Pinellas school board supports agreement on black students

The Pinellas County School Board left no doubt today that it supports a new legal agreement aimed at boosting black student achievement. The board won’t vote on the agreement until July 28, but at a workshop today members expressed no major reservations.

 

“It’s a good document,” said board member Carol Cook. “It’s a great piece to help us focus” on the achievement gap.

 

The “memorandum of understanding” was hammered out in court-ordered mediation between the district and attorneys for the plaintiffs in Bradley v. the Pinellas County School Board, the 45-year-old court case that underpins the legal fight for integration of Pinellas schools. It calls on the district to keep better tabs on black student performance, offer more specific remedies and hold school-level officials accountable for progress.

 

Board member Linda Lerner said the agreement showed the two parties have “made great steps forward.” But she also suggested some minor wording changes, saying the emphasis on black students alone might mislead some people to think the district is shortchanging other students. “I want to be sure that we don’t forget all our other students,” she said.

 

But superintendent Julie Janssen said that’s not going to happen. The agreement “does not invalidate what we’re doing for all other children,” she said.

 

Among those attending the workshop: Roger Plata, co-counsel for the plaintiffs; Watson Haynes, who co-chairs a community group that is advising the plaintiffs’ lawyers; and St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis.

 

Plata said many are concerned about what will happen to black students as the district returns to neighborhood schools. “This (agreement) is a way of ensuring … that the black kids are going to be treated fairly as they re-segregate,” he said.

 

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[Ryan]

When will this district actually put some focus on students who actually care and want an education. When was the last time you heard the idiots on the school board say they are going to think of ways of funding programs to continue the success of magnet programs, AP and IB courses. As long as this district, state, and country focus on students who could care less about their future, education will never move forward.

[Like it is]

The problem is squarely on the shoulders of black parents and the community. Black teenage girls have babies, when these kids are ready for school, mom is in her early to mid 20's and really wants to party. Dad is not around so who raises the child? Who is going to help this child with school? Grandma? Auntie? There will continue to be a gap regardless of any agreement until the parents and community start valuing education and stop looking for excuses why their kid is behind. What is being taught is whites are racist, run when the lights start flashing and don't say nothin'! and when you fail in school blame the school for discriminating against you. All parents need to be accountable for their kids education.

[Julia]

I'll say it again.Better curriculum, less micromanagement of teachers, less teaching to the FCAT, no new assignment plans that uproot children.I am usually very open minded and supportive of children w/ varying needs needing extra programs etc...but this has pushed me over the edge.These programs already exist! The extra funding already exists! The new $$ schools alreayd exist!! So, Julie, what are YOU doing for my gifted child and my other non-minority ESE child???I guess you don't care.I pay taxes and I am very frustrated by all these wasted, expensive, diminishing returns programs.It all sounds like more paperwork to me.

Dear Reasoned:You might want to have a chat w/ people from my family. People who were raised in refugee camps, suffered from immense malnutrition,survived horrendous acts of war, spoke no English and managed to go to Ivy League.Thanks!

[We need a reasoned approach]

Posters here who group black kids in a categry and call them lazy, undisciplined and poorly behaved are not using reason to make their argument. Read the brain research, the sociology research, the psychology research...pick up a law book and read about the Jim Crow era.

There is no way in the world a subgroup of people in society can function as if they were in a vaccuum. Even if isolated from everyone else, a subgroup would be different from the larger unisolated group. Why do you think Mormons want to live in isolation?

Now consider one subgroup has be $^*& on by society at large. That laws have been made to keep them in their place-which is not with the successful segment of society...

Even so, the facts do not conclude that success is impossible. We do, however, have to recognize success is easier for some than it is for others.

Don't think for a minute today's laws are color-blind and completely fair. It may not be the Jim Crow era, but there are vestigages of severe prejudice still written our civil codes.

Those who rant and rave about fair"er" treatment doth protest too much, I think.

