Chosen by Jane is a memoir of a highly successful principal of two arts magnet schools from 1986-2003. First taking over the failing Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jane Condon quickly shepherded the program to national stature with award-winning performers and successful alumni practicing their arts all over the world.
She was then asked to build a magnet middle school of the arts. She designed the facility and developed the faculty, staff, and arts and academic programs that became LaVilla School of the Arts. Both schools continue to thrive and are considered cultural treasures in the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
Chosen by Jane follows Jane from childhood, through her idyllic teen years in the 1950's, college, and teaching for the Department of Defense Overseas Schools. Building her career through family tragedy and unconventional marriages, she develops into a leader whose vision remains clear through personal and bureaucratic challenges. Humor, tears, romance, friendship, adventure, and grace make Chosen by Jane a delight to read and a beacon of inspiration for a life well-lived.
Brandenburg, Susan: - Susan D. Brandenburg, President of Susan the Scribe, Inc., is a professional biographer, journalist and freelance writer with more than thirty years experience. Versatile and imaginative, Susan has won local, state and national recognition for excellence in communication. In 1999, Susan wrote the text and Mary Fisher Design provided the graphics for the Creative Environs International, Inc. Silver Addy Award winning Project Book. In 2003 and 2004, Susan's Women's Digest Cover stories received the American Heart Association's Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Communication. Susan wrote the Teacher's Guide for Holocaust Survivor Henri Landwirth's Gift of Life in America DVD in 2007 and compiled materials/transcriptions for Stetson Kennedy's Key West Memoir, Grits & Grunts in 2008.Susan specializes in writing the life stories of extraordinary people, and she has discovered that there are no ordinary people on God's earth. Everyone has a fascinating life story to share with future generations.
Condon, Jane: - Jane Condon served eleven years as principal of Duval County Public Schools before being assigned to take over magnet school Douglas Anderson School of the Arts after its floundering first year. Under Condon's vision and leadership, Douglas Anderson quickly became one of the top-ranked Arts schools in the nation. After 10 years of success at DA, Condon was asked to design a middle school of the arts to provide students with the background to meet the challenges of DA. Condon worked with top-ranked local architects and construction firms to design and build LaVilla School of the Arts from the ground up. Both these schools remain the cultural life-blood of Northeast Florida Arts education, sending talented young adults into professional level performance or into the best colleges and universities in the world: The Juilliard School, Carnegie-Mellon, Hofstra, Parsons School of Design, Pratt, and Berklee, to name a few. In shepherding these schools to excellence, Condon became a master at negotiating with political adversaries, finding funding, managing faculty, gaining parents' trust, and challenging students to ever-higher achievement. Condon is fondly remembered by and still in touch with thousands of alumni from these schools, as well as many of their parents. Douglas Anderson and LaVilla are true success stories in Northeast Florida and continue to be highly regarded in arts education circles all over the world.Now retired, Condon offers invaluable advice for any challenge schools may face. She is a master at de-escalating conflict, preventive discipline with students and employees, and crafting a public image for an organization that will gain public trust. Condon earned a B.A. in English and Education from the University of North Carolina, master's degree in education from the University of Florida, and a specialists' degree in educational administration from Florida State University.
Grimes, Carol: - Carol Grimes holds a B.A. in English from West Virginia University and an Masters in Teaching from Jacksonville University. She taught middle school at Episcopal School of Jacksonville for twelve years and English and Public Speaking at Florida State College at Jacksonville for twenty-four years. Now retired, she is a free-lance writer and speech consultant who volunteers for TEDxJacksonville and other worthy causes around the First Coast. She shares world travel, art, and other cultural pursuits with her friend and housemate, Jane Condon.
