Pinellas County Schools
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Updated – March 6, 2024
Pinellas County School District teacher Alex Quinto has raised concerns regarding his acceptance of the GLSEN Educator of the Year Award. GLSEN, or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is an organization that aims to produce LGBTQ-affirming educational spaces through student-led movements. GLSEN supports school-based gay-straight alliance (GSA) chapters as well as LGBTQ-affirming legislation and provides classroom resources and materials for educators.
Alex Quinto, who refers to himself with “He/Him/His” pronouns, is a counselor at Largo Middle IB World School. Quinto, the grand marshal for the St. Pete Pride Parade and a drag performer, reflects that:
“More than a dozen kids confided that they wanted to kiss someone of their same sex, or present as a different gender. They told him about their crushes. Worried about their parents … [Quinto] doesn’t tell students what to think. But when they ask, he answers their questions. Tells them their feelings are valid. He hopes some of them see themselves in him.”
In response to Florida’s new legislation restricting instruction on “gender identity” and sexual orientation, Quinto is aiming to create a blanket permission slip for parents to sign.
Pinellas County School District created the Bridging the Gap Plan 2023-2024, which aims to close the achievement and recognition gap between black students and their peers through various efforts. These efforts include minority hiring, reductions in disproportionate disciplinary consequences, and increasing graduation rates through personalized tutoring for black students across eight high schools. Also included in the plan are various action steps, one of which calls for the “Commission [of] an Anti-Racist Curriculum Review Task Force to examine curriculum from an anti-racist perspective and implement recommendations from task force for the coming school year(s).”
Unfortunately, US News reported that only 50% of elementary students at Pinellas County Schools are at or above the proficient level for reading, and 53% in math. Middle school students tested 43% at or above reading proficiency level, and 45% tested proficient in math. For high school students, 50% were proficient in reading and 34% were proficient in mathematics.
Published – October 4, 2021
Pinellas County Schools serves Pinellas County, Florida. The district is based in Largo. With over 104,000 students served in more than 140 schools and centers, the district is the 7th-largest in Florida and 26th-largest in the nation.
On Monday, August 9, 2021 the Pinellas County School Board held a workshop to finalize mask protocol for the district’s reopening. The board decided to NOT mandate masks, and leave the decision optional for parents to decide at home. Other districts in the state have developed a “opt-out” policy. It requires parents to fill out a form to release their child from wearing a mask while at school. Pinellas County is not using the opt-out method, making masks entirely optional. The mask-optional policy has drawn differing opinions from parents across the district. Nearly 1,000 parents signed a petition asking the district to mandate masks, but the district sent an email out to parents saying it would continue to enforce state guidelines (optional mask-wearing.)
According to the districts proposed budget, the district plans to spend $350,000 on “reading software” from Renaissance Learning. Renaissance Learning publicly supports “Black Lives Matter” and discusses their core values which include “breaking down systemic barriers that harm underserved minorities, pushing diversity hirings in schools, and removing institutional bias.”
_________________________
Pinellas County Schools has 93,702 students enrolled in Pre-K through 12 across 188 schools.
