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When disaster strikes, Pinellas County relies on communication channels (telephone hotlines, AM radio – even megaphones) to keep residents informed. Several years ago, the County recognized the need to improve how important information reaches the deaf and hard of hearing community.

“We partnered with the Family Center on Deafness to try and figure out what was available, what was already in place, and what we could bring on board,” said Jess McCracken, Emergency Management Coordinator for Pinellas County. “The list became, ‘Hey, we should bring these parties together,’ and Deaf Fest was born.”

The 4^th Annual Deaf Fest took place Saturday (Aug. 9) at the Lealman Exchange, the new home of the Family Center on Deafness (FCD). Over 20 parties had a presence with giveaways and crucial information to help the community better prepare for emergencies. County departments such as Emergency Management, Consumer Protection and Human Rights were on hand, as well as 911 Emergency Services with a text-to-911 demonstration.

Other service providers, such as PSTA, Pinellas County Schools and BayCare provided resources, answered questions and conducted screenings. The event’s maximum accessibility was thanks in part to a team of interpreters provided by AQI Interpreting.

In addition to emergency service providers, Deaf Fest welcomed organizations who specifically serve the deaf and hard of hearing community statewide. Among them were Pinellas County’s Deaf Literacy Center, Clearwater’s Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf, the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of Florida.

ALDA stands for Association of Late-Deafened Adults. It’s part social club, part advocacy arm, with a 35-year presence in the area. 

ALDA Suncoast’s Chapter President, Kim Mettache, sat with her husband, Tahar Mettache, distributing booklets of ASL signs for emergencies. “These communication packets help emergency services to communicate with the community,” she said

ALDA Suncoast sponsored food for the event, providing free pizza and cannoli to all attendees courtesy of Leonardo’s Pizzeria, a deaf-owned restaurant in Palm Harbor. “We make everything from scratch,” co-owner Kelly Doleac said through an ASL interpreter.  “Our goals are good food, good pizza, and to empower the deaf community.”  

In the days leading up to the event, the Lealman Exchange was host to the annual public meeting of the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The council is a resource for the nearly three million Floridians with hearing loss, and acts as an advisory and coordinating entity.

They were also available at Deaf Fest for additional interaction with the community.

During Deaf Fest, the Family Center on Deafness held two ribbon cuttings. The first officially opened its new permanent home in the Lealman Exchange, a facility housing several nonprofits with social service benefits to the Lealman neighborhood and beyond. Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Scherer, Rep. Lindsay Cross, Juvenile Welfare Board Interim CEO Michael G. Mikurak and current FCD Board President Susanne Moeller joined FCD Executive Director Anthony Verdeja in welcoming the public. 

The second ribbon cutting celebrated the FCD Girl Scout Troop’s completed butterfly garden. Troop 96360 received the Girl Scout Bronze Award for the project, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout (grades 4-5) can earn.

Mary Pat King, CEO of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, attended the ceremony to congratulate the Troop. “Girl Scouts aims to eliminate any barrier to a high-quality Girl Scout leadership experience,” she said in her remarks, “and it is partnerships like this that make it possible.” 

All the partners at Deaf Fest are striving to eliminate communication barriers, especially when it comes to emergencies. Deaf and hard of hearing persons can contact the County Information Center through an ASL interpreter on the language line, or use the live chat feature on the County’s website, and the County will implement improved signage in shelters and on aid distribution vehicles.

“We want to support the deaf and hard of hearing community getting prepared for hurricane season, know how to get resources, and know how to communicate needs,” said McCracken. “And we will continue to try to improve our knowledge.”

Becca McCoy is a Navigator with the St. Petersburg Foundation.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/at-the-lealman-exchange-deaf-fest-and-ribbon-cuttings/.

Over the course of three weeks in July, the Juvenile Welfare Board’s Summer Book Bus made 81 stops at community sites across Pinellas County and gave away 10,756 books to 5,378 eager young readers.

