Editor’s Notebook: Pinellas Schools’ Early Literacy Strategy Shows Results

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