Several non-profits have joined forces in Duval County to launch a web-based regional map of educational offerings in the arts.

Modeled after an art map in Chicago developed by Ingenuity, the interactive Landscape of Education in the Arts in Duval (LEAD) Artlook map (jacksonville.artlookmap.com) can be used by parents, corporations, schools and arts educators to identify successful arts programs and opportunities.

Chief program officer with the Cathedral Arts Project, Allison Galloway-Gonzalez, says schools already measure academic success with tools like the Sunshine State Standards and graduation rates, but there are no measurements for the arts in schools — “a signal that it’s not as important. But we feel it is very important.”

“There are decades of research on why arts education is critically important for childhood development,” Galloway-Gonzalez says.

The art map project highlights a growing trend of multiple organizations working together on social issues, she says. Collaborators on the map project include the Cathedral Arts Project, Ingenuity, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the PNC Foundation.

“Art education access and equity is a community-wide issue that needs to be solved by a community,” Galloway- Gonzalez says.

EDUCATION

• Charlotte, N.C., half-day preschool company Ivybrook Academy will add its first Florida location in St. Johns County in the Julington Creek neighborhood. The campus is expected to open this summer.
• Former Jacksonville Jaguar and Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Stockar McDougle and his wife, Octavia, opened the McDougle Technical Institute in Gainesville. The barber school is the couple’s second location. The first is in Pompano Beach.

ENVIRONMENT

• North Florida Land Trust President Jim McCarthy was re-appointed to the Florida Environmental Regulatory Commission. The commission is responsible for setting standards and rules that protect Floridians and the environment.

FINANCE

• St. Augustine-based DLP Real Estate Capital plans to acquire New York-based Sunnyside Bancorp, the parent company of Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan Association of Irvington.

GOVERNMENT

• As a money-saving measure, the city of Dunnellon has officially eliminated its city administrator position. Duties performed by the administrator have been transferred to the city clerk.

HEALTH CARE

• Hospice provider Chapters Health System has opened a 3,800-sq.-ft. office at San Felasco Tech City in Alachua County. The office will house 15 to 20 employees.
• The $19-million, 40,000-sq.-ft. medical services facility Flagler Health+ Village in Nocatee became fully operational this spring after opening in December. Another Flagler Health+ anchored village is planned for the Durbin Park area. It will open in 2025.
• The Northeast Florida Regional Council has won a $700,000 grant by the state Department of Economic Opportunity to develop a North Florida Resiliency Plan to help the health care sectors in 18 counties adapt to and recover from climate change and extreme weather.
• Construction of the 45,500-sq.-ft. Ocala VA Outpatient Clinic is expected to be completed this summer. The complex, at the Health Brook Mall south of SR 200, will include primary care doctors offices as well as mental health, audiology, eye and podiatry services.

SERVICES

• Atlanta-based Arrow Exterminators has named Brian Swinderman regional vice president for Northeast Florida. Swinderman had been senior service center manager in Gainesville.

REAL ESTATE

• Gia Arvin of Gainesville has been named treasurer of Florida Realtors. Arvin has been president of the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors.
• In February, Jacksonville ranked No. 1 in a new home pending sales index year-over-year, according to a study by Zonda. Jacksonville was up 80.5% compared to 35% nationally.
• Vestcor Cos. has decided to forego the development of townhomes in the LaVilla neighborhood of Jacksonville, citing market changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company returned a 3.45-acre parcel to the city.

RETAIL

• The World Equestrian Center in Ocala has acquired Mona’s Monograms, a company that provides customized embroidery, printing and engraving services for the equestrian industry.

SPORTS BUSINESS

• The city of Jacksonville-owned Blue Cypress Golf Course reopened after renovations.

TRANSPORTATION

• Jacksonville-based transportation, moving and logistics company Suddath has acquired Daryl Flood, a relocation and logistics company based in Coppell, Texas.
• JetBlue started flights from Jacksonville to Los Angeles, the first time there have been flights to L.A. from the airport in a decade.

 

Read more in Florida Trend's June issue.
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