[terminator]

give me a break:
well put

teachers need to be schooled:
you make a lot of excuses for lack of black achievement. this is a huge waste of time, money and effort as most of these kids don't care about learning to begin with.

take the ones who are discipline problems, have low GPA's and spotty attendance and tell them to hit the road jack!

they can always hang around the hood and act all ghetto. eventually, they'll be weeded out one way or another!

[David Kennedy]

I have a GREAT idea: Let's hold BLACK PARENTS accountable for their children's education. White students generally have much higher parental participation in their education, and as a result, they do better.

Unfortunately, saying something like "let's hold black parents accountable" is EXTREMELY politically incorrect, so it never gets said.

But it needs to.

[demetrius]

With so much emphasis on black student, are white students going to be ignored. This is dangerous territory. You will succeed if you apply yourself whether you are black or white. Stop the special treatment, this country is not about special treatment, it is about equal treatment.

[Pasco Teacher]

It is time for the local, state, and federal government to treat skin color the way it treats eye color -- ignore it.

[Jennifer]

The reason why blacks in Pinellas are further behind is because the school board and the city of St. Pete are both afraid of the St. Pete community leaders, Ray Tampa , the Uhurus etc..
They demand many things but do not want to hold the people accountable for their own behaviors. Until it is a 2 way street, the gap will never be closed. It is important that the school board and the city of St. Pete have some good communication with those community leaders. They need to be accountable, meaning parents need to be involved and take action and make sure their kids show up ready to learn and do their homework. Teachers are there to help but they can't do it alone. The Uhurus and Ray tampa need to listen more to Obama and Bill Cosby and less to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. School board don't let those leaders boss you around, because no program will ever be good enough.

[Give me a break]

To: teachers need to be schooled. Ever try beating your head as hard as you can against a wall? Then you have obviously not had the job of teaching those that WILL NOT learn. The facts are facts. The board throws more money and assistance at minority schools and still the gap persists. It is not the schools or teachers fault, it is the culture of the community. As we are currently resegregating schools, this entire debate will end shortly.Sad for you. More and more average Americans are getting hip to the grove and the pity party is ending. Either assist and monitor your child's education, or get the H*%l out of the schools so that others have a shot at an education. Can't wait for a parent to sue PCSB for not doing enough to educate and keep their prepared and well-behaved kid safe. We have thrown enough money, time and data at this issue. Either step up and succeed in life, or get fitted for your orange jumpsuit.

[success in spite of the school system]

There are thousands and thousands of kids who leave Pinellas schools each day and become successful in spite of the system not because of it.

There should be a few who become successful BECAUSE of the system and in spite of their homes, don't you think?

[Teachers need to be schooled also]

Somebody has not been dedicated to all of their students for a number of years. Pinellas has a substantially larger gap than comparable districts.

Lerner is supposed to understand this lawsuit is only about black children. If all children's needs had been met, we would not have such a gaping hole in our district's data.

[Dedicated to all of my students]

I have been a teacher in this county for ten years.I support Linda Lerners suggestion 100%.We need to meet the needs of ALL students. The school board needs to get a backbone and start talking about parent accountability in the black community.Children of any race do well when they come to school prepared to learn.I am not going to start treating children differently based on their race.If you want to close the gap, it starts at HOME!This is insulting to all of the wonderful black children and their families that I have been blessed to know and teach. I work with dedicated,caring teachers that work many unpaid hours to go the extra distance for children of all races. We do not treat or teach our students differently based on race.Prepare your child for learning. Set high expectations for proper behavior.Let your child know what you as a parent expect and your child will do well. Stop blaming the schools and start understanding that as a parent, YOU also are responsible for your childs success or failure. Let us work together to help all children learn.

[St Pete]

I hope this agreement comes with $ to collect and interpret all the data / baggage that it mandates. Here's an idea....hire a few more "coaches" to tell the teachers how to do it. That way, instead of actually TEACHING, the classroom teachers can just assess the black students (one on one) each week while the rest of the class is neglected. This is one sure fire way to close that gap. Genius! Why didn't anyone else think of this! Teaching and learning are so 90's...

[Lerner needs schooling]

What is wrong with Linda Lerner? After decades of sitting in that school board seat doing nothing she still does not understand the issues before her.