This weekend, a Duval County high school will be hosting a conversation about volunteerism, bridging disparities and the community roll of a historic African-American school. William M. Raines High School opened in segregated Jacksonville in 1965. Its first principal famously hired the best teachers he could find—recruiting educators with degrees from Columbia. For decades, it […]
More than 72,000 people have signed an online petition to change the name of a Jacksonville high school named after a Civil War general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, according to the Florida Times-Union. Duval County schools superintendent Nikolai Vitti told StateImpact Florida earlier this year that he would support […]
Duval County schools superintendent Nikolai Vitti, in a recent interview with StateImpact Florida, said he’d support changing the name of a high school honoring Nathan B. Forrest, a Confederate general and an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan. “I would support a name change recommendation if brought organically to the board by the community,” […]
It’s summertime and Angela Maxey, principal of Sallye B. Mathis Elementary School, is observing a classroom of 9- and 10-year-olds draw and identify different kinds of triangles. “Remember this is fourth grade—they’ve just finished third grade, but they’re learning fourth grade curriculum,” says Maxey. “It’s all Common Core.” This is not your traditional summer school. […]
Nikolai Vitti knows how dissimilar Florida’s school districts can be — but as the new Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, he also recognizes common challenges. Vitti arrived in North Florida last November, leaving behind a job as chief academic officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. On the surface, Miami-Dade and Duval represent two very […]
It’s been over a year since public schools in the Jacksonville area received a grant to boost summer learning programs. Duval County was one of six districts around the country that caught the eye of the Wallace Foundation because of its already innovative forms of summer schooling – like the Superintendent’s Summer Academies. The Wallace Foundation […]
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »