Academic achievement is the bedrock of any educational experience. Improving attainment levels, especially for those students with the greatest achievement gaps, is pivotal to the Pinellas Education Foundation’s work. That’s why we strive to support highly effective teachers and principals.
How we’re striving to close the gender achievement gap in Pinellas County
Boys are underperforming girls at alarming rates in literacy. This disparity follows the genders through to graduation. The current structure of curriculum and the learning day can inadvertently ignore boys’ interests, experiences and inherent tendencies. To address the gender achievement gap, the Foundation works directly with elementary teachers and principals to improve instructional practices that help boys and girls achieve at higher levels.
3,343 Students directly impacted by Closing the Gap grants
272 Teachers directly impacted by the program
11 Pinellas County Schools participating in the grant program and the annual Boys Read Book Battle
Reading Recovery to accelerate grade-level proficiency
One-to-one tutoring is provided to low-achieving first-graders as part of this highly effective short-term reading intervention program. In many of the schools where participants are enrolled, low-income populations begin school unprepared for kindergarten. In this nationally recognized program, struggling students achieve grade-level proficiency before falling further behind.
15 Pinellas County elementary schools selected for the program
130 Students who participated in 1-on-1 instruction
70 % Students expected to improve to first-grade level in the program
Reimagining education through a lens of digital equity
In an era of expanded online learning tools and continued hybrid learning, not all families have access to the internet or knowledge about the digital educational tools available to them. The Foundation seeks to close the digital equity gap, by providing hundreds of families free and reliable access to the internet and technology coaching through the Family E-Learning Coaching Program.
352 Individual coaching sessions completed within first year
45 Average minutes per technology coaching session
Improving kindergarten readiness and literacy proficiency
The Pinellas Early Literacy Initiative, developed jointly with Pinellas County Schools, seeks to improve literacy among preschoolers and elementary school students. Rooted in the belief that teachers and leaders are the lynchpin to higher student achievement the initiative, through evidence-based instruction, aims to prepare students for kindergarten by extending the science of reading to Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) and K-2 classrooms.
2,093 Pre-K and K-2 students served by the initiative
186 Teachers and administrators impacted by the project
8% Increase in reading proficiency among 2nd grade students
- Initiatives -
The Pinellas Education Foundation is dedicated to identifying current issues in public education and strives to provide innovative solutions that will further enhance the quality of learning.
To learn more about our current updates and initiatives:
