February 8, 2019
Message from the Superintendent 

Happy Friday! For this week's RPS Direct, I'm sharing the text of my State of the Schools speech.  If you prefer, you can watch the livestream hereThank you to everyone who joined us on Tuesday! And a huge shout-out to our amazing students who participated in the event:
  • Emcee: De'Jah Waller, Armstrong HS
  • Speaker: Ty Logan, Richmond Community HS
  • National Anthem: Janasia Dotson, George Wythe HS
  • RPS Harp Ensemble:
    • Amelia Henson
    • Barry Gholson
    • Emerson Ayers
    • Emory Deguenther
    • E'yani Sewell
    • Jack Lion
    • Jaqueline Hernandez
    • Josie Mendicino
    • Kaleeah Massey
    • Kimarah Massey
    • Kiyanna Stephens
    • Kota Mitchell
    • Leah Hazelrigg
    • Marisol Algarin
    • Markus Ingram
    • Parker Hanson
    • Syasia Anderson
    • Xyana Hannah    
  • Huguenot JROTC
    • Gavyn Ellis
    • Jesiah Cox
    • L'Chris Roberts
    • Raekwon Rosser
    • Taire Hubbard
    • Trevon Sydnor-Corbett
    • Willie Mattox IV 
  • Franklin Military Choir
    • Akeja Evans
    • Alyssa Brown
    • Angel Kersey
    • Christian Hatch
    • Crystal Tyus
    • Dejia Graham
    • Deyshon Miles
    • Ja'Bril Scott
    • Jadyn Colden
    • Jeniyya Pierce
    • Jernetta Karim
    • Kayla Franklin
    • Lindsey Diggs
    • Marilyn Cubilete
    • Marquis Christian
    • Monet Noel
    • Navalas Giles
    • Samarya Robinson
    • Shaiann Jones
    • Shakiyah Bolden-Jones
    • Sincere Price
    • Thomari Hill
    • Tiana Bridy
    • Tome Sexias
    • Warren Hubbard
    • Zoquan Witcher 
  • Binford Dance Ensemble
    • Alexandria Adams
    • Casey Garnett
    • Emma Clark
    • Gia Hazelgrove
    • Isabelle Winning
    • Kamini Mason
    • Kylie Guido
    • Millena Brown
    • Piper Proctor
    • Sarah Alicia Chay
    • Scarlett Gibson
    • Sydnee Hilliard
    • Vilma Jones
  • All-City Jazz Band
    • Aukeim Mitchell
    • Collette Charles
    • Cory Stucky
    • Damarious Banks
    • Destiny Barksdale
    • Kiara Franklin
    • Lamar Truehart
    • Nia'sha Burroughs
    • Sarah Peoples
    • Shaun Hendricks
    • Stephon Brown
    • Sterling DeMascio
    • Traquan Jordan      
    • Zoe Bastardi    
With great appreciation,

Jason Kamras
RPS Superintendent


2019 State of Schools by Superintendent Kamras - February 5, 2019
 
I want to begin with two simple words: thank you. I'm starting with these words because I'm filled with immense gratitude and love this evening - for our extraordinary students and families, our amazing teachers and support staff, and our wonderful RVA community. I can't imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else. Thank you for welcoming me to the RPS family.
 
I heard a story yesterday at the memorial service for former Mayor Kenney. His younger brother shared that whenever he came to visit, the Mayor would chat for about 15 minutes and then say that he had a meeting to go to. He'd always say that he'd be back by 9 pm, but it was usually midnight when he returned.
 
His younger brother said this happened all the time. And he finally realized why: The Mayor was in love - with the City of Richmond.
 
I know I've only been here a short while, but I think I now understand what he meant. This is a complicated place, no doubt. And I've certainly made my share of mistakes. But I love RPS and the City of Richmond, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve here. Thank you for allowing me to do so.
 
I'd like to express my profound gratitude to Ms. Page, Chair of the School Board, who has been my partner and friend on this journey from Day 1. Thank you.
 

