This week the Tampa Bay Times began publishing results of an investigation into several low-performing elementary schools called “Why Pinellas County is the worst place in Florida to be black and go to public school.”
In 2007 Pinellas schools turned back racial integration policies and started to become more segregated. Since then the investigation found that “five once-decent elementary schools [turned] into the worst schools in Florida. Today, 95 percent of students at Campbell Park, Fairmount Park, Lakewood, Maximo and Melrose can’t read or do math at grade level.”
To find out what may have led to these problems and what can be done to help these schools, WMNF News’ Seán Kinane spoke with Rene Flowers, a Pinellas County School Board member who represents much of the southern tip of the county, where the low-performing schools are located.
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36 Responses to “Pinellas School Board member reacts to Times report”
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I like Renee Flowers; always have…she see the whole picture; keep in mind the majority of the parents wanted the neighborhood schools and the School Board voted to give the parents what they wanted. Teachers and administrators can only do so much; the parents, and in some cases other family members who are responsible for their kids, must be totally involved in their children’s education and so many are not. Once behaviors of the children and lack of parental support are apparent, teachers will want to leave their assigned schools…why should they stay when they are the only ones held accountable for the children’s education. Ultimately parents MUST be the ones held accountable for their children’s education…
As a parent of school age children at that time, I did not ask for this and I can’t recall any parents that I interacted with wanting this. If anything, we felt like it was being forced upon us. How can you say school choice and then hand pick what I get to choose from, and that selection be a cluster of low performing schools. I chose Palm Harbor University HS, and then had to fight to send her their and then fight for transportation.
Hi Tracy – I taught both your daughter and Rene’s – you are 2 of my favorite parents that I have encountered over the years!
Thanks for bringing some of the “unmentioned” additional issues to light, this article is narrow in focus and does not paint a complete picture. To me, as a BP teacher, it makes our end of the county sound like it’s full of bad parents and incompetent teachers, which we both know is far from the truth. My son, Josh, started at Lakewood elementary and addressed behavioral issues in a way that set him on a path to being an A student for the rest of his time in Pinellas schools. All of my kids chose to attend our schools and got great educations and had some incredible, inspiring teachers.
This is a much larger issue than school choice or segregation/integration of schools and I hate to see it simplified like this, it is far from being a single issue and it is one all of us employed by PCS at this end of the county have been working on for decades!
There are limits to the impact we can have against insurmountable odds and I would much prefer to see an article about the progress we have made in the last decade.
I hope you are well and I am so glad to see your input here!
Renee O’Brien
Renee are you of African descent? I ask that because as a person of African descent I want the truth. That is the only way you begin to correct the problem. The truth of the matter is the essence of what TBT published I put together a one page summary highlighting the problem two years ago. I attempted to present that document to every public official that represented south St. Petersburg. I went a step further to invite all of those elected officials including Renee Flowers to an election night to discuss the plight of African American children in Pinellas. None of the elected officials showed up and the majority did not acknowledge the invitation. I have been at this fight a long time as an advocate, a parent and a criminal justice professional who chose to return to my old neighborhood. We must begin from a position of truth telling before we can ever begin to make substantive changes. Furthermore if the TBT article was erroneous where is the District’s strategic response challenging the article with data to support the position. I am not interested in some benign responses from any school board members.
Maria thank you for being most insulting to even insinuate with all of your education and knowledge that I am or am not clear if I am African, Black, African Descent ,or however you desire to label it. My name is Rene not Renee so perhaps you are addressing someone else.
As I shared before via your facebook post, I NEVER received an invite, email, facebook, tweet, twitter, text or message from you in this regard. I served on Council from 1999-2008. I did not serve again until after Lew passed away and I ran in a special election. Yes we must begin and end from a position of truth so you should start by taking your own advice.
You contacted me about Happy Workers and noted that Terry Krassner attended your event but no other board members or elected officials who represented South St. Petersburg attended. I saw you at the Sterling Conference (Carol Cook and Dr. Grego was there also). Again, no mention of your summary document or your request for anything else. We shared a hello and other small talk and that was it.
