Vision:Pinellas County Schools unites with the community to provide a quality education enabling each student to succeed.
Mission:The mission of Pinellas County Schools is to educate students by creating systems that align all resources to assure that each student achieves at her or his highest level.
Mission:The mission of Pinellas County Schools is to educate students by creating systems that align all resources to assure that each student achieves at her or his highest level.
About Us…
Pinellas County Schools, an award-winning school district, has been recognized on the national and state levels for its strong efforts and dedication of its students, teachers and staff. The district is located on Florida’s west coast and is the seventh-largest school district in the state and 25th-largest district in the U. S. with a projected K-12 student 
enrollment of approximately 105,000. Pinellas County Schools is the largest employer in the county with more than 15,000 teachers, administrators and support staff.
enrollment of approximately 105,000. Pinellas County Schools is the largest employer in the county with more than 15,000 teachers, administrators and support staff. The district has strong community support with more than 30,000 volunteers donating 1.1-million hours to assist Pinellas County Schools’ students, teachers and staff members. Businesses and organizations were involved in more than 5,400 partnerships last year, providing volunteer service to classrooms, departments and schools.
We invite you to explore our website where you will find information about the district that includes the school calendar, daily/lunch menus, information on becoming one of our teachers in the classroom, the district’s Strategic Plan, school board news and each school’s programs and services. Thank you for visiting Pinellas County Schools online. We look forward to serving you.
Hillsborough County Public Schools is an A-rated school district!
Each year, the Florida Department of Education assigns a letter grade to each school district based on a wide range of student test data. The calculations take into account data from all students and all schools.
“This is particularly satisfying because everyone can take some of the credit,” said School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia. “It’s recognition of the vision of our School Board, and the hard work being done by our students, our teachers, our administrators, our staff, and everyone in the school district.”
NCLB Parental Choice Options
NCLB Parental Choice Options
Hillsborough County Public Schools is committed to providing opportunities for all students to attain academic excellence. This web site contains information about free tutoring services available under federal legislation known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was enacted to improve the academic achievement of students in low performing schools around the country. One portion of the act provides Supplemental Educational Services (SES). Since school districts pay for the service, it is free to students who are eligible.
The goal of the SES program is to improve achievement in reading/language arts, math, and science by providing academic assistance outside the regular school day.
Parents may choose a company to tutor their child that best meets their child's needs. Parents will participate in the development and approval of their child’s student learning plan for tutoring.
Supplemental Educational Services are one way Hillsborough County Public Schools is providing parental choices for academic achievement.
During the 2007 - 2008 school year 37,831 students were eligible for SES services and 7,035 students were placed to receive SES services.
During the 2008 - 2009 school year 49,248 students were eligible for SES services and 7,355 students were placed to receive SES services.
Pasco County Schools
Pasco’s Vision
Introduction: A Community of Connected Schools
Our vision is to create a community which works together so all Pasco County students will reach their highest potential. To realize this vision, the District School Board of Pasco County began strategic planning for the future a decade ago, initiating a design for the restructuring of schools described in a document called Pasco 2001: A Community of Connected Schools. In order to provide a continued future focus for district and school planning, as well as a conceptual model for schooling in the 21st Century, this new document has been developed entitled Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools.
Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools begins by chronicling the original philosophical tenets of the district’s vision and planning activities. It follows with a description of the extension of those initial ideas and strategies into three Guiding Principles and Key Concepts that are intended to update the district’s strategic plan for designing its schools and its programs and services for students and the community. The articulation of this vision is based on a rationale that includes recent and relevant research on best practices in teaching and learning as well as the acknowledged social, legislative, and political pressures for reform. A discussion of this rationale is found in the second section of this document.
The remaining sections of this document are descriptions that are intended to provide further details of what future graduates from the Pasco County School District should expect to know and be able to do. It outlines the kinds of structures, programs, and services that will be available to students and their families to help them achieve these high standards. These descriptions are written in the present tense so that readers can more easily picture the future of schools in the context of a rapidly growing and changing environment.
Two of the fundamental principles envisioned in the original strategic plan are the concepts of Continuous Progress and Continuity of Caring. These two Guiding Principles remain important elements of Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools. Continuous Progress enables students to work at a rate that makes the accomplishment of high standards both challenging and achievable, while Continuity of Caring provides programs which meet the full range of academic and developmental needs of all students throughout the prekindergarten through adult educational experience. While these two guiding principles are still critical elements of the district’s vision, they have now been expanded to include a third—Ensuring Equity and Excellence. Ensuring Equity and Excellence demands the provision of educational experiences for all students to have the opportunity to achieve high standards. This guiding principle reiterates the importance of equitable access to successful learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their personal socio-economic status, cultural heritage, cognitive level, or physical ability.
Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools has been updated and refined as a result of continued reviews of literature identifying best teaching practices and organizational structures conducive to learning for all students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. This vision for the restructuring and design of schools in Pasco County has continued to evolve to embrace the following concepts and characteristics:
- A Continuous Progress system
- Continuity of Caring for all students
- Ensuring Equity and Excellence - high expectations of excellence for all
- A Learner Focus
- A rigorous, integrated, Standards-Driven System of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
- Organizational Structures that support student learning
- The integration of career preparation into academic programs
- Extended opportunities for learning
- Development of partnerships with parents, businesses, and communities
- Comprehensive programs of professional development
- The use of technology as a tool for learning and productivity
The initial implementation of the district’s vision required significant changes in curriculum documents, instructional practices, and assessment methods, as well as to the organization of schools, grade levels, and classroom grouping strategies. The various characteristics listed above are being realized differently at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, depending on the developmental needs dictated by the ages and maturity levels of students. While there has been marked progress in the district’s realization of its vision, much work remains to be done. Again, this document is intended to help guide the work of the district as its stakeholders recommit to the achievement of its philosophy, values, and ideals.
The ideal form of the restructured elementary school in Pasco County offers multiage classes where students and teachers work together for two or more years. These opportunities facilitate close communications between teachers and parents, and a connection between teachers and students that allows for an in-depth understanding of student instructional and developmental needs. Critical to the success of the elementary Continuous Progress philosophy and program is the district’s ongoing commitment to both curriculum and staff development. Within the structure of the integrated curriculum system, standards are identified and prioritized. Teachers plan thematic instruction that unifies key curricular concepts and systematically addresses the prioritized standards. These thematic instructional units provide students with multiple opportunities to master rigorous curriculum standards. Elementary teachers participate in ongoing staff development activities that focus on implementing this standards-driven curriculum system using best practices in teaching and learning.
Similarly, at the middle school level, teachers and students are assigned to multiage and multiyear teams, and the curriculum is organized around broad concepts that intentionally capitalize on the interests and needs of early adolescents. These concepts provide an interdisciplinary focus through which teachers plan and integrate instruction. Teacher teams plan integrated units of instruction that address key curriculum standards and that incorporate engaging and relevant projects and other hands-on-learning activities. Systems are in place to provide a spiraling curriculum with multiple opportunities for students to master key standards from all content areas. Middle school teachers participate in ongoing staff development activities that emphasize this standards-driven curriculum system and research-based instructional strategies.
High school students are organized into Learning Communities, focusing on the integration of subject area knowledge, technological know-how, and career-cluster skills intended to prepare students to enter the work force or postsecondary education. Feedback from business and industry leaders has shown that students need to make connections between what they are learning in school and what they will be doing in the world of work. Therefore, the programs of study for each Learning Community are designed to integrate the worlds of academic learning and workplace skills together in relevant ways. Ideally, teachers in Pasco County high schools from various content areas are working together on interdisciplinary teams in Learning Communities to give students an opportunity to master academic standards while focusing on career field interests. The Learning Communities offer the opportunity for collaborative decision-making and team problem solving in simulations of real-world situations designed to ensure that all students will experience future success in their chosen career fields. High school teachers also have access to staff development activities that assist them with the implementation of the standards-driven curriculum system.
Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools will provide a caring school community, focused on successful learning for all students in a variety of educational facilities and settings. There will be opportunities to expand outside the school walls, into communities, and beyond. To meet the challenges of a fast-growing school population, alternative methods will be available for students to complete high school graduation requirements through alternative and expanded schedules, joint programs with universities and colleges for dual enrollment, charter school partnerships, and distance learning. Connections with post-secondary institutions, as well as nationally and internationally recognized advanced learning programs, will also give students a wider variety and more rigorous selection of academic opportunities. In addition, students interested in vocational, technical, or career preparation will be provided with academic and personal support during the final years of high school to help them make the transition into careers or related programs at community colleges and universities.
By realizing Pasco’s Vision: A Community of Connected Schools, all students will be prepared to meet the challenges of the future.