 
Let me also thank Liz Doerr, our Vice-Chair, and Dr. Sapini, our Vice-Chair from last year. I'd also like to recognize and thank the rest of the Board: Scott Barlow from the 2nd District, Kenya Gibson from the 3rd, Jonathan Young from the 4th, Felicia Cosby from the 6th, Cheryl Burke from the 7th, and Linda Owen from the 9th. Thank you all for your partnership, your guidance, and your wisdom. Please join me in showing our appreciation to the Richmond City School Board.
 
I'd also like to recognize my Senior Leadership Team: From left to right, that's Dr. Shadae Harris, our Chief Engagement Officer; Harry Hughes, our Chief Schools Officer; Michelle Hudacsko, our Chief of Staff; Dr. Tracy Epp, our Chief Academic Officer; Darin Simmons, Jr., our Chief Operating Officer; and Jennifer Bramble, our Chief Talent Officer. Please join me in showing our appreciation to this incredible team.
 

I'd also like to thank any RPS students, families, or staff in the audience tonight, with a special shout-out to the four advisory councils we started this year: one each for students, teachers, principals, and parents. And I need to shout out our task forces on restorative justice and trauma informed practices. Can all the members of these groups please stand so we can recognize you?
 
I'd also like to thank Mayor Stoney and Council President Newbille for their partnership over the past year. I'm grateful to be a public servant in a City that has chosen the two of you to lead us. Please join me in recognizing them.
 
 
Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to give my own family a shout-out. As we often say at dinner - that is, when I'm home for dinner - this is a team effort. And I've got a truly wonderful team at home. To my wife Miwa, and my sons Ezra and Akiva, thank you and I love you.
 
 
I wasn't sure where to begin because it's been such a quiet year for RPS :).  How many times did we grace the front page? Well, here you go.
 
It's certainly been a busy - and at times, very difficult, year. But it's also been a wonderful one. Here are a few highlights:
 
On the academic front , we jumped right in and launched AP for All in my 100-day plan. For the first time in recent memory, RPS is ensuring that ALL of our comprehensive high schools are on a path to offering AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Spanish, and AP Literature. Just this last week, I met Keashin, a 12th grader at George Wythe, who was studying gene sequencing in her brand new AP Bio class. I asked her how it was going and she said: "It's really challenging. But I like that."
 

As I've often said, we can't expect greatness from our students if we don't ask greatness of them. We're going to raise the bar and ask greatness of our students a whole lot more over the coming years.
 
Someone who epitomizes this approach to teaching is our very own Virginia Teacher of the Year, and finalist for National Teacher of the Year, Rodney Robinson. Rodney couldn't be here this evening because he's at a conference with all the other State Teachers of the Year in California. Even though he's not here, please join me in honoring him. I'd bet just about anything that he's going to win this thing!
 

Please also join me recognizing all our 2019 Teachers of the Year for each school, including Ashley Morgan, our 2019 Division-Wide Teacher of the Year.
 
Though we've begun to take some modest steps forward on the academic front, we've also had to address some difficult issues head on. First was Carver. After going through a very difficult period last spring, I'm thrilled to tell you that Carver Nation is back! My visit last week confirmed this. Principal Giles and her team - along with Carver families and the community - are charting a new and exciting path forward for the mighty Peanuts. Let's show them some love!
 

We've also begun to address the errors in our transcripts. I'm delighted to report that, earlier today, the VDOE signed off on Phase I of our work on the senior transcripts.
In partnership with the State, we've made over 1,500 corrections. The new, correct, senior transcripts will go out by the end of next week. This was a herculean effort - and it's actually just getting started. We will now turn to the transcripts for our juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.
 
On the talent front, this fall we opened school with dramatically fewer vacancies than in prior years. We also increased pay for teachers by 2%, bus drivers by 10%, and added over a dozen ESL and bilingual positions to support students and families on the Southside.
 
On the school culture front, we launched restorative justice pilots in three schools. I had the pleasure of visiting one of Albert Hill's morning restorative circles last week. One of the students in the circle shared that he now feels like he knows the people in his class better. Another said she could share her feelings. And a third said it helped him feel peaceful at the start of the day. That's exactly what we're hoping to achieve in all of our schools.
 

