Failure Factories: The story of how one school board turned five average schools into some of the worst in Florida

In just eight years, Pinellas County School Board members turned five schools in the county's black neighborhoods into some of the worst in Florida. First they abandoned integration, leaving the schools overwhelmingly poor and black. Then they broke promises of more money and resources. Then - as black children started failing at outrageous rates, as overstressed teachers walked off the job, as middle class families fled en masse - the board stood by and did nothing. Today thousands of children are paying the price. They are trapped at five neighborhood elementary schools that the board has transformed into failure factories.

Reporting by the Tampa Bay Times stoked a community discussion on education and race, helped propel a federal civil rights investigation and forced action from government leaders in Tallahassee and Washington. Florida lawmakers earmarked nearly $400,000 for a new reading-assistance pilot program. Pinellas County proposed a series of reforms including offering raises of up to $25,000 for teachers at the schools and extending the school day by one hour. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education opened a civil rights investigation into whether the school district systematically discriminates against black children. On April 18, 2016, the Times was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for the Failure Factories series.