(From left) Stacy Baier and Kimberly Lent. Photo courtesy of WUSF
“The important thing about this report and the way that we completed the whole process was that we asked this question to the community.”– Kimberly Lent, senior research associate for Florida College Access Network (FCAN)
Late last year, a group of Pinellas County leaders came together to discuss the state of educational achievement in Pinellas County.
Their goal was to better understand barriers to postsecondary access and find shared solutions to closing achievement gaps for Pinellas students.
The result was the Pinellas County Community Indicator Report, which was released last month during a Data Walk that attracted over 60 community members, including business leaders, students, parents, K-12 and higher ed luminaries, and other community stakeholders.
The report was prepared by FCAN for LEAP Tampa Bay College Access Network on behalf of the Pinellas Education Foundation with support from the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg.
Kimberly Lent, FCAN’s senior research associate, and Stacy Baier, president of the Pinellas Education Foundation, recently spoke with WUSF News about the report, the state of educational achievement in Pinellas County, and the major community findings that resulted from the Data Walk.
Listen to the interview below. (Discussion about the Pinellas County Community Indicator Report begins at the 3:06 mark)
FCAN was pleased to participate in this important project. Communities interested in replicating this project are welcome to contact Laurie Meggesin, FCAN’s executive director, at lmeggesin@floridacollegeaccess.org
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