Jacksonville’s Northside Schools left to languish.

Reports of overcrowded classrooms being led by substitutes are starting to creep out of Ribault and Raines High schools and Kirby Smith middle.

First I think it is great that people are starting to see through the false choice of charters and recent improvement has seen kids come back but the district only has a limited opportunity to make sure this return is permanent. Putting subs in classes, having huge classes some with fifty and sixty students or seeing other students sit idle in their school’s auditorium is not the way to do it.

DCPS has an opportunity here to show the parents of an often-neglected part of town that their kids matter too. I hope they don’t blow it.