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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 08:42 AM Aug 2015

The willful race based destruction of a generation of kids

Last edited Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:11 AM - Edit history (1)

One fateful decision. Years of neglect.
Five once-average schools remade into the worst in Florida.
FAILURE FACTORIES


By CARA FITZPATRICK, LISA GARTNER and MICHAEL LaFORGIA
Photographs by DIRK SHADD
Times Staff

In just eight years, Pinellas County School Board members turned five schools in the county’s black neighborhoods into some of the worst in Florida.

First they abandoned integration, leaving the schools overwhelmingly poor and black.

Then they broke promises of more money and resources.

Then — as black children started failing at outrageous rates, as overstressed teachers walked off the job, as middle class families fled en masse — the board stood by and did nothing.

Today thousands of children are paying the price, a Tampa Bay Times investigation has found.

They are trapped at Campbell Park, Fairmount Park, Lakewood, Maximo and Melrose — five neighborhood elementary schools that the board has transformed into failure factories.

Every year, they turn out a staggering number of children who don’t know the basics.

Eight in 10 fail reading, according to state standardized test scores. Nine in 10 fail math.

more
http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2015/investigations/pinellas-failure-factories/5-schools-segregation/
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The willful race based destruction of a generation of kids (Original Post) DonViejo Aug 2015 OP
Ashame. Something needs to be done. yeoman6987 Aug 2015 #1
I got bused into the city in the 80's madville Aug 2015 #51
you didn't read the articles at the link cali Aug 2015 #53
I responded to a comment about bussing madville Aug 2015 #56
when busing was in effect in Pinellas County, the schools were far, far better cali Aug 2015 #58
I'm a product secondvariety Aug 2015 #69
You're kidding, right? Unknown Beatle Aug 2015 #78
it's in a case like this that the Feds should step in cali Aug 2015 #2
+10000 n/t n2doc Aug 2015 #3
did you read all the stories at the link? holy shit. cali Aug 2015 #5
The "feds" stepped in years ago...the district has been under court orders for a long time. Sancho Aug 2015 #16
thanks. jaysus. so the Feds have been useless? cali Aug 2015 #18
Federal supervision ended in 2007. ieoeja Aug 2015 #33
yes, thanks. that's what I thought- that it had ended cali Aug 2015 #34
Sancho, I have a question. Are the Feds involved now. because from cali Aug 2015 #20
I'm going to kick the shit out of this thread cali Aug 2015 #4
I will kick it too cali MuseRider Aug 2015 #9
thank you Muse! Everyone needs to read this cali Aug 2015 #10
Kicking MuseRider Aug 2015 #66
This is not how this country should be doing things. MuseRider Aug 2015 #72
Don, thank you for posting this. terrible. cali Aug 2015 #6
You're welcome, cali. Fairly appalling isn't it?... DonViejo Aug 2015 #8
it's completely appalling and there's reason to believe it was purposeful cali Aug 2015 #11
I think you should change your op title cali Aug 2015 #27
Done. Thanks brickbat and cali for the recommendation DonViejo Aug 2015 #30
thank you, Don cali Aug 2015 #31
+1,000 malaise Aug 2015 #40
kick. you need to read this cali Aug 2015 #7
I signed up for the emails from the newspaper concerning this. n/t djean111 Aug 2015 #12
fucking grotesque cali Aug 2015 #13
I've been reading this this morning. Starry Messenger Aug 2015 #14
I think this is racism, ugly and simple cali Aug 2015 #15
