ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 St. Johns County has completed its Spring 2026 SJC 101 Citizens Academy, graduating 28 residents. The program, which provides a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at local government, concluded on June 2.<\/p>\n
The SJC 101 Citizens Academy has now graduated more than 90 alumni since its launch in 2024. Held twice annually in the Spring and Fall, the program serves as the County\u2019s official civic education initiative, connecting participants with more than 30 County departments and all Constitutional Offices.<\/p>\n
The 12-week program engaged participants in interactive sessions, facility tours and hands-on demonstrations across key service areas. These areas include public safety, utilities, growth management, health and human services, public works and parks and recreation. <\/p>\n
Sessions were aligned with national observances and seasonal priorities like National Public Health Week, National Public Works Week and hurricane season preparedness, offering timely context for County operations.<\/p>\n
Graduates received formal recognition during a Board meeting on June 2 by Clay Murphy, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. \u201cThis is what it\u2019s all about,\u201d Chair Murphy said. \u201cWe are opening the doors to government to our citizens in a real effort for transparency. We want people to be able to see where their tax dollars go and how they\u2019re used.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joy Andrews, County Administrator for St. Johns County, also addressed the graduates. \u201cThe one takeaway I want our residents to leave with is a true sense of curiosity,\u201d Andrews said. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily any specific data point, fact or statistic. It\u2019s really about your willingness to be a part of a very authentic dialogue. I think we have gotten that from every single graduate of this program\u2026 We\u2019re building trust one student at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
SJC 101 is designed to strengthen transparency, enhance civic awareness and encourage community engagement. The program helps residents better understand how to access services, navigate County resources and participate in local government. It fosters direct interaction with County staff and leadership, equipping participants with knowledge to become more informed and active community members.<\/p>\n
The program also directly supports the St. Johns County Strategic Plan by advancing the priorities of Community Trust and Organizational Excellence. By increasing public understanding of County operations and creating meaningful opportunities for engagement, SJC 101 helps build confidence in local government while showcasing the professionalism, innovation and commitment of County staff.<\/p>\n
Graduates are encouraged to remain engaged with local government by applying for volunteer opportunities on County advisory boards and committees. They can also participate in public meetings and support community outreach efforts.<\/p>\n
Residents interested in participating in a future SJC 101 program can learn more and register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/a>] <\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here<\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here<\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 St. Johns County has completed its Spring 2026 SJC 101 Citizens Academy, graduating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[344,347,32435,21370,28,348,116,351,118,117,349,128352,350,5902,346,345],"class_list":["post-307270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-action-news-jax","tag-cbs47","tag-civic-education","tag-community-engagement","tag-florida","tag-fox30","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-fl","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-northeast-florida","tag-sjc-101-citizens-academy","tag-southeast-georgia","tag-st-johns-county","tag-wfox","tag-wjax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}