Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 11, 2015

Dyslexia was the topic at Thursday afternoon’s Education Solutions summit in Yulee, Florida, in the packed Nassau Room at the Florida State College Jacksonville Nassau County campus. Convened by Fernandina Beach Representative Janet Adkins, speakers included Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti and a panel of educational experts. Before the panel, Adkins stressed the importance of this […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 8, 2015

A Duval County School Board workshop on proposed district boundary changes, affecting urban core high schools Raines, Ribault, and Jackson, as well as their feeder programs, proved to be controversial, in no small part because Representative Corrine Brown stopped by on her way back to Washington DC. An unexpected move, at least according to a few […]

Melissa RossSeptember 2, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, whose inauguration motto was “One City, One Jacksonville,” recently made a very high-profile and symbolic hire to drive that point home when he appointed Marsha Oliver as his new spokesperson. Oliver is not only a registered Democrat, she’s also the first African-American female to hold the spox job at City Hall. […]

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 […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 11, 2015

On Monday evening at Bethel Baptist Church in downtown Jacksonville, more than 100 African-American men (and a couple of white guys, too) answered Bishop John Guns’ Call for 1,000 Men. Among them were two of the most important men in the city: Charles Moreland, the Community Engagement director for the Lenny Curry administration; and Nikolai Vitti, Duval County schools […]

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 […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 15, 2015

Perhaps the most misunderstood figure in public life in Jacksonville: Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. The question you hear around town more than any other: why is it that Duval County schools aren’t on the same level as those in St. Johns County and Nassau County? There are loads of reasons for this, of […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 21, 2015

A tide of violence flows through the streets of Jacksonville, and no neighborhood is exempt. From the battlegrounds of the Westside, where two girls were shot in the head on a school bus this month, to Grand Park and Soutel, to Arlington and Mandarin, violence has become a reality. The lead story on the news […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 15, 2015

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On Thursday, an incident happened in Jacksonville’s Westside that shocked the collective conscience of the city. Two girls, riding home from school, shot in their heads. It was in broad daylight on their school bus, and they were shot by two teenage assailants who got onto the bus and wreaked their havoc. Mayor Alvin Brown […]

Tag: Nikolai Vitti
Florida's crackdown on Asian ownership is having an impact on Jacksonville ports.

Nikolai Vitti, Janet Adkins talk dyslexia at Nassau County Education Solutions Summit

Corrine Brown clashes with Nikolai Vitti, School Board over proposed boundary changes

New Lenny Curry spox Marsha Oliver: “This is a fun, interesting time for our city”

In Duval, substitute teacher pay is old-school

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

Nikolai Vitti, Charles Moreland answer Call for 1,000 Men

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

“No Excuses” for Nikolai Vitti in year 3

Save Our Sons, Nikolai Vitti make “a call for 1,000 men”

Florida Times-Union: Tone deaf on reality of gun violence