A partnership with Pinellas County Schools, the JWB Summer Book Bus visits underserved neighborhoods across Pinellas County to combat summer learning loss. It’s all part of JWB’s Early Readers Future Leaders Grade-Level Reading Campaign, helping mitigate summer learning loss while instilling a love of reading in kids of all ages. Reading on grade-level by the end of third grade is an important predictor of high school graduation and future success.

And that’s why, for each of the last eight summers, Pinellas parents and kids have been invited to hop aboard the JWB Book Bus to choose two free books. With stops at community sites from Tarpon Springs to South St. Petersburg, the JWB Book Bus stops include public libraries, community recreation centers, neighborhood family centers, childcare centers, and more.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_1c677612-e7f0-4d1a-8f1c-1a6a55bce8b9.html

At the Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center’s Campers, kids are taught to appreciate the world around them.

For children who might not know the world beyond Florida, exploration begins at summer camp. The Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center’s 8-week summer program is a celebration of diversity around the United States.

“It struck me that, hey, we’re all immigrants,” said Donna McGill, executive director of LANFC.

In past years, the camp has been named “Summer Around the World.” But McGill noticed that the children coming to LANFC didn’t know much about any state outside of Florida. For McGill, it was important to educate children about the range of identities within their home country.

Most of the campers, who are second- or third-generation immigrants, have not traveled outside the state.

Angelo Paloma, 11, of Seminole, has been a LANFC camper for years. He likes to hang out with friends, cook and eat food from different states and play at the pool on sunny days.

His mother, Ana Paloma, was born in Mexico and moved to the United States as a teenager. She is a pre-K teacher and assists at LANFC’s summer camp to earn extra money for her family of five. The farthest she and her children have traveled is to Savannah, Georgia, and Mexico to visit family.

Ana Paloma admires LANFC’s initiative to teach the campers about the United States. “We want the kids to learn that this country is being made by immigrants; it’s what it is because of immigrants.”

Like McGill, Ana Paloma emphasizes that LANFC staff teaches the importance of empathy.

“That’s the most important thing: that my kids can go to a summer camp where they can have fun and play and not have to worry about anything else. What really matters is seeing that friendship, and that sense of community. Being really close together. Even the staff, we are just a few people, but I feel like we can trust each other.”

LANFC fosters a tight-knit and supportive community through their longtime staff members. McGill credits the strength of the summer camp to her dedicated team members, “I have the best staff,” she said. “These people are just so caring. We’re tough, but we’re also loving, and the kids keep coming back every year.”

Thuat Truong has worked at LANFC for 20 years. Before coming to Florida, she was a geography professor in Vietnam. Truong works closely with the local Vietnamese community, helping with anything from English lessons to paperwork. Sometimes they may just want to see a friendly face.

Her relationship with families doesn’t end when children graduate and leave Florida, or when families no longer need help.

“They know it’s their second home,” said Truong.

LANFC offers immigration support, food pantry donations, family resources and after-school childcare.

Primarily funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board, LANFC serves younger community members with English language lessons, after-school activities and camp.

McGill and her staff’s mission has been and always will be to teach kids respect for their community. Campers are taught to appreciate the world around them. Learning about the uniqueness of each state is just a start to teaching children the importance of diversity.

“One day I will visit all states,” said an enthusiastic Angelo Paloma.

Read the article and see the photos as originally posted at https://www.tampabay.com/photos/2025/08/08/this-summer-camp-is-teaching-diversity-all-us/

This month marks 10 years since “Failure Factories,” the Tampa Bay Times investigative series exposing flaws in the Pinellas County school system.

The Pulitzer-winning series focused on the impact of school segregation and the lack of resources on five schools.

“It wasn’t easy for the school district, but it was fair, which is all you can ask for,” Superintendent Kevin Hendrick recently told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. He oversaw district academics at the time. 

