  • Skyview Elementary
  • Southern Oak Elementary
  • Starkey Elementary
  • Sunset Hills Elementary
  • Sutherland Elementary
  • Tarpon Springs Elementary
  • Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary
  • Walsingham Elementary
  • Westgate Elementary
  • Woodlawn Elementary

Alternative and exceptional education schools

  • Calvin Hunsinger School
  • Hamilton Disston School
  • Nina Harris School
  • Ridgecrest Elementary Center for Gifted Studies (ESE Full-Time Gifted Academic Programming)
  • Paul B. Stephens School
  • Pinellas Secondary School (Alternative School) (6–12)
  • Richard L. Sanders School (K-12)

Career technical and adult education

  • Clearwater Adult Ed. Center
  • Dixie Hollins Adult Ed. Center
  • Lakewood Community
  • Northeast Community
  • Palm Harbor Community
  • Pinellas Technical Center (PTC) – Clearwater
  • Pinellas Technical Center (PTC) – St. Petersburg
  • Seminole Vocational Ed. Center
  • Tomlinson Adult Learning Center

Charter schools

  • Academie Da Vinci (K–8)
  • Alfred Adler Elementary (K–3)
  • Athenian Academy (K–8)
  • Discovery Academy of Science (K-8)
  • Imagine Charter (PreK–8)
  • New Start (Life Skills North) (9–12)
  • Mavericks High North Pinellas (9–12)
  • Mavericks High South Pinellas (9–12)
  • Pinellas Preparatory Academy (Grades K–8)
  • Plato Academy (PreK–8)
  • Plato North Academy (K–8)
  • Plato Seminole Academy (K–8)
  • Plato South Academy (K–8)
  • St. Petersburg Collegiate High School (Grades 10–12) [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinellas County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Pinellas County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107, which makes it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most densely populated county in Florida, with 3,491 residents per square mile. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clearwater is the county seat. St. Petersburg is the largest city in the county, as well as the largest city in Florida that is not a county seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Petersburg, Florida</span> City in Pinellas County, Florida, United States

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the largest city in the state that is not a county seat. Along with Clearwater, these cities are part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million. St. Petersburg is on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected to mainland Florida to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Largo, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Pete Beach, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

St. Pete Beach is a coastal city in Pinellas County, Florida. Known as a tourist destination, St. Pete Beach was formed from the towns of Pass-a-Grille, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg Beach and unincorporated Pinellas County. The population was 9,346 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay area</span> Region in Florida, United States

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<i>Tampa Bay Times</i> American daily newspaper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinellas Park High School</span> Public school in Florida, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPDS-LD</span> Television station in Florida, United States

WPDS-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 14, is a low-power educational independent television station licensed to Largo, Florida, United States. The station is owned by Pinellas County Schools of Pinellas County, Florida.

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Patricia "Pat" Gerard is a Democratic politician. From 2014 to 2022, she was a member of the Pinellas County Commission from the 2nd District. Previously, she served as mayor for the city of Largo, Florida.

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C. Bette Wimbish was one of the leading African-American woman activists in Florida promoting the desegregation of schools and civil equality. She was most commonly known as a civil rights activist, a politician, and the first African American on the St. Petersburg, Florida city council. As well as being the first African-American to hold elected office in the Tampa Bay area in the 20th-century, Wimbish was also the first black female lawyer in Pinellas County, Florida. She was the wife of Ralph Wimbish and the mother of three children.

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Gus A. Stavros was an American businessman and philanthropist. He founded the company Better Business Forms in the 1960s and later sold it. He founded the Stavros Institute and was a founding chairman of the Pinellas Education Foundation to improve the quality of local public education. He also served on the board of trustees of the University of South Florida and the governing board of USF St. Petersburg. He was also a part-owner of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

Pinellas High School was a public high school from 1934 until 1968 in Clearwater, Florida. It served African Americans from the surrounding area of northern Pinellas County including Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, Safety Harbor and Tarpon Springs during the era of segregation. It was at 1220 Palmetto Street. During its existence, it was the first segregated school in the region and it was the only school exclusively serving Black students in Pinellas County.

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References

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  3. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Pinellas County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Text list
  4. McManus, Tracey (April 29, 2020). "Clearwater civil rights icon Tal Rutledge: 'He wasn't afraid to speak out.'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  5. "School integration is not the answer". Tampa Bay Times. October 11, 2007.
  6. "Home school plan deserves support". Tampa Bay Times. July 1, 2007.
  7. "More on classes; less on buses". Tampa Bay Times. September 15, 2007.
  8. "Leave school choice mistakes behind". Tampa Bay Times. October 7, 2007.
  9. "Don't stop now on school plan". Tampa Bay Times. October 23, 2007.
  10. "Choices Abound District Application Programs Guide 2016 - 2017" (PDF). Pinellas County Schools.
  11. Fitzpatrick, Cara; Gartner, Lisa; LaForgia, Michael (August 14, 2015). "How the Pinellas County School Board neglected five schools until they became the worst in Florida: Failure Factories". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  12. "School superintendent tenders resignation". TBNweekly.
  13. Pettiford, Trevor (September 2, 2011). "Janssen leaves post with memories, few regrets". Bay News 9. Retrieved September 7, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. https://www.pcsb.org/Page/1653
  15. "2011-2012 School Board Members". Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  16. "Pinellas County Schools / Homepage". Pinellas County Schools. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  17. Solochek, Jeffrey S. (June 3, 2021). "Pinellas middle school students suspended over Pride flag clash". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  18. "Schools and Programs List / All Schools and Programs List". Pinellas County Schools. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.