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Elementary School #24 Now Apartments
Old schools. Consolidating schools.
In 1926, the city opened a new elementary school at 10th and Market streets, called Corrine Scott Elementary for a beloved teacher at Kirby Smith Junior High School.
A few other schools were closed and consolidated at the time.
Fast forward 63 years to 1989. Corrine Scott was rundown, paint peeling from the hallways. PTA President Ed Griggs, frustrated at the school district’s inaction, contacted the Times-Union.
Griggs had a daughter in fifth-grade, so she would not benefit from improvements to the school, but he felt a responsibility to do something.
He brought to mind a quote from Robert Kennedy: “Each time a person stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others … he sends forth a ripple of hope.”
Hope turned to action.
“The news media came out and the next day, before I knew it, here were the workmen,” Griggs told the Times-Union. “I said to myself, ‘Hey, it works.’”
The news story by Times-Union reporter Michael Anderson described longtime safety inspection records over a decade. Termites were so bad, they infested the classrooms, the principal reported.
“They annoy students and teachers by flying around, getting into books, anything made of wood, and there was a case where a termite flew into a teacher’s mouth while she was talking.”
How bad was it? School officials couldn’t say because they didn’t keep track of maintenance records.
Thanks to a bond issue approved by the voters in 1987, there was $9.3 million available for repairs.
Now let’s put this perspective. This was only about 20 years after a federal court order forced Duval County to integrate its schools.
Reading between the lines, there was no way a school would be allowed to get into this condition if it were located in a wealthier neighborhood.
So the School Board decided to close Corrine Scott and build a new school in the neighborhood, a large elementary school that could hold about 1,000 students, the kind typically found in Mandarin. In 1999, after sitting idle for nearly a decade, Corrine Scott was sold and turned into apartments.
In 1991 Andrew Robinson Elementary School was opened, named for the beloved former principal of Raines High School. There was great enthusiasm about this new school, even if it was located across Main Street from Corrine Scott Elementary.
So three elementary schools were closed: Corrine Scott, Beulah Beal and Mattie Rutherford.
At the same time, court-ordered busing was ending, replaced by magnet programs designed to attract a diverse group of students.
Andrew Robinson was a shining beacon of hope. Located not far from the city’s public hospital, now UF Health Jacksonville, it included a University of Florida pediatric health center in 1996, funded with a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. It wasn’t doing enough business to break even. It's no longer there.
Andrew Robinson is at about 75 percent capacity, suffering from some of the same issues as the rest of the district, said Superintendent Diana Greene during a visit with the Editorial Board.
Since the school opened almost 28 years ago, it’s a far different world for public education, she said. There is much more competition given all the choices. Charter schools are booming.
And parents often are moving so that it’s difficult even for a good elementary school to keep students for five years.
At 28 years old, Andrew Robinson is one of the newest schools in Northwest Jacksonville. Think about that.
Now the district faces similar issues but on a broader scale. The School Board will be considering a consultant’s report that proposed consolidating about 42 schools into 17 schools. About 30 new schools would be built.
Costly maintenance would be reduced with new, upgraded and smaller buildings.
Superintendent Diana Greene has listened and has scrapped the idea of locating a grade six through 12 school at both Raines and Ribault. An evaluation of future enrollment predicts over 2,000 students at those sites; too many, she said.
But let’s hope she also was listening to the concerns of the neighbors in those areas who opposed the consolidations.
Proposed is a referendum on a half-cent sales tax to fund the nearly $2 billion in school improvements.
Greene said she will be giving the board three options: a best-case scenario and two less costly options.
City Council, which has the power to approve a special election in November, seems unlikely to do so, in part for cost reasons and a likely low turnout.
More important, in our view, is that the public has not had enough time to be informed. Doing this in a rush is likely to give people an excuse to vote no.
It’s clear that many of the older schools need to be consolidated and replaced. Just like Corrine Scott and Andrew Robinson years ago.
Rig-shot of the superb handling Lotus Elise. - Get this image as a print or gift from: www.carpixarchive.com
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA
After a few years of inaction, I installed a new Li-ion NP-400 battery in my 2005 Konica Minolta DSLR Dynax 5D to replace the dead original one, and I did a small series of pictures with the two KM zoom lenses to re-evaluate the small Sony 6 MP CCD (still not a CMOS) sensor and optics.
The KM Dynax 5D was the latest DSLR body released by Konica Minolta before to be sold to SONY Corp.
Processing of the native RAW files using Lightroom/Luminar 2018.
Vienne, Isère, France
Fear effects many aspects of human life and make it dramatic, exclusive fear quotes, fear quotes, quotes on fear,
Moderated by Andrea Castoldi, Managing Director and Partner, BCG
On the panel:
- Caroline Oosterloo, Former Chief Risk Officer, ABN AMRO
- Nick Talbot, Head of Climate Risk, Natwest Group
- Ludivine Labarre, Group Deputy Chief Risk Officer, Société Générale
On a Saturday when Northern were one of the operators impacted by ASLEF strike action, Class 158 no 158816 was one of many units stabled in and around Sheffield station.
KONICA MINOLTA DYNAX 5D
After a few years of inaction, I installed a new Li-ion NP-400 battery in my 2005 Konica Minolta DSLR Dynax 5D to replace the dead original one, and I did a small series of pictures with the two KM zoom lenses to re-evaluate the small Sony 6 MP CCD (still not a CMOS) sensor and optics.
The KM Dynax 5D was the latest DSLR body released by Konica Minolta before to be sold to SONY Corp.
Processing of the native RAW files using Lightroom/Luminar 2018.
Genay, Rhône, France.
(November 13th, 2009) SPT-SEIU members and leaders held a sit-in in to demand Resident Commissioner Pierluisi reject anti-worker policies of Fortuño administration ~ San Juan, Puerto Rico ~ Photo © 2009 Javier Rodriguez