Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Shannon NickinsonApril 19, 2016

We began compiling the responses to Quint and Rishy Studer’s “Be the Bulb” challenge, which will see the couple give away $50,000 in total for ideas that aim to improve early learning. I’ve been through them all. With several days left in the challenge, I don’t want to reveal too much about the hundreds of […]

Shannon NickinsonApril 5, 2016

Sometimes it’s not about having all the answers — it’s about knowing where to go to find them. The Golden Apple roundtable is a gathering of teachers of the year from Escambia Schools. It’s a forum where the best and brightest minds on the front lines of education in Escambia County get together to share […]

Shannon NickinsonMarch 3, 2016

In the Pensacola area, more and more women are starting businesses of their own. Forbes reports that one-fourth of all businesses in the country are owned by women and that a rising number of women-owned businesses are topping the $1 million mark. Nationally women own 36 percent of businesses. In the Pensacola metro area, 38.5 […]

Shannon NickinsonNovember 17, 2015

Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants the state university system to aim high. To achieve that he announced the “Ready, Set, Work” College Challenge this past week at the Association of Florida Colleges Trustee Commission meeting in Lake Buena Vista. The governor wants all 28 state colleges to participate by graduating 100 percent of their full-time […]

Shannon NickinsonSeptember 1, 2015

The Studer Community Institute’s Metro Dashboard aims to be a roadmap to help build citizen-powered change, to make Pensacola a more vibrant community for all of her citizens. That’s not a mix Pensacola always has gotten right. If we expect to build a community that brims with entrepreneurial spirit, values education, and increases middle-class jobs, […]

Shannon NickinsonJuly 28, 2015

Can we put our money where our mouth is? That’s the question the Studer Community Institute’s metro dashboard is meant to ask — and hopefully answer. The dashboard aims to be a road map to help build citizen-powered change, to make Pensacola a stronger, more vibrant community. A guide to know if our community is […]

Shannon NickinsonMay 14, 2015

There were lots of great questions at the Studer Community Institute’s education town hall on May 5 in Pensacola. Questions about what skills our students lack when they go to Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida to further their education. Questions about how we can address the educational, emotional and physiological impacts […]

Shannon NickinsonMarch 5, 2015

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What have we learned from all of this? After spending months working on a series of stories about the state of education in the Pensacola metro area for the Studer Community Institute, I couldn’t help but learn – a lot. The days of the traditional 9-12 high school model may be nearing an end. Economic […]

Shannon Nickinson: Ideas to improve early learning in Escambia County

Shannon Nickinson: Communities need to make sure kids are ready for kindergarten

Shannon Nickinson: More women are starting businesses, helping local economies

Shannon Nickinson: School, community collaboration key to educated workforce

Shannon Nickinson: Achieving community success takes more than lip service

Shannon Nickinson: Make smarter community investments for a better future

Shannon Nickinson: What is the future of the Pensacola community worth to you?

Shannon Nickinson: We need to do high school differently