At a July school board meeting, Hendrick said progress has been made in the key indicator of third-grade reading proficiency. Foundational reading gains are essential for developing the career-driven, adaptable skill sets in the future Tampa Bay job market.  

In 2018, Florida had 57% third-grade reading proficiency and Pinellas had 53%. The district’s all-in early literacy investment strategy is showing significant returns. Today, Florida is still at 57%, but Pinellas is now at 67%, up 14%. 

Crisis possibly averted: The Trump Administration froze nearly $7 billion in school grants on June 30, cutting $400 million from Florida and $9 million from Pinellas County. Lawsuits followed, prompting a reversal; funds are expected by late July. The freeze threatened key programs like mental health, STEM, arts, and after-school support across multiple districts.

Florida school grades squarely analyze grades three to five, Hendrick said.

“If you build a strong pipeline by the time they get to third grade, you’re good,” he said. 

It partnered with the Helios Education Foundation, the Pinellas Education Foundation, and others. It is also a focus of the Tampa Bay Partnership, the Juvenile Welfare Board, early learning county coalitions, and many others.

Last year, voters approved money for teachers’ and support staff’s salaries, but a portion is reserved for reading support. 

And there is school board buy-in and consensus, despite the full spectrum of political views, Hendrick said.

“They’re [often] unanimously agreed to focus on early literacy,” he said. “Let’s not talk about which books we used to do it. Let’s not talk about which messages we’re sending. Let’s just teach kids to read.”

But the real question is, why are some communities more successful than others? Pinellas has found a path to success with strategic ingredients.

“It’s about teacher training and follow-up,” Hendrick said. “The business model normally doesn’t allow it. We can do a one-time training, but not the follow-up.” 

Named to the role in 2022, Hendrick began his career in education in 1997 as a math teacher at Pinellas Park High School, before teaching social studies and coaching basketball at Dunedin High School for several years.

Specifically, success comes from instructional coaching, funded by philanthropy and the University of Florida. 

“After teachers go to training, they have people on the ground all the time coaching and supporting you to grow,” he said. 

Once an afterthought, kindergarten readiness is now more widely championed.

“Everyone knows the importance,” Hendrick said. “Once you become a reader, you stay a reader, and then we know all the things that open up life to,” he said. “There are so many more choices.”

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2025/08/01/pinellas-touts-literacy-gains.html

The U.S. Department of Education said Friday afternoon it will release the billions of dollars remaining in grant funding it withheld for review.

On June 30, the department notified school districts in a statement that the $6.8 billion in grant funding would not be dispersed due to the department “reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s).”

According to school leaders, the grant funds cover a plethora of programs, such as after-school programming, professional development for teachers, mental health and more.

Last week, the department said it would release $1.3 billion in after-school and summer programing.

School boards across the state of Florida were notified of the remaining funding to be released by an email sent from the Florida School Boards Association obtained by News Channel 8:

“Board Members:

“We will continue with the work that we had planned, continuing to elevate excellence in these various areas that these funds affect,” said Laura Hine, Pinellas County School Board Chair.

$9 million in grant funding was withheld from the Pinellas County School District, impacting mental health, professional development, programming for middle school students and more.

“Our schools went from 80% A’s and B’s to 90% A’s and B’s and we know that professional development of our teachers is one of the reasons,” Hine said. “We tend to lose kids in middle school. Adolescence is a powerful time. But with our investment in that work, we now have 90% of our middle schools are our A or B school.”

Hine said she is grateful to the school community, along with other agencies such as the Juvenile Welfare Board and the Education Foundation, for reaching out and providing assistance in potential gaps that would have been left empty without the grant funding.

On Thursday night, Pinellas County school leaders held a town hall to address the freeze of funding with the community.

“We had more than 300 people attend in person. We know more than 3,600 people viewed online. The interest in our schools is strong,” Hine said. “To see the community from all corners turn out in support of their schools, including the elected officials in this in this area, and bipartisan support of funding our schools has really been extraordinary and good.”