We've also been tackling chronic absenteeism. As compared to last year, we're down 2%. We still have a very long way to go, but that means almost 500 more students are coming to school every day.
 
On the engagement front, we've been very busy. For our strategic plan, Dreams4RPS, we held over 170 community meetings with the participation of over 3,000 people. And not even a storm-induced power outage stopped folks at one of our East End meetings. We also launched RPS Shines, a week of school beautification activities. We're so grateful to the dozens of partners who helped make this happen!
 

And we've ramped up our advocacy efforts, including three marches - one against gun violence and two for more state funding: the March for More and the Red For Ed march. And we established a partnership with VUU to give 50th eighth graders a full-ride when they graduate! Thank you, Dr. Lucas!


And, perhaps most powerful of all, we renamed JEB Stuart Elementary to Barack Obama Elementary. School names are but symbols. But symbols matter. Especially when it comes to Richmond's history - and present - on race. We're proud at RPS to signal that we're an inclusive school system that is committed to creating a more just and equitable future for our children.
 

Finally, on the operations front, it's been a whirlwind. We launched the Bathroom Blitz to ensure our students are treated with basic respect and dignity. Over the summer we replaced 200 paper towel dispensers, 150 toilet paper dispensers, 150 soap dispensers, 260 faucets, 170 sinks, 20 stall doors, 200 stall locks, and 100 ceiling tiles. We will continue this work until every bathroom is up to par.
 

We also fixed a certain gym floor. And we launched a program to give every teacher a $150 Amazon card at the start of the year to purchase supplies.
 
And, of course, we broke ground on three new schools! We're grateful to the Mayor for proposing the Meals Tax and the Council for approving it. We're also grateful to the Chief Administrative Officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, and her team, for partnering so closely with us on the construction of these schools. We literally would not be where we are today without you.
 

We've accomplished quite a bit and we have lots to be proud of. At the same time, we must be honest about the very real challenges that face us.
 
Here are a couple of the brutal facts: less than half of our schools are accredited and we have the lowest graduation rate in Virginia.
 
I share these data points with a very heavy heart because I know there is absolutely nothing -nothing - broken about our students. They are just as bright, creative, passionate, empathetic, and inspiring - I'd say more so - than their peers across Virginia. But we the adults have not yet provided them with the opportunities they deserve. We are on the hook for the statistics I just shared. Not them.
 
Because I believe so deeply in our students, I have unbounded optimism about our ability as One Richmond to chart a more successful and more equitable future for RPS. It's going to take time, but we are on our way.
 
And so, if I were to sum up the State of our Schools in one word, I'd say we are RISING . We are rising together and nothing will stop us.
 

And where are we rising to? Well, that's easy to answer. Because our students, families, staff, and community already told us where they want RPS to go. After all, they're the ones who created our bold and inspiring plan for the future, Dreams4RPS. You can download it here in English and here in Spanish.
 

 
This isn't my plan. It's not the Board's plan. It's not any single stakeholder's plan. It's OUR plan because it reflects the hopes and dreams of everyone in the RPS family. As I shared earlier, over 3,000 people helped write it during more than 170 community meetings. And because of that, it's the exact right plan for RPS.
 
As you will see from the beautiful versions we provided this evening, we have five priorities. I want to tell you a little about each one. First  is "Exciting and Rigorous Teaching and Learning." We chose those two adjectives - exciting and rigorous - very deliberately. We want RPS students running to class because we're tapping into their natural curiosity every day; and we want them challenged to reach new heights.
 
That's why I'm so excited about Action 1.1 in our plan, called "Passion4Learning." Among other things, it's a bold effort to reimagine our comprehensive high schools into theme-based specialty schools that are truly rigorous and truly exciting for our students. We're going to ensure that every graduate leaves us on one of three paths: 1) college; 2) a living wage job; or 3) national service. Every graduate.
 
