“Bridging the Gap: A Community Conversation” offers families, educators, and community leaders an opportunity to come together to listen, learn, and share their experiences, opening the door to solutions that directly shape the future of young people. Image courtesy of Pinellas County Schools on Facebook.
When families, educators, and community leaders come together to listen, learn, and share their experiences, it can open the door to solutions that directly shape the future of young people.
“Bridging the Gap: A Community Conversation,” happening on Monday, April 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Enoch D. Davis Center, is designed to create that kind of space, bringing the community together to focus on the achievement of Black students and clarifying the roles families, schools, and local leaders play in addressing educational gaps.
As a part of COQEBS’s (Concerned Organization for Quality Education of Black Students) mission to promote, advance, and monitor public quality education of Black students in Pinellas County via a Court-ordered agreement, the event continues the ongoing work to evaluate the Pinellas County School District’s progress toward reducing the achievement gap between Black and non-Black students, with the most recent report of findings presented in April 2025.
Doors open at 5:15 p.m., as the evening brings together parents, educators, and local residents to hear insights from recent research, share their experiences, and explore ways the community can work collectively to support student success. Dinner will be provided, and childcare will be available for children ages two and older who are independently using the restroom, allowing parents and guardians to fully participate in the conversation.
The evening is hosted by Erik Smith’s Inclusivity Innovative Institute (I3), a nonprofit dedicated to amplify community resources to foster sustainable change. Through I3, Smith works with organizations leveraging community resources and education to drive sustainable change, while emphasizing inclusion and collectiveness.
“Families need to understand the outcome data and benchmarks set by the district,” Smith shared, reiterating the Bridging the Gap Plan’s six goals: Graduation Rates, Student Achievement, Advanced Course Work, Student Discipline, ESE Identification, and Minority Hiring.
While he acknowledged that, “Essentially, we know the gap still exists,” Smith stressed the importance of this moment as a time to look critically at “what happens to our children if the gap never closes.”
“It’s important to focus on the current gaps,” he affirmed, “because with the increasing dependence on technology, cost of living expenses rising, and the wealth gap widening, we must do whatever it takes to create more sustainable opportunities for our children to fully participate in an economy that tends towards building generational wealth.”
Bridging the Gap reflects the same values that guide Smith’s work through I3, helping organizations strengthen cultural competence and better understand how communication, leadership, and inclusion shape opportunity. While that work often takes place in business and institutional settings, this event brings those ideas into a community space, creating an opportunity for families, educators, and local residents to come together.
In that way, Bridging the Gap is not separate from Smith’s broader mission, but an extension of it, turning the principles behind his consulting work into a conversation centered on students, families, and collective action.
“This event, in collaboration with COQEBS, seeks to convene families, social service organizations, and the school district to co-create solutions to bridge the current achievement gap that can limit the earning potential of our children,” Smith explained.
Rather than stopping at awareness, the conversation is intended to push deeper into the factors that continue to shape the achievement gap for Black students. Organizers are creating space for families, educators, and community members to not only discuss the challenges students face, but also consider what accountability, support, and community involvement can look like in response.
The I3 founder said he hopes the community will walk away with “realistic and doable actions to move the needle, knowledge of what will happen if nothing is done, a greater understanding of proficiency rates, and resources that the district is implementing to address the gap.”
With blocks for discussion and other ways for all attendees to participate, he believes attendees will gain “a renewed sense of hope and desire to work together with the district and other organizations to build sustainable pathways for our children to reach their full potential.”
Community members who want to be part of the conversation are encouraged to attend and join the effort to support stronger outcomes for local students. Register with the Google Forms link.
Join the conversation at Bridging the Gap, a community discussion focused on the barriers impacting Black students and the path toward stronger outcomes. The event will be held on Monday, April 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Enoch D. Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33705. Dinner will be provided, and childcare will be available for children ages 2 and older who are independently using the restroom.
Through Inclusivity Innovative Institute (I3), Erik Smith has worked to reshape conversations around race, inclusion, and opportunity in workplaces and across the community. With Bridging the Gap, that mission continues through a conversation focused on the barriers facing Black students and the path toward meaningful change. Image retrieved from Inclusivity Innovative Institute
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