Pinellas superintendent wants kids to spend more time in school

By Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer 

In Print: Tuesday, October 16, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — Two weeks into his new job, Pinellas schools superintendent Mike Grego says it's clear to him that many children need more time in the classroom. On Monday he said he wants every school in the county to start offering students extra class hours to boost their academic performance.

He has told principals throughout the county to come up with their own plans for extending the school day, or possibly adding Saturday hours. The voluntary extra time would be spent on reading, math, science and writing — and not only for struggling students, but also for good performers who would do even better with additional challenges.

"More time with high quality instruction provides great returns," Grego said, explaining why he believes the program would help Pinellas students.

One of Grego's major charges when he was hired was to improve lackluster student achievement in a district once considered a model for the state. Earlier this year, Pinellas came in 49th out of Florida's 67 districts in a ranking based on FCAT scores.

Grego discussed his plans during a visit to the Tampa Bay Times editorial board on Monday and answered additional questions from a reporter afterward. He said he also plans to discuss his ideas more at a School Board work session today.

Grego said he has long believed students benefit academically when they have more quality classroom time. He came up with this plan after two weeks of touring Pinellas schools and asking principals how they would extend learning opportunities beyond the traditional school day.

He said some principals already had devised such plans, even before his arrival on the job.

Despite lean financial times, Grego said he believes the district could pay for this expansion by tapping sources such as federal Title I funds for disadvantaged students, a program called Supplemental Academic Intervention, and possibly other sources.

He stressed that one plan won't work everywhere in the county.

In fact, he said it's important for each school to develop a "customized plan that fits the needs of these kids," tailored to the school's students, their parents and community, he said.

One example already in place is "Ridgecrest 360," an after-school program that Ridgecrest Elementary has been developing, along with several nearby community organizations, tailored to some unique aspects of that school.

About half of Ridgecrest's roughly 780 students attend a magnet program, and about half are neighborhood kids enrolled in a traditional curriculum. The neighborhood children are mostly from low-income families, while many magnet students are from more affluent families. So the school does not qualify for the Title I funds for lower-income schools.

Principal Michael Moss said Anona Methodist Church, the Pinellas Education Foundation and other community organizations have pitched in to provide money and other resources so that about 70 students can receive an extra hour of instruction after normal school hours.

He calls it "a true model of the community coming together to support their neighborhood school."

Marshall Ogletree, executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said he sees several positive aspects to Grego's plan.

Among teachers, "the most critical concern that we hear in the schools on a daily basis is 'I don't have enough time to teach,' '' he said.

So it will help to give students more "time on task.'' He also praised the fact that the program would be voluntary for teachers, who would be paid for their additional hours.

Still, many details remain to be worked out. Ogletree said teachers, not just principals, should be involved in developing these programs.

School Board Chairwoman Robin Wikle called the extra instruction "an exciting concept" but said she wanted to hear more about it from Grego today.

School Board member Terry Krassner said she thinks the idea could be popular among parents. She would have welcomed it when she was principal at St. Petersburg's Westgate Elementary School, she said.

"Parents would probably be excited and I hope our students would be, as long as it was customized for each level of learning," she said.

Curtis Krueger can be reached at ckrueger@tampabay.com.
[Last modified: Oct 16, 2012 08:59 AM]

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3rd St. Petersburg, Fla., officer killed this year

AP – Nicholas Lindsey, 16, stands before a Pinellas County judge in a St. Petersburg, Fla. courtroom during …

By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Tamara Lush, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22, 5:42 pm ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – City police officers are mourning their third colleague slain in the line of duty in 30 days, but they have been forced to put their emotions on hold as they work overtime to search for the suspected killer.

Officer David Crawford was shot Monday night investigating a report of a suspicious person in a neighborhood just south of Tropicana Field — where the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball.

"You have a job to do, you're a professional," said St. Petersburg Detective Mark Marland. "You kind of have to push a little bit of the somberness and the heavy heart to the back."

So far, there are few leads. The suspect left behind his Nike flip-flops and witnesses gave detectives a vague description of a young man wearing dark shorts and white socks. Officers at the department of about 540 people are working 12-hour shifts to help the investigation.

"We're torn between grieving and our jobs and the mission," said St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon. "But everybody is committed to the mission at this point."

Officials said the shooting happened after two officers were called to investigate a report of a prowler.

Crawford, 46, spotted a suspect and got out of his vehicle. At 10:37 p.m., another officer, Donald J. Ziglar, reported an exchange of gunfire and told dispatchers an officer was down.

Ziglar found Crawford lying on the pavement near his cruiser, police said. He had been shot multiple times at close range. Officials said Crawford was not wearing a bullet proof vest.

Helicopters, SWAT teams, dozens of law enforcement and dogs searched for the gunman. There was no evidence that the suspect was injured during the gunfire exchange, Chief Harmon said.

An entire swath of the city was inaccessible to traffic; Harmon said the department will keep the perimeter "until we knock on every door."

The FBI, the St. Petersburg Police and other groups also were offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect.

Crawford, who was married, eligible for retirement and the father of an adult daughter, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Officers saluted the van that carried his body to the medical examiner's office Tuesday morning.

On Jan. 24, two St. Petersburg officers — Jeffrey A. Yaslowitz and Thomas Baitinger — were killed as they helped serve a warrant on a man with a long criminal history. Their killer died in the seige. Prior to that, the St. Petersburg Police department hadn't had an officer killed in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

"We're not even done healing from the first tragedy, then boom, we have a second one," said Marland, who is also the St. Petersburg police union president.

Lorie Fridell, an associate professor of criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said such tragedies reinforce the resolve of the officers.

"I don't think that there are many officers that are rethinking their careers," said Fridell. "They understand the danger. If anything, tragedies like this strengthen their commitment, particularly the commitment they have for fellow officers.

"I expect that particularly right now, officers are ever vigilant, maybe even increasingly vigilant, in the Tampa-St. Pete area as a result of these tragedies."

Maki Haberfeld, chair of the Department of Law & Police Science at John Jay College in New York, said she suspects officers in St. Petersburg will be more anxious in the coming months.

"Certainly there is always a level of preparedness that the police officers have to be ready for," said Haberfield. "Of course now they will be more on guard. The issue is whether or not they are going to be more willing to use force, lethal force."

Crisis counselors have been called to help officers in the department.

"Officers unfortunately don't get downtime to show their emotions," said Michael Krohn, the executive director of the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents St. Petersburg officers. "They have to get the job done and be safe. The time to break down is after the shift, at home."

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