Let me paint a picture of one of these schools for you. Let's imagine a science and technology-themed high school that rivals New York's Bronx School of Science. Every student - of every background - will take at least three Advanced Placement courses in science and mathematics. Every student will participate in labs and internships with local medical colleges, engineering firms, or green job start-ups. Every student will have a paid opportunity to explore her scientific passion over the summer. And every student will graduate not just READY for college or career, but actually ENTERING college or career, and SUCCEEDING. People from around the country will start coming to RPS to see what we're doing!
 

Imagine that same experience in the Arts, in International Affairs, in Law and Public Service, in Career and Technical Education, and more.
 
To begin this work, we will soon be launching advisory groups for each theme. We'll be looking for partners from the academic community, the business community, the non-profit community, and the faith community. If you're interested in helping, please let me know. My email is jkamras@rvaschools.net . We're going to revolutionize what school looks and feels like with Passion4Learning.
 
Our second priority is "Skilled and Supported Staff." Unless we keep the great people we have, grow more internally, and get more to join us, we won't be able to do anything else in this plan.
 
I've publicly said quite a bit already about Action 2.3, which highlights the need to pay our teachers more. But it bears repeating. Virginia is thousands of dollars below the national average for teacher pay. In fact, we're 30th in the nation. That's unacceptable. Many of our teachers work second or even third jobs to make ends meet.
 

And it's not just teachers. We recently had a nurse resign because she was making so little money that she was on food stamps. That's why we marched on December 8th and again on January 28th. And it's why we must continue to hold the General Assembly accountable in November. Fortunately, we're blessed in Richmond with a wonderful delegation that is fighting for us every day. Big thanks to Senators Dance, McClellan, and Sturtevant; and Delegates Adams, Bagby, Bourne, Carr, and McQuinn.
 

In addition to pay, I want to draw you attention to Action 2.2: a commitment to increase the number of male teachers of color in RPS classrooms. It's critical that our teaching force reflects the full diversity of our student population. And right now, we're not putting enough male teachers of color in front of our young people. We're delighted that Rodney Robinson has already made this a key part of his platform as Teacher of the Year and we look forward to partnering with him, other RPS teachers, our local HBCUs, and many others organizations to make Richmond a national leader in this critical area.
 

Our third priority is "Safe and Loving School Cultures." Our number one responsibility is to keep our children safe. I say that as Superintendent, but also as a parent myself. But we need to do much more than that. I want every RPS classroom to be one where our students feel loved and affirmed for who they are - regardless of skin color, family income, country of origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
 

Another one of the things we need to do is help our teachers and support staff better meet the needs of children experiencing trauma in their lives. This effort is reflected in Action 3.1.
 
To put a human face on the trauma some of our young people face, consider this: Over the past 12 months, more than 20 RPS students have been shot in their communities, of which 6 have died.
 
Most of our teachers were never trained to support young people facing such horrific trauma in their lives. We need to change that. That's why we're embarking on a multi-year effort to provide our educators with the knowledge and skills they need to effectively support ALL of their students. And let's not forget that some of our teachers have faced trauma themselves. They need support as well.
 
Our fourth priority is "Deep Partnership with Families and Community." I want to say this as clearly as I can: we cannot do this work alone. And we won't even try. That's why we created an Office of Engagement to make sure we do everything possible to truly partner with our families and our community.
 
I'm especially excited about Action 4.2 in this priority. In short, we're going to train and pay teachers to visit their students' homes. Of course, there are a lot of details to figure out here, but I believe passionately in this work. Why? Because I've experienced it as both a teacher and a parent.
 
Many of you have heard me talk about my former student and dear friend Wendall. Here we are when I taught him, and here we are on my last day in DC when we taught math together at my old school.
 

The main reason we ended up forming such a meaningful and lasting relationship is because one afternoon, I asked his mother if I could visit with her and get to know more about Wendall. From that moment on, we had a foundation of trust and understanding.
 
That experience is why, in my 100-day plan, I committed to doing 12 living room chats - 3 in each part of the city - in our families' homes. From the East End to the West End; and from the Northside to the Southside, I had the great honor of sitting in living rooms all across the city to hear our families' hopes and dreams for their children. I still do these home visits periodically. One family has hosted me multiple times and they're here this evening. Please join me in welcoming the Reyes Family.
 