Pinellas County school board leaders also said last week they would be writing letters to the U.S. Department of Education and state department of education, as well as congressional representatives and local delegations.

“I have heard from all three, Senator Hooper, Senator Rouson, and Senator DiCeglie — again, bipartisan support throughout Pinellas County, as well as both Representative Luna and Representative Castor, [who] all wrote letters and spoke out in support of releasing these funds and we very much appreciate their support,” Hine said.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid also responded to the news of the release of funding with a statement after announcing last week more than $20 million in the grant funding for the district was at risk.

“We are very pleased to hear that this federal funding is being released. This funding provides necessary support for students throughout our district. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to continue our life-changing work made possible by this federal funding.”

Fred Heid, Superintendent, Polk County Public Schools

Some school districts are awaiting official notice for the release of funding as Hillsborough County Public Schools relayed to News Channel 8 in a statement:

We will wait for the official confirmation on the status of the federal education grant funds.

Debra Bellanti, Media and Public Relations Director, Hillsborough County Public Schools 

Bellanti shared funding amounts the school district is expected to receive for the respective title grants, which in total amount to more than $24 million.

Pasco County Council PTA of Florida PTA (Parent Teachers’ Association) President Erin Kelley said Pasco County Schools is expecting $6.3 million and added that she too is awaiting the official notification.

“Will the government release the whole amount that we’re expecting? We don’t know. Are there going to be any additional requirements that they put on our school boards or our states in order to release the funds? We can’t be sure until the funds are actually here,” Kelley said.

Parents who spoke with News Channel 8 Friday night voiced their concerns about transparency and called the actions from the federal department an overreach.

“What was concerning me is, you know, I’ve got a daughter who enters the public school system in two weeks, and she’s just beginning her public education,” said Whitney Fox, a Pinellas County mother of two. “I’m worried, what if this happens again? What if the funds aren’t unfrozen? I think that this isn’t the first that we’re going to see an attack on the public education system.”

View the segment and read the article as originally published at https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/u-s-department-of-education-says-it-will-release-remaining-withheld-school-grant-funds/

School districts across the country felt some relief Friday afternoon when the U.S. Department of Education deemed its review of frozen federal funds was complete. The department announced it would begin releasing money to local districts next week after facing a lawsuit and bipartisan pressure.

Pinellas County school board chair Laura Hine credited the power of community input for the reversal.

“The unanimous interest from across our community in the funding of their schools — including our elected officials — was powerful and yielded results,” she said.

The night before, Pinellas County school leaders urged community members to rally for the release of those funds.

They presented what was at stake with an initial $9 million in funding being withheld from them by the U.S. Department of Education.

District Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said a little under $1 million had been recently released before Thursday for after-school and summer enrichment, and the state also released around $2 million in unspent rollover funds from the previous year. The district had around $1 million budgeted for unexpected expenses in the categories the funds are tied to. The Juvenile Welfare Board also stepped in to provide $600,000 toward mental health care services.

The fate of the remaining $5 million caused uncertainty for the coming school year.

Though the district said no employee would lose their job, 13 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) positions could have been eliminated and those employees would be reassigned. Four human resource positions were slated to be reassigned. Funding for professional development, new teacher mentoring and adult literacy and workforce education also faced cuts.

“The board unanimously believes that program reviews for compliance is completely reasonable,” Hendrick said Thursday. “What we argue is that the timing of this review is not reasonable. To do so the day before a fiscal year begins, when we’ve hired 47 people off of these grants into positions, is not a reasonable expectation.”

Community members had a chance to ask school officials questions about what comes next. Some asked if they could expect to not receive the funds at all.

“Could they be repurposed?” Hendrick said. “They could. Could they be never given out? They could. Might they be given out tonight? Maybe. But we don’t know.”

The abrupt halt in funding would have impacted teachers who rely on federal grants for professional development, classroom support and other benefits.