K&R nt Mnemosyne Aug 2015 #17
wait hang on d_r Aug 2015 #19
yeah, that crashed into my vision too. fuck you linda cali Aug 2015 #22
Clearly, Sarah Palin speak... DonViejo Aug 2015 #23
How does anyone this f'ng stupid get on a school board justhanginon Aug 2015 #25
I am literally crying right now d_r Aug 2015 #38
me too and I'm not either cali Aug 2015 #39
Yeah they are d_r Aug 2015 #43
"Yet, when contacted by the Times, board members distorted facts, pleaded ignorance or said they Brickbat Aug 2015 #21
that's it! that's exactly it. thank you for putting it so well. cali Aug 2015 #24
This story needs to be wrapped around Jeb Bush's neck... Gumboot Aug 2015 #26
it sure does. cali Aug 2015 #28
Isn't this why they are changing the name of the state to Floriduh? n/t RoccoR5955 Aug 2015 #29
K&R azmom Aug 2015 #32
Remember, it's all the teacher's fault Feeling the Bern Aug 2015 #35
well, them and the parents nt d_r Aug 2015 #44
when they blame teachers is when I get even more pissed off navarth Aug 2015 #57
what an awful story tishaLA Aug 2015 #36
K & R historylovr Aug 2015 #37
K&R, for visibility... nenagh Aug 2015 #41
Jeb needs to be fitted for a sandwich board with this message painted on it. Bluenorthwest Aug 2015 #42
I know I'm probably showing my ignorance but this appears to me cali Aug 2015 #47
K&R NikolaC Aug 2015 #45
Were these same kids doing better when the school was integrated? XemaSab Aug 2015 #46
yes. you and everyone here really needs to read the series of articles at the link cali Aug 2015 #49
Kick. bettyellen Aug 2015 #48
This crap will continue until several superintendents are held HubertHeaver Aug 2015 #50
not just the super cali Aug 2015 #52
Please read my post HubertHeaver Aug 2015 #62
The Right has been OBSESSED with a takeover of the school system..... Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2015 #54
that is so true cali Aug 2015 #55
This is straight up child abuse d_legendary1 Aug 2015 #59
furious kick cali Aug 2015 #60
Outrageous! Ms. Yertle Aug 2015 #61
i loved my integrated magnet grade school. i always gravitated to making friends w/ the black kids. pansypoo53219 Aug 2015 #63
Destruction of Education is a right wing tactic... the_sly_pig Aug 2015 #64
"thousands of children are paying the price" < No, we are all paying the price. n/t jtuck004 Aug 2015 #65
that's like saying we all pay the price of cops murdering poc cali Aug 2015 #70
K&R... spanone Aug 2015 #67
Ah, but at the Republican debate they all insisted the feds should stay out of setting standards. tclambert Aug 2015 #68
Lying School Board Members hueymahl Aug 2015 #71
a continuing slow holocaust. nt navarth Aug 2015 #73
K&R Elmer S. E. Dump Aug 2015 #74
If you support the Wall Street status quo, it will only get worse. This is capitalism rhett o rick Aug 2015 #75
no, this is largely pure racism cali Aug 2015 #77
Surprising to see this happen in Pinellas KamaAina Aug 2015 #76
Pinellas is a swing county, not sure I would call it a Liberal bastion. The city of St. Pete is stevenleser Aug 2015 #86
Outstanding piece of journalism. Read the full article. kwassa Aug 2015 #79
Wow, schools like this need a Federal backstop Babel_17 Aug 2015 #80
The school board members probably have heavy investments in for-profit prisons. valerief Aug 2015 #81
K & R for exposure. nt SunSeeker Aug 2015 #82
Kick and rec JustAnotherGen Aug 2015 #83
This is so sad. Blue_In_AK Aug 2015 #84
Kick, and the linked article is a must read (nt) Babel_17 Aug 2015 #85
I lived in Pinellas county for 10 years from 1992-1997 and then 1999-2004 stevenleser Aug 2015 #87
kick... Blue_Tires Aug 2015 #88
 

