Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossJune 20, 2016

In a large, urban school district like Duval County — where fully half the kids in the public schools are on free or reduced lunch — poverty is real, and widespread. The achievement gap remains stubborn and formidable. And one of the many obstacles kids in poor districts have to learning is the infamous “digital […]

Melissa RossMay 16, 2016

As criticism mounts toward the Obama administration’s new directive on transgender students and public school bathrooms, Jacksonville’s schools chief is pointing out that public schools in Duval County have quietly been allowing transgender kids to use the bathroom they feel most comfortable with for several years now. “We have been problem-solving on these issues for […]

Melissa RossFebruary 11, 2016

Newly released public records show that Duval County School Board member Connie Hall would like to see Superintendent Nikolai Vitti fired. Hall texted that sentiment in a message she sent this past fall to a school district employee, the records reveal. Records of emails and texts of Hall and two other Duval School Board members […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 17, 2015

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The phrase “pre-9/11 mentality” is usually uttered as a foreign policy pejorative. Yet in Duval County, one thing that hasn’t changed since before Sept. 11, 2001 is the pay of substitute teachers, which has withstood the test of time since March of that year. This doesn’t sit well with one group, apparently: longtime substitute teachers. […]

Melissa RossAugust 17, 2015

As former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush continues to take heat over calling Common Core education standards “poisonous,” Duval County’s superintendent is taking a more positive spin about the new state curriculum being unveiled this fall. “We’re going to see another level of instruction at the elementary level, especially when it comes to writing and reading,” Superintendent Nikolai […]

Melissa RossJuly 15, 2015

With bold proposals out this week for improving student achievement in urban Duval County, Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti acknowledges: “It’s a tough job.” The challenge is one of scale,” Vitti said during an appearance on WJCT’s First Coast Connect. “It’s undeniable we have pockets of excellence even in very tough schools. We’re seeing improvement, the […]

Tag: Duval County Public Schools

Duval County Public Schools selling laptops for $50 to narrow ‘digital divide’

Nikolai Vitti: “fear factor” involved with transgender bathroom issue

“Fire him now!” texted Duval School Board member; Nikolai Vitti calls it “hostile work environment”

In Duval, substitute teacher pay is old-school

Nikolai Vitti: Florida Standards will be “another level of instruction”

Nikolai Vitti: Standardized testing “exacerbated problems in schools around the country”