Former Pinellas County teacher Kristi Carroll is among the many educators who did not have an education degree when they began their teaching career. Professional development programs like the Transition to Teaching program she participated in are at risk of going away.

“(The program) was really, really helpful in becoming a teacher, because I was a history major, which helped me a lot when I was teaching history, but I needed to learn how to teach,” she said. “I was able to give my students what they needed, but I needed to learn the skill of being a teacher, because it is a skill.”

Sharon Johnson-Levy, school counselor for Bear Creek Elementary School in St. Petersburg, has been involved in the school system since 2010. Johnson-Levy said she believed it would be just the first of many cutbacks to the education system.

“Teachers have really taken a blow over the last few years,” she said. “There’s been a lot of support that has been lost way before this. And so there comes a breaking point where some one hero can keep things going, but how far does it go before things start to kind of not work?”

At the meeting representatives for both U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Kathy Castor expressed support and urged attendees to write letters to their lawmakers.

Danielle Shipp, who attended the town hall and has children in both charter and public schools in Pinellas, said she hopes more parents get involved.

“I just want to make sure our children’s education stays consistent, no matter the administration, whether it’s Democrat, Republican, independent,” she said.

Whitney Fox, whose first child is entering school in fall, said she thought the funding freeze was just the beginning and believed the federal government would bring more of Project 2025, a Republican policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, into fruition.

“This is just the beginning,” she said. “There is a plan that has been laid out very clearly. This should not be a surprise to anyone that this is happening. There are more cuts coming to public education. We should be incredibly alarmed. What will we do when the cuts continue to come?”

Hine, the Pinellas school board chair, encouraged the community to stay involved, even after the funds are released.

“Florida’s legislative session is around the corner,” she said. “Let the folks who make the funding decisions for our schools know that this matters to you — that these are your tax dollars, you believe in your schools and you want them funded.”

To read this article as it was originally published, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2025/07/25/pinellas-school-leaders-rally-community-over-federal-funding-cuts/

Pinellas County Schools (PCS) officials held a community forum discussing the federal education funding freeze Thursday at the organization’s administrative building in Largo. 

On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education froze a total of $6.8 billion previously allocated education grant funds, including approximately $400 million statewide at the direction of the Trump Administration. PCS was to receive $9 million of the funds. 

The unexpected freeze came just a day before the start of the district’s fiscal year and a little more than a month before classes begin. 

The funds were “frozen for review with no timeline on when or if those funds would be released,” Kevin Hendrick, Superintendent, Pinellas County Schools said in the presentation. 

When Hendrick and the Pinellas County School Board reviewed the budget for fiscal year 2026 in June, they suspected federal funds would decrease “because of changing priorities in Washington D.C.” 

However, they “anticipated” receiving the federal grant funds that were ultimately frozen. Hendrick was clear that Pinellas County Schools officials are advocating for the release of the funds. 

“Program reviews for compliance are reasonable, the timing of this review is not reasonable,” Hendrick explained.  

The funds affected are Title II, Title III, Title IV and Adult Education and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education-based grants. 

Title II, Part A funding supports programs that relate to professional development and instructional coaching. Funding under the Title III, Part A classification helps schools offer English language instruction for immigrant students and multilingual learners. 

Title IV, Part A funding is focused on providing children with a more well-rounded education through enrichment programs, mental health resources and technology. 

There is a Part B related to Title IV funding, which includes support for after-school and summer enrichment programs for qualifying students. Part B funds were released Monday. 

Adult Education and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education funds back literacy and workforce readiness programs for adult learners. 

Decisions about the short-term future of programs and staff have had to be made quickly. “We don’t have a month, or two months or six months to figure this out. We have to act on this now,” Hendrick said. 

No PCS employee will lose their job and their salary will stay the same for the upcoming school year. However, some staff members will have to switch positions. 

“We have to find other places for those individuals and we have to find other ways to either eliminate or accommodate the programs that they were running or the support that they provided to our children in our county,” he added. 