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)
1. Ashame. Something needs to be done.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 08:48 AM
Aug 2015

Integration could be tried but it depends on how far busing will be needed because that would be the way to integrate pupils from other counties into these schools. Something dramatic will have to happen. More money helps but more needs done then even money.

madville

(7,397 posts)
51. I got bused into the city in the 80's
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:02 AM
Aug 2015

We lived out in the predominantly white suburbs and they bussed us about 15 miles into the city to add some white kids to a middle school that had previously been 90%+ black, driving right by two other middle schools along the way.

In my opinion it was a disaster, there were daily fights, white vs. black brawls involving 100+ people would shut the school down for days at a time, there were close gun shots in the blocks surrounding the school at least weekly, teachers would just tell us to close the windows.

I know the white suburban neighborhood kids I grew up around became the biggest racists you had ever seen within months. Luckily we moved after I had only gone there one year. Interestingly we moved to a rural county with one middle school that was about 50/50 black and white and things were relatively calm because everyone had grown up in the same small town their whole lives.

Elementary school may work better though since the kids are younger. Those were different times also, dropping "rich" white 12-14 year olds into the poorest part of the city back then was definitely the wrong way to do it, things were still segregated within the school.



 

cali

(114,904 posts)
53. you didn't read the articles at the link
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:05 AM
Aug 2015

You don't have a clue about this particular situation

madville

(7,397 posts)
56. I responded to a comment about bussing
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:19 AM
Aug 2015

Sure bussing in students from higher performing areascould boost the school performance numbers on paper. It doesn't address the underlying issues for the individual students, like poverty or poor home lives.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
58. when busing was in effect in Pinellas County, the schools were far, far better
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:32 AM
Aug 2015

But that's only one aspect of this heinous crime

secondvariety

(1,245 posts)
69. I'm a product
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 05:02 PM
Aug 2015

of the South Pinellas schools (mid 60s to 74) during the early days of busing, and to say it was a disaster would be an understatement. Our "brawls" made national news in '71. Twenty some years later, my daughters were being bused to high school and the same crap was still happening. After about the tenth visit to the administration office to find out why my kids were being harassed and physically assaulted and getting a mamby pandy answer, I pulled them both out of school. They got their State of Florida Diploma another way.
My granddaughter is now a middle schooler in South Pinellas and if they try to bus her with the intention of making a school less of a failure or it goes back to the way it used to be with the assaults and harassment , I'll pull her out too and home school her. There's no way I'll let her get bused across town or put up with the shit we did. No way.


I'm truly sorry those Southside schools are doing so poorly and I'm sorry those precious kids like Tyree that just want to go to school are getting the crap knocked out of them daily. I can totally commiserate with the parents that are stuck sending their kids there and getting no good answers from the School Board. I'm a 50 year resident of Pinellas and I hate to see it like this.

Unknown Beatle

(2,672 posts)
78. You're kidding, right?
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 07:47 PM
Aug 2015

Florida, a state that had jeb bush and now has rick scott as governor. Those two alone have had a destructive effect on anything that they touch, except when it comes to stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Those two don't give a shit about educating children.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
2. it's in a case like this that the Feds should step in
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 08:52 AM
Aug 2015

They are violating the civil rights of those kids

Sancho

(9,065 posts)
16. The "feds" stepped in years ago...the district has been under court orders for a long time.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:42 AM
Aug 2015

Some recent repub and Jeb-types have desegregated the county. BTW, I'm on the front lines of this one.

The state officials have been pretty worthless, and the current Superintendent is a conservative idiot.

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/21/Tampabay/Pinellas_school_deseg.shtml

Pinellas school desegregation: A chronology

 

ieoeja

(9,748 posts)
33. Federal supervision ended in 2007.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:18 AM
Aug 2015

At that time none of the schools had less than a "C" rating. One had an "A" rating.

When the Feds left, the locals quickly returned to neighborhood schools. That *is* much handier for everyone involved. But since the neghborhoods are racially and economically segregated, it meant these five schools became poor overnight. Today, all five schools have an "F" rating.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
20. Sancho, I have a question. Are the Feds involved now. because from
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:59 AM
Aug 2015

what I've been reading it seems like that was in the early seventies

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
4. I'm going to kick the shit out of this thread
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 08:58 AM
Aug 2015

Everyone here needs to read it. This is horrific institutional racism.

MuseRider

(34,057 posts)
9. I will kick it too cali
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:31 AM
Aug 2015

this is so upsetting. I have not finished reading all of the stories yet but at this point I have to ask why? Why and how could any human do this to someone else?

MuseRider

(34,057 posts)
72. This is not how this country should be doing things.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 06:21 PM
Aug 2015

Among many other things I find this perhaps the most appalling of our short comings. The blame goes everywhere.

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
8. You're welcome, cali. Fairly appalling isn't it?...
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:27 AM
Aug 2015

Just have to wonder, if one County in FL is pulling this horror, what else and where else? Undoubtedly, we're suppose to believe that NONE of the state's GOP elected officials, from the County seat, through the State House and on to the U.S. Senate, were aware of what the school board was pulling.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
27. I think you should change your op title
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:08 AM
Aug 2015

to what brickbat said: The willful race based destruction of a generation of kids.

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
14. I've been reading this this morning.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:36 AM
Aug 2015

Perfect storm of horrible education policies and ideology come home with the force of a hurricane. One thing I never appreciated was how quickly segregation and the effects can take hold. People who think there is time to adjust effects in education while you "experiment" might want to give this a serious read.

d_r

(6,907 posts)
19. wait hang on
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:57 AM
Aug 2015

Just read the comments of one of the board members who voted in 2007 to resegregate the schools before jumping to any conclusions:

Linda Lerner, who voted for the plan that resegregated the district in 2007, blamed the schools’ problems on “the cycle of poverty,” not on actions by the School Board.

“This is a nationwide thing, not just us. You hear school districts everywhere talking about this,” said Peggy O’Shea, who also voted for the plan in 2007. “It’s an issue that’s everywhere, unfortunately.”

“We only talk about it in black schools,” she added, “but we resegregated white schools as well.”


See? They resegregated white schools, too. This clearly isn't institutional racism.

