Pinellas School District Responds to News Story
The Pinellas County School District has issued a response to a Tampa Bay Times investigation into the district's lowest performing schools -- saying, " the road to transformation begins with solutions, not blame."
The Times's series charged the Pinellas school district with failing to provide adequate resources for five elementary schools in African-American neighborhoods after officials ended bussing in 2007, and with "resegregating" schools.
In response to the series called "Failure Factories," the district responded with a list of initiatives it has instituted, as well as short-term results it says show improvement.
"These five schools are not factories, and the students are not widgets within them; they are lively places where hundreds of optimistic and determined staff and students work and learn each day," the district statement said.
Listen here for to WUSF's interview with two of the reporters from the series.