A Real Team Effort Helps to Expand Business in the Sunshine State

Lintons established service in a new charter school within the Sunshine State, partnering with the Optima Group to open Jacksonville Classical Academy (JXC.)

With all the planning and hard work that goes into opening a new location, this was magnified by all the unknowns with Covid-19, the ever changing USDA rules and waivers, and the uncertainty of local district direction — the challenge was real! However, on August 20, JXC opened as a K-6 school with an enrollment of approximately 465 students — 130 of them as virtual learners. Their long-term plan is to add a grade each year, ultimately becoming a full K-12 school.

As with any new opening, sourcing and hiring the right people is a critical part of the process. We were extremely fortunate to have hired such a great staff who had previously  worked at the local Duval County School District.

Opening JXC would not have been possible without a lot of great support from the Education and Corporate teams. District Leader Ray George, having public K-12 experience, learned quickly that the charter school business is uniquely different. “Every day was a new learning experience” George stated. “I really could not have made it through this opening without the great support and guidance from Nora Borza, Natalia Arevalo, Greg Sapienza, Russ Hengst, and everyone at Lintons’ Corporate Office.”

In the photo above: The week before school was set to open, Lintons participated in a two-night parent information event, providing snacks and answering a lot of great questions. A big thank you goes out to our manager Sherri, who worked hard to make it a great success.