Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick welcomes students to the 2022-23 school year.
Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! It’s an honor to serve as Pinellas County Schools superintendent. I am eager to welcome families back to school and share some of our exciting plans for the school year.
As I start as superintendent, my priorities include building communication and collaboration, improving academic achievement and student experiences, nurturing strong community partnerships, and improving the culture and climate in our schools.
This focus on improving the climate and culture at schools so they are welcoming and supportive environments for everyone will emphasize the district’s core values: Commitment to Children, Families and the Community; Respectful and Caring Relationships; Cultural Competence; Integrity; Responsibility and Connectedness.
I am eager to collaborate with our families, staff and community members to improve achievement for all students and ensure that every student has the resources and the opportunities to reach their full potential.
To ensure student success, we must identify each student’s academic and social needs and work to meet those needs. They include things like opportunities for challenging courses, small group instruction, clubs and sports. Whatever those needs are, it’s our job to meet them and provide them.
We’ll continue to build strong relationships with community and business partners to benefit our students academically, physically, and socially. In this issue, you’ll learn about some of our newest partnerships and initiatives. Here are a few:
- Pinellas County Schools is partnering with the Innovation Foundation to boost STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) in sixth-grade science classrooms.
- We are partnering with the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg to build a joint community center and state-of-the-art middle school.
- In our WE L.E.A.D. (Learn-Elevate-Advocate-Develop) program, high-achieving Black male juniors and seniors will mentor Black male freshmen and sophomores to support their success in school and in life.
- We are improving our College and Career Centers and expanding them to all our traditional high schools.
- We are launching a health and wellness pilot with the TB12 Foundation, founded by Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
- We are expanding early learning partnerships and capacity to nearly 3,000 students in Pinellas County School PreK.
Our entire community plays a role in our vision of 100% student success. As I start my first year as superintendent, I am eager to hear from families, staff, students and community members and learn from you. I am holding several Listen and Learn Sessions over the next couple of months. You can attend them in-person or virtually and can learn more at www.pcsb.org/listenlearn.
This community investment includes my own story in our district. My connections to Pinellas County are deep. I am a proud graduate of Largo High and a longtime resident of Pinellas. My family members work for our district and my son attends our schools.
I began my career in education in 1997 as a teacher at Pinellas Park High School. Over the years, I have served in many roles in the district. Most recently, I served as the district’s Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Services. Before that, I served nine years as principal of Northeast High School. I have also been a math and social studies teacher, a basketball coach, an assistant principal and an athletic director.
I am committed to educating and preparing every Pinellas County Schools student for college, career and life, and look forward to working with you and the rest of the community to ensure a successful and fulfilling year ahead.