For instance, 13 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers in the district will have to become vacant classroom instructors. 

Positions and salaries will be impacted in the 2026-2027 school year. Programs will be cut as well, including various professional development opportunities for teachers. Some enrichment activities, including a hands-on mobile STEM lab for middle school students, will be eliminated. 

PCS does have rollover grant funds from last year, roughly $2 million, that can be used to help with budget adjustments for fiscal year 2026. The organization also has about $1 million saved in reserved funds for unexpected expenses relating to education enrichment. 

Additionally, PCS has partnered with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County to provide extra mental health services for students, which would have been covered by Title IV, Part A funding. The Board has made a contribution of $600,000 to fund the program. 

As for the long-term impact of the freeze, it is yet to be determined, Hendrick explained. The current budget cuts are in a draft stage and the funds could be released.  

The PCS team was able to get U.S. representatives Anna Paulina Luna of District 13 and Kathy Castor of District 14 to write letters to the federal government encouraging a release. 

 Eileen M. Long, Pinellas County School Board member, spoke honestly about the implications. 

“We are really feeling this impact. This is my 44th year here at Pinellas County Schools. I taught for 34 years,” she said. 

“This is heartbreaking. This is the only career I’ve ever known and I love our children. My two children are products of PCS and we all benefit from their education.” 

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/school-funding-freeze-explained-discussed-in-forum/

Nearly $6.8 billion dollars in federal education grants was frozen by the Trump administration. And $400 million is being withheld from Florida schools.

What You Need To Know

– $9 million in federal grants has been withheld from Pinellas County Schools 
– The school district hosted a community forum on July 24, 2025 to hear from concerned families
– The district said some programs are at risk
– This school year no jobs or salaries are impacted, but that is expected to change for the 2026-2027 school year

On July 24, 2025, the Pinellas County School District answered questions from the community about how it’s dealing with millions of dollars in funding being withheld.

There was a large turnout at the forum, with 200 people in the room and an additional 1000 in the overflow room. Plus, 850 people tuned in online to hear about how the district is dealing with the freeze of millions of dollars.

There was not a seat left in the as Pinellas County School families looked for answers about the funding freeze.

“I’m a mom that fights. So if I can go and protest by card, or if I can protest without a card just by voice, then I’m going to fight either way I have to,” said Brittnie Blunt, parent.

Blunt and her two middle schoolers wore signs to get the attention of the school board.

“So we’re here in protest to try to keep things going, to make sure that all the programs that they are in, will hopefully stay in,” Blunt said.

The school board said programs that enhance the middle school experience, increase professional learning for teacher retention, and provide enrichment in the arts, and more are at risk of changes or cuts.

The district said no one will lose their job, but about 40 people are employed through these grants, so their responsibilities will change for this school year. The district said salaries and positions will be impacted in 2026-2027.

“The reason we’re having this tonight is to advocate for the release of these funds, and to do so immediately so that school districts can move forward with their plans,” said Kevin Hendrick, Superintendent.

The U.S. Department of Education said it’s withholding the funds to make sure they align with President Donald Trump’s priorities. The superintendent said that’s reasonable, but the timing isn’t.

“The day before a fiscal year begins, when we’ve hired 47 people off of these grants into positions, is not a reasonable expectation,” Hendrick said.

Mental health services are also facing challenges. The juvenile welfare board, a taxpayer-funded organization aimed at helping children, is reallocating money so it can fund six therapists for the school district.

“Our mission has always been to, to create value and to ensure that the children of Pinellas County, that their education, their overall well-being is cared for,” said Michael Mikurak, Interim CEO, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County

As for the rest of the programs at risk, there is no timeline on when or if the money will be released.

“We may not want it, but a lot of children need it,” Blunt said.

Nearly $1 million dollars in funding for after school programs has been released.

Read the article as originally published at https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/07/25/pinellas-county-schools-federal-funding