Any case anybody needs this:

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
23. Clearly, Sarah Palin speak...
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:01 AM
Aug 2015
“We only talk about it in black schools,” she added, “but we resegregated white schools as well.”




Dumb as a bag of rocks.

justhanginon

(3,287 posts)
25. How does anyone this f'ng stupid get on a school board
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:04 AM
Aug 2015

charged with overseeing the education of our children. At this point I'm not sure the voters of Florida have any shame left but they certainly should. This situation needs to be fixed starting now. No BS excuses.

d_r

(6,907 posts)
38. I am literally crying right now
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:29 AM
Aug 2015

and I'm not a crier.

“We’ve looked at just about everything we can and put things in place,” said Carol Cook, who also voted for resegregation in 2007. “I think we’re on the right track.”


“Mindblowing,” said Terry Krassner, who joined the board in 2010 and who said virtually the same thing about struggling black students four years ago. “I think we need to figure out what we don’t know.”


“We keep making the same mistakes over and over and over,” said Goliath Davis, a former police chief and deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. “What happens to all these kids? What do they do? Every time we fail one, the criminal justice system is a winner.




“They won’t even consider what other school boards have done,” said the Rev. Manuel Sykes, pastor of Bethel Community Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. “They refuse to accept that there are people who are doing things better.”


“They won’t even consider what other school boards have done,” said the Rev. Manuel Sykes, pastor of Bethel Community Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. “They refuse to accept that there are people who are doing things better.”

d_r

(6,907 posts)
43. Yeah they are
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:52 AM
Aug 2015

and people should not be fooled.
They aren't just clueless people who don't understand. They aren't simply incompetent.
They knew what would happen, everyone knew. They didn't care.

Linda Lerner:

Brickbat

(19,339 posts)
21. "Yet, when contacted by the Times, board members distorted facts, pleaded ignorance or said they
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:00 AM
Aug 2015

needed more information before they could act."

Willful race-based destruction of a generation of kids. Horrifying.

Gumboot

(531 posts)
26. This story needs to be wrapped around Jeb Bush's neck...
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:05 AM
Aug 2015

... This was the intentional end result of all his so-called education reforms.

And it's exactly what Bernie is referring to when he talks about institutional racism.

All of America needs to hear this horror story - and its direct connection to Jeb f***ing Bush.





 

Feeling the Bern

(3,839 posts)
35. Remember, it's all the teacher's fault
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:24 AM
Aug 2015

Communities, school administration, partisan school boards, the public and politicians that force unfunded mandates on schools have nothing to do with it and don't even enter into the equation.

It's all the fault of those worthless, overpaid, oversexed, undertalented parasites known as teachers. Chris Christie told me so! As did Bill Bennett in 1983's A Nation At Risk.

navarth

(5,927 posts)
57. when they blame teachers is when I get even more pissed off
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:30 AM
Aug 2015

my wife is a retired teacher. I've seen up close what teachers have to deal with.

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
42. Jeb needs to be fitted for a sandwich board with this message painted on it.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:46 AM
Aug 2015

Also I wonder where our Federal government is on this obscenity?

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
47. I know I'm probably showing my ignorance but this appears to me
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:58 AM
Aug 2015

to be a blatant violation of these kids' civil rights

XemaSab

(60,212 posts)
46. Were these same kids doing better when the school was integrated?
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 10:58 AM
Aug 2015

Or was the attitude of the school board like "Half the kids are doing great! Nothing to see here, move along!"

Harder to cover up the failure of a generation of poor children when they're the only ones left at that school.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
49. yes. you and everyone here really needs to read the series of articles at the link
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:00 AM
Aug 2015

The fucking op title is no exaggeration. Not even a little

HubertHeaver

(2,520 posts)
50. This crap will continue until several superintendents are held
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:01 AM
Aug 2015

criminally liable resulting in some serious jail time. Superintendents are a hard-headed lot but they do talk to each other. They will clean up their act when they see a few of their cohorts go to prison.

Typically, School Board members are wholly ignorant of educational matters and depend totally on the professional staff to guide them. They will enact (rubber-stamp) recommendations from the staff. The School Board is only a convenient "whipping-boy" for the administration.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
54. The Right has been OBSESSED with a takeover of the school system.....
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:14 AM
Aug 2015

Their goal is to make it fail to keep the poor and minorities down. Then point to them as inferior to justify their racist superiority, then to propose the solution to the problem THEY CREATED through their sabotage by blaming the very concept of "government run" and claim the solution is private schools.

