Failure factories
On Dec. 18, 2007, the Pinellas County School Board abandoned integration. They justified the vote with bold promises: Schools in poor, black neighborhoods would get more money, more staff, more resources. They delivered none of that.
This is the story of how district leaders turned five once-average schools into Failure Factories.
Prologue Aug. 12, 2015
Why Pinellas County is the worst place in Florida to be black and go to public school
A series of charts that sheds light on the county’s alarming failure rate.
Part Two Aug. 21, 2015
Violence is a part of daily life in Pinellas County’s most segregated elementary schools
Five elementary schools had more violence than all 17 high schools combined.
Hear from the kids Sept. 1, 2015
For 31 kids, this is what it’s like to go to resegregated schools
Children tell of fear, failing and a certainty that something better must be out there.
Hear from the School Board Aug. 14, 2015
7 elected school officials respond
We asked questions about the five schools in the series. Here’s what they said.
Developments
Confederate flag punctuates Pinellas School Board discussion on failing schools Aug. 25, 2015
A longtime education activist unfurled a Confederate battle flag Tuesday in front of Pinellas County School Board members during the first School Board meeting after Failure Factories ran.
Black leaders say district broke promises, threaten to go back to court Aug. 24, 2015
Group’s letter to superintendent: “We feel the conduct of the district over the last five years has left us with no other alternative.”
Pinellas schools chief tries to reassure parents Aug. 21, 2015
A community forum on the topic drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 150.
U.S. Rep Kathy Castor calls for federal review Aug. 18, 2015
“Our federal and state laws — and our values — require that all children, no matter what neighborhood in which they live, receive an equal opportunity to a high quality education,” she wrote. “That is not happening for the students in south St. Petersburg.”
Officials announce stepped-up efforts Aug. 17, 2015
The district plans to convert some of the failing schools to magnet programs.
Times education reporters Cara Fitzpatrick and Lisa Gartner, investigative reporter Michael LaForgia and photographer Dirk Shadd spent a year tracing how Pinellas County School District leaders have neglected their neediest schools. The articles were written while LaForgia was participating in the National Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism.
Cara Fitzpatrick is an award-winning education reporter who has covered public schools in five counties across Florida. She joined the Times in 2012. cfitzpatrick@tampabay.com
Lisa Gartner has covered Pinellas County schools since 2013. Her beat coverage was named among the best in the country last year by the Education Writers Association. lgartner@tampabay.com
