Thursday on “First Coast Connect” we talked about Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti possibly leaving Jacksonville to take over the Detroit Public Schools Community District with WJCT education reporter Lindsey Kilbride and Detroit Public Radio education reporter Sascha Raiyn. Navitas Credit Corporation CEO Gary Shivers told us how to bring out your inner entrepreneur, and marking Arbor Day Saturday, Greenscape’s Anna Dooley told about their tree giveaway at Metropolitan Park.
Nikolai Vitti To Detroit?
Vitti spent a 12-hour day Wednesday visiting schools and interviewing with the Detroit district staff for the superintendent position. Vitti made a bold prediction during his interview: Hire him and he'll help put charter schools out of business. The Duval superintendent is a Detroit-area native and is one of two finalists seeking the school district’s chief job. It’s a district that has seen 100 public schools close in recent years, with 50 percent of children in Detroit attending charter schools, which Vitti called criminal. A decision by the Detroit School Board could be made as early as next week.
Inner Entrepreneur
If you have ever thought of starting your own businesses but didn’t know where to find investors, Shivers said his company can help. Navitas Credit Corp. has been in Ponte Vedra for nearly 10 years. He offers advice on how someone can achieve a business loan from his company and what it takes to overcome fears and take action to get a new business up and running.
Greenscape Giveaway
Jacksonville is celebrating Arbor Day with the first-ever Greenscape Tree Festival. Greenscape for decades has been dedicated to enriching the city through planting, protecting and promoting trees. On Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. they will be giving away 5,000 trees at the Jacksonville Arbor Day festival at Metropolitan Park on a first-come first-served basis. There will also be numerous other activities, including education projects, music, arts and crafts and a petting zoo. Greenspace is also teaming up with the Jacksonville Humane Society for a dog adoption opportunity at the festival.
Producer Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.