Why we aren't jailing these bastards is beyond me.

the_sly_pig

(740 posts)
64. Destruction of Education is a right wing tactic...
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 03:14 PM
Aug 2015

Black, white, hispanic, asian doesn't matter. This school board has just abandoned any attempt to hide its agenda.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
70. that's like saying we all pay the price of cops murdering poc
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 05:10 PM
Aug 2015

It's true, but the people directly involved- poc- lose to a far, far greater degree

tclambert

(11,080 posts)
68. Ah, but at the Republican debate they all insisted the feds should stay out of setting standards.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 03:40 PM
Aug 2015

They objected to the idea of a "core curriculum." "That should be a matter for the states or local school boards" they all said. And obviously, they don't want to provide any educational help to poor, black children--I mean "urban youth." That would just create a "culture of dependence."

hueymahl

(2,415 posts)
71. Lying School Board Members
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 06:04 PM
Aug 2015

The answer to one question is all you need to know about this school board:

http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2015/investigations/pinellas-failure-factories/school-board/

Would you feel comfortable sending your child or grandchild to school at Campbell Park, Fairmount Park, Lakewood, Maximo or Melrose?


Every board member said yes. That's great. Now, lets start enrolling your children and grand-children in one of those schools. That way you can prove you are not just another disgusting hypocrite.
 

rhett o rick

(55,981 posts)
75. If you support the Wall Street status quo, it will only get worse. This is capitalism
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 07:10 PM
Aug 2015

people. Profits uber alles.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
76. Surprising to see this happen in Pinellas
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 07:18 PM
Aug 2015

(St. Pete and vicinity) Generally one of a handful of liberal bastions down there.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
86. Pinellas is a swing county, not sure I would call it a Liberal bastion. The city of St. Pete is
Tue Aug 18, 2015, 10:26 AM
Aug 2015

Liberal but the county itself is not. I lived there 10 years. I actually know several of these folks on the school board. Will write more about that in a response directly to the OP.

Edited to add: Pinellas is part of the I-4 corridor to include the Tampa, Orlando and Daytona areas which typically determines who wins the state in a close election.

kwassa

(23,340 posts)
79. Outstanding piece of journalism. Read the full article.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:04 PM
Aug 2015

There is no excuse for this school board.

But this is a common problem with elected school boards. People with no expertise but strong beliefs about education become school board members.

Babel_17

(5,400 posts)
80. Wow, schools like this need a Federal backstop
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:14 PM
Aug 2015

There should be a minimum standard for all schools. If any fall below then the Federal government should step in (the state having had a chance to act first) and apply resources. They should have the power to remove administrators and have the option to bill the state. That minimizes the temptation to cry wolf as the federal aid isn't a free ride. This also will minimize the temptation to segregate so some taxpayers can save money. No free ride from supporting good schools for all.

I read most of that long article and it sounds like these schools were shortchanged on resources and then things snowballed. So fixing things means starting at square one.

The minimum standard needs to be made into a civil right that the Federal government enforces. It will be cheaper in the long run to just fix things rather than letting kids suffer while we endlessly band-aid while in crisis mode. Spend the damn money and raise the damn taxes on the rich if need be.

Call it jobs creation, just do it.

Edit for grammar and so I might as well add that the article is a must read. It's a major story.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
81. The school board members probably have heavy investments in for-profit prisons.
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 09:22 PM
Aug 2015

Since the kids aren't being prepared to hold a job.

This is disgusting.

Blue_In_AK

(46,436 posts)
84. This is so sad.
Tue Aug 18, 2015, 04:25 AM
Aug 2015

I'm really glad I live in a diverse city where all the schools are a delightful mix of black, white, Asian, Pacific Islander, Alaska Native, on and on. It's one of the things my grown kids have told me, that they appreciated growing up in a place where everybody is all mixed up together. We are blessed.


http://www.adn.com/article/20150523/anchorage-public-schools-lead-nation-diversity


 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
87. I lived in Pinellas county for 10 years from 1992-1997 and then 1999-2004
Tue Aug 18, 2015, 10:39 AM
Aug 2015

I was a district chair in the Pinellas DEC and then Public Relations chair for a while. I was acquainted with several of the school board members while I was living there and I am surprised by this. The actions taken that resulted in this catastrophe seem to have happened 3 years after I left.

Lois Lerner and Rene Flowers in particular I spoke with on occasion and I can't believe either of them allowed this to happen. I am going to see if I can talk with either of them. Flowers I don't think joined the school board until 2012 or 2013, she had other positions in Pinellas so this was probably all put into action 5 years before she got there so it will be interesting to see what she has to say if I can talk to her.

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