Querida familia Reyes, gracias por darme la bienvenida a tu hogar. Gracias por contarme las cosas que van bien en RPS y las cosas que no van bien. Gracias por compartir tus sueƱos para tus hijos. Y gracias por las deliciosas papusas! No puedo esperar a volver. Gracias.
 
I've also experienced home visits as a parent. When my children started pre-school, we received a home visit from their teachers. They spent 45 minutes in our living room playing Legos and talking to our boys. But in that short time, we got to know them so well. I think that's one of the reasons we keep in touch with them to this day.
 
Let's face it: schools, families, and communities are all connected. So let's break down the invisible walls that divide them and foster closer relationships. After all, as that famous adage goes: No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
 
Our fifth priority is " Modern Systems and Infrastructure ." There's not much more that needs to be said about the state of our facilities. To be direct: it's criminal that our students and staff walk into buildings that have mold, leaking roofs, broken tiles, and no heat. We simply have to do better.
 
But this priority is about more than just buildings. It's also about our underlying systems. Let me give you one example. Here's an image of our HR and budget system, called AS-400. It was launched by IBM in the 1980s.
 

There's no way we can run a modern, healthy school system that provides outstanding customer service to families, employees, and applicants if we're using technological dinosaurs. That's why Action 5.1 calls for a major upgrade of our tech platforms. We just can't prepare kids for the third decade of the 21st Century using technology from the 20th.
 
There's a lot more to get excited about in Dreams4RPS, but I know you'd all like to get home soon so I'll stop there. I love this plan and I believe in it with all my heart - because it's OUR plan.
 
One more note about Dreams4RPS: it isn't cheap. All together, it will cost about $150 million over five years. Yes, that's a big number. But I believe the children of Richmond deserve everything in this plan.
 
When it comes to money and RPS, I believe two things. First, we can definitely use our funds more wisely. And I've tried to demonstrate my commitment to doing exactly that by proposing cuts and reconciling our budget with the City. As we tighten our belts and stretch every dollar as far as we can, I also believe we must also continue to advocate for more. If you're as excited about Dreams4RPS as I am, join us in doing everything possible to fund it. Our students deserve nothing less.
 
I would like to close by sharing a story about one of our middle school students. Please know that I'm sharing this with her permission.
 
The 2017-18 school year was a difficult one for her. Facing all sorts of challenges in her life, she was understandably angry and frustrated. And those emotions showed up at school - in her relationships with both students and staff. She ended up getting into multiple fights, which, in turn led to multiple suspensions. She also missed 70 school days.
 
This year - like RPS - she is rising.
 
First, in alignment with our restorative justice goal, her school committed to NOT suspend her. Instead, the staff there wrapped her with love and support. They made sure to include her in the school's new restorative justice efforts, giving her a safe space to share her feelings, work through her emotions, and develop new bonds with students and staff.
 
The school community also went the extra mile for her, doing all kinds of things to support her outside of school as well. They got her involved in extra-curricular activities like the Step Team and Girls for Change. And they listened, whenever she needed to talk.
 
I'm thrilled to tell you that this year, this young lady is rising. She attends every class, every day. She seeks support when she feels herself getting upset. She requests restorative justice circles to deal with conflict instead of fighting. She is on the Honor Roll. And she now says she'd like to be a teacher or lawyer when she grows up so she can help kids like herself.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, can you please rise to honor Yasmine, who is here this evening.
 
Yasmine, we are so very proud of you!
 
Yasmine - and her amazing school team and our wonderful community partners - represent the best of RPS. They have demonstrated that when we hold the bar high and expect greatness of our young people, and then do everything humanly possible to surround them in love and support, there is literally nothing they can't achieve.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, like Yasmine, RPS is rising , and we've just gotten started.
 
Thank you.
 

 


301 North 9th St, Richmond, VA 23219
P: 804.780.7710 | www.rvaschools.net
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