School Board votes on Master Facility Plan
By Michele Leivas Fishweir, Stockton, West Riverside escape closure list; public hearing to be held Oct. 29, final board vote Nov. 4 UPDATE: The Duval County School Board approved the proposed 5-year Capital Plan that includes the Master Facility Plan at its Oct. 1 board meeting. The board voted 6-1 to approve the plan, […]
School board chair: Changing education landscape requires public schools to adapt, innovate
By Jennifer Logue In an era of school choice and new technologies, public schools are going to have to adapt, innovate and start marketing themselves to keep students enrolled and engaged, the chairman of the Duval County School Board said. At an Aug. 13 meeting of the Jacksonville Business Professionals, School Board Chair Darryl Willie […]
School board considers revised facility plan
Latest plan keeps Fishweir, Stockton schools open, but more revisions are expected By Michele Leivas Fishweir and John Stockton elementary schools would remain open under a revised Master Facility Plan (MFP) proposal, but further revisions to the Duval County Public Schools plan are expected. Presented at an Aug. 15 school board workshop, the revised MFP […]
Traffic, transportation issues concern families facing possible school closures
When Laura Bearl and her husband moved their family to the Fishweir neighborhood, it was specifically so their children would have just a five-minute walk to the highly rated elementary school. Under Duval County Public Schools’ (DCPS) current Master Facility Plan proposal, however, that 5-minute walk would become roughly 40 minutes if Fishweir Elementary School […]
DCPS Roundup: Public Forums, Board Elections, New Superintendent
Six public forums remain for families to learn more about the Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Master Facility Plan (MFP) proposal, ask questions and share feedback. In a May 17 interview, DCPS Board Chairman Darryl Willie said the board hopes these forums will see a “critical mass” of attendance. “We hope that we’ll get a […]
Communities Rally to Save Neighborhood Schools
Ruth Jackl said the change she’s seen in her grandson in the weeks since he began attending John N.C. Stockton Elementary School has been “night and day.” The family enrolled in the neighborhood elementary school in March of this year and Jackl said it would be a “tragedy” if the school should close. “I don’t […]
Master Facility Plan Sparks Concern for DCPS Parents
Communities across Jacksonville are still reeling from a Duval County Public School (DCPS) Master Facility Plan (MFP) proposal that would ultimately see extensive school closures throughout the county. “I think shock is the first thing that anyone who read that list felt,” said Tacoma Perry from the Fishweir Elementary PTA. The list Perry referred to […]
DCPS approves sex ed supplemental curriculum
The Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Board recently approved “supplemental health education materials for reproductive health and disease prevention” for the 2022-23 school year. At a Dec. 6 meeting, board members voted five-to-two in favor of these supplemental materials for the district’s elementary, middle and high schools to complement the state-approved textbook adopted in 2007. […]