Maria you and I go way back when it comes to working together, working from opposite views of an issue and just plain old not agreeing at all. I am accustomed to it. The TRUTH remains and so does this fact, the Times made an issue about students attending Neighborhood Schools, underfunding, behavior issues bullying, Unitary Status and the like not me. Even though I was not present at the time on the school board, I am present now and I have a responsibility to work towards solutions not volleying back and forth. My response is very valid and very much so on point. If you are always advocating as you say, I am sure you were present at one if not several of the meetings or you spoke to individuals in this regard.
We are open for volunteers and mentors just like you are at Happy Workers. We are also open to solutions that will sustain and not just maintain.
As usual, we agree to disagree. Enjoy your evening.
Rene Flowers
Rene, I believe Ms. Scruggs was responding to me. You may remember me, Renee O’Brien, I taught your daughter at Bay Point many years ago.
Ms.. Scruggs,
I am not sure why my ethnicity is of any importance. I am not of African descent unless you consider the Jewish people of African descent because Israel is on the African continent.
That being said, I have taught at Bay Point Middle for nearly 20 years and during that time I have taught children of every ethnicity and socio-economic background. I have seen many programs, initiatives and assistance methods implemented. I have also seen improvement in learning for many children. I have also seen children who were unable to succeed because of influences and situations far beyond the control of the teachers or administrators of the schools in this area. I agree with Ms. Flowers because I have seen her fighting for the children of South County for many years.
There is a limit to what any school system can do to combat poverty, homelessness, transiency, abuse and a multitude of other factors that impact children of all ethnic groups. Each child comes to us with their own unique “baggage” and unfortunately we try to assist them with a “one size fits all” response. Every time I believe I have seen it all a child enters my classroom and shares a situation that breaks my heart in a new way.
There is no simple answer and I do not see PCSB and it’s teachers and administrators as not helping African American children; from my perspective I see many people working very hard to address an array of problems that are beyond our control and I pray that we do find a way to help all children succeed. That has always been my goal as an educator and I will continue fighting to improve education for every child.
I like Rene too and believe she had some of the most articulated responses to the state of the PCS. There are districs which are successfully educating youth with the same socia-econimic hurdles the time may have come for new leadership more experienced and with more exposure to cultural differences in educating.
I am somewhat confused about why parents wanted neighborhood schools is relevant to this discussion. I am a strong proponent of neighborhood schools. Schools are an integral part of communities. There are schools around this country and within this state that teach Black children with the same behavioral and socio-economic challenges. The only persons that perpetuate the notion that the only way black children can learn is they are sitting next to white children is irresponsible. I have been back in Pinellas County since 1987 and it was only sometime after that I became involved with the Southside Advisory committee. As soon as I start to delve into the real numbers behind the graduation rates of African children I stopped receiving invitations to those meetings. They were unproductive and another smoke screen to conceal the academic reality of Black children within the Pinellas County School system.
Eloquently said and I totally agree.
I was chair of the District Monitoring Advisory Committee in 2007 when the School Board ignored the recommendations of the Choice Task Force which had been studying the choice plan for student assignment for 18 months and instead opted for the departing Superintendent Wilcox’s neighborhood schools scheme. I repeatedly told the Board I thought the latter was a violation of the Court Order and (subsequent orders) on Desegregation and that the Board’s attorney had reversed himself in telling the Board what they we doing was legal. Only one member (Democrat Janet Clark) voted against the new scheme.
The Unitary status Order of Judge Merryday says that the final plan adopted by Pinellas County Schools has to be governed by parental choice not geographic divisions. The Choice Plan and Choice Task Force recommendations were consistent with that requirement; the neighborhood school scheme is not.
Unfortunately the federal court climate at the time (and now) makes it very problematic to sue. That was the judgment of the plaintiffs in the Bradley case in 2007. But their work in negotiations with the School system on quality education resulting in Memorandums of Understanding has not stemmed the re-segregation of south county schools as predicted in 2007, as well as the damning statistics of the TBT articles.
There are fine teachers in every school in Pinellas County working unbelievably hard to educate every child. But nationally the reality is that integration worked to cut the achievement gap by 50% in the 17 years it was widely implemented, and today more students attend segregated schools than did in 1954 when Brown was decided (And Kenneth Clark’s social science experiments which supported that decision, today produce the same results when replicated!)
Does anyone really question the pervasive and systematic reality of racism in contemporary American culture? Or the corrosive effect it has on children, no matter how well intended or enlightened their educators?