Students at High Point Elementary School in Clearwater are getting a boost for this upcoming school year in the form of free backpacks.

  • Tech Data donated 800 backpacks to High Point Elementary
  • 1 of 7 underperforming schools in Pinellas County

Eight hundred students at High Point elementary school were given backpacks filled with school supplies.

It's thanks to the Pinellas County School District’s program that pairs local businesses with schools.

The company Tech Data supplied the backpacks for High Point Elementary.

High Point Elementary is one of the seven underpreforming schools in the district. The school’s new principal, Michael Feeney, says this type of support from the community and local businesses is exactly what students need to see.

“This is invaluable,” he said. “It shows really that the community is behind the school, the community is behind the students. From talking to some of the parents already, they’re overjoyed by the generosity that Tech Data has shown them.”

The sound of a kid unzipping a donated backpack filled with school supplies may seem small but Tonya Mcalpine says it makes a big difference. Her son Micah is a fourth grader at the school.

“It’s so helpful especially for single parents. It helps them so much,” she said.

There are more than two dozen local businesses that partner with Pinellas County Schools. Tech Data says they also hand delivered 600 backpacks filled with supplies to students at Sandy Lane Elementary.