JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fourteen new schools and programs will be implemented this school year, giving Duval County Public School students many options to choose from.
The new programs were approved by the Duval County School Board and superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti, who said he wants to change the negative branding of neighborhood schools and give parents choices.
VIEW: DCPS welcomes 14 new schools, programs
“We can’t any longer make excuses. We can’t continue to kick the can or punt and start to grapple with these issues head-on,” Vitti said.
Vitti said the problem is that an increasing number of students are opting out of the public school system for charter and private schools. He said the 14 new schools and programs will help recruit and retain students, improve student performance and address the issues with district boundaries in low income areas.
“Bring parents back from the neighborhood to those schools and from the outside, that leads to more diversity, not only ethnically and racially, but social-economically,” Vitt said.
S.P. Livingston principal Robert Gresham, who has been a Duval County principal for 18 years, said the change is a long time coming.
“Our kids are different. They learn differently. And if we don’t get them engaged now, we’re going to lose them,” Gresham said.
The school board agreed programs ranging from video gaming to performing arts to electrical and plumbing to sports medicine to early learning will get students engaged.
“We are doing major reconstruction at the school to bring everything up to the most recent and greatest technology,” said A. Philip Randolph principal Cathy Barnes.
As for the parents, there are still mixed feelings about the changes.
“I don’t think I have a problem with it, just yet. But I think it will be a good opportunity,” said Paul Ford, a father of high school students. “It will allow them to explore different things.
To view applications for each school, visit duvalschools.org. The application deadline is Aug. 1.