"I don't think any school system in the country has a finer partner in education than we do in the city of St. Petersburg and Mayor Baker."

Dr. Clayton Wilcox,
Superintendent of Schools, Pinellas County

The Pinellas County School Board operates St. Petersburg's 47 public schools. Mayor Baker has stepped outside the traditional role of city government to advocate for quality education and has encouraged the community to work to support schools. The education program became one of the five cornerstones of his administration. During his first four-year term, through the "Mayor's Mentors & More" initiative, Mayor Baker and the city have:

Raised $1.42 million, matched dollar for dollar by the state, for college scholarships for 400 sixth grade low income students.

Recruited mentors for these students by offering city employees paid time to mentor students in public schools. Other model programs include "St. Pete Reads," where employees tutor students after school at recreation centers, and COPS ("Caring Officers Present Storytime"), where police officers read to preschool children at city libraries.

Raised funds from the community to provide 112 students with scholarships for tuition and supplies to the city's vocational technical center.

Recruited approximately 70 corporate partners - at least one for each of the 46 public school in St. Petersburg. These corporations provide support ranging from cash contributions and technical assistance to employee mentoring and volunteer hours.

Provided new state-of-the-art playgrounds to seven schools (by end of this year). With the mayor's goal to have a playground within one-half mile of every child, the mayor resolved legal and jurisdictional hurdles to allow these joint use playgrounds to be built on school property and to be shared after hours by the public.

Created the model "A + Housing Program" as an incentive to recruit and retain teachers, whereby teachers may qualify for up to $18,000 in assistance to buy a home in St. Petersburg. As long as the teacher remains in the home, and working in a city school, the loan is forgiven after 10 years.

Incorporated "character building" in all city youth programs. Through "St. Pete Values," all recreation programs encourage self discipline, teamwork, achievement, honesty, respect and responsibility.