Dr. Goliath Davis presided over the September COQEBS meeting, which featured Pinellas County School Superintendent Kevin Hendrick addressing the lack of progress in the Bridging the Gap Plan.
GOLIATH J. DAVIS, III, Ph.D. | Contributor
ST. PETERSBURG — On Sept. 3, Pinellas County School Superintendent Kevin Hendrick addressed a sizable group at a COQEBS (Concerned Organization for Quality Education of Black Students) meeting held at the Enoch Davis Center. School Board members Laura Hine, Caprice Edmons, Eilene Long, and Dawn Peters attended, along with Minority Achievement Officer Kathleen Young-Parker, Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Woodford and other district administrators.
Hendrick’s appearance was in response to an April 30 presentation by Dr. Oscar Barbarin, a research consultant working for COQEBS, where he shared his findings regarding the achievement gap between Black and white students in Pinellas County Schools, and concluded, among other things, that Black scholars are not being educated at the same rate as white students. Black males are disproportionately represented in several critical areas, including discipline, arrests and poor academic performance.
Pinellas County School Superintendent Kevin Hendrick outlined plans to refine the Bridging the Gap Plan to achieve improved performance for Black students.
Superintendent Hendrick addressed Barbarin’s conclusions and COQEBS’ recommendations as well as questions from the audience. While all the recommendations are essential, there is none more so than the recommendation that the Bridging the Gap Plan, which details strategies being utilized to ensure Black students receive the Florida constitutionally mandated quality education, be extended to the year 2035, with court oversight. There are several reasons why the recommendation must be adopted.
First, Barbarin’s findings clearly illustrate that the achievement gap is real and that minimal progress has been made. Superintendent Hendrick readily acknowledged Barbarin’s “report is accurate,” stating, “We gave Dr. Barbarin the data.” In other words, Barbarin did not reveal anything to the district that they did not already know. Black students as a group, in Pinellas County schools, are not proficient as measured by State of Florida metrics. However, over the last two years, some progress has been made.
Therefore, for all who care about students and internalize the district’s vision of “100 percent student success,” it would be disingenuous and foolhardy not to continue under the current model when it appears we have begun to “figure it out.”
The second reason to adopt the recommendation in its totality is that, although court oversight is currently present, it has not impeded our work in any way and has not cost the district. Given I have worked with no less than five school superintendents and a host of different school boards, it is apparent that superintendents are not appointed for life and school board members must navigate elections and term limits. Consequently, absent court oversight, the equivalent of a good insurance policy, COQEBS has no guarantee that a newly appointed superintendent or a change in school board composition will not result in the elimination of the Bridging the Gap Plan or untenable amendments that would negate current progress.
I am appealing to Superintendent Hendrick and School Board members Caprice Edmonds, Laura Hine, Eileen Long, Katie Blaxberg, Lisa Cane, and Stephanie Meyer to approve COQEBS’ recommendation. I am sure all will agree that the plan is consistent with the district’s stated mission, vision, and values, and is in the best interests of all students.
In the final analysis, I remain hopeful. We currently enjoy a fruitful collaborative relationship with the district. That has not always been the case. Additionally, the team of Woodford, Young-Parker, Brown, Long, and Vasquez is very responsive, attentive, and committed to attaining outcomes consistent with all student success. Therefore, I remain optimistic that Superintendent Hendrick and the Board will see the value in maintaining the current working relationship with an evolving Bridging the Gap Plan and court oversight.
Anyone inclined to encourage them to do so should contact Minority Achievement Officer Kathleen Young-Parker. She can be reached at 727-588-6436 or young-parkerk@pcsb.org.
Dr. Goliath Davis is a former St. Petersburg police chief and deputy mayor who advocates for education in Pinellas County, focusing on Black student achievement.
