by Tammy Taylor
Staff Writer
After 40 years of working with the school system, Jane Condon is ready to take her career to the next level by running for the Duval County School Board.
Condon officially entered the race for the School Board’s District 3 seat in December. To date, Condon’s only opponent is incumbent Kris Barnes, who has served since 2000.
Condon says her main goal is to “better the school system.” She wants to ensure that all students are learning to read and write while having the arts and physical education be a part of their everyday curriculum. If elected, she said achieving her goal shouldn’t be a problem because of the quality of schools in her district.
“I don’t know exactly how many schools are in Dist. 3 at the moment,” said Condon, “but I know that most of them are ‘A’ or ‘B’ schools.”
In 2003, 12 out of the 18 schools in Dist.3 fell into the ‘A’ or ‘B’ school grade category. Each year, the Florida Department of Education evaluates each public school’s performance and assigns an accountability grade based on student achievement and standardized test scores.
Only one Dist. 3 school grade dropped, Alfred I. duPont Middle School went from ‘A’ to ‘B’, while most remained the same or improved. One standout school in Dist. 3 is Wolfson High School, which rose from a ‘D’ school to a ‘B’ school in 2003.
“Some schools are doing a better job than others,” said Condon. “My goal is to ensure that they all do an outstanding job.”
Condon has served as principal of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and LaVilla Middle School for Arts. She is a Leadership Jacksonville alumnus and received special recognition in the area of education from the Cultural Council. Condon has also served on the Theatreworks Jacksonville advisory board and on the Art in Public Places Commission.
Primary elections for School Board will be held in late August.