Monday, September 9, 2019
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Dear RPS Family,
Happy first Monday of the year! I had the pleasure of visiting 12 schools last week and I'm delighted to report that I saw lots of smiles – from students and staff alike! Before we dive in, I want to give a special shout-out to our teachers. Great teaching is magical; but it's not magic. It requires a LOT of hard work, preparation, skill, patience, creativity, flexibility, intuition, empathy, love, and so much more. On behalf of RPS, THANK YOU to our teachers!
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Last week, I mentioned the great news about our AP scores: up in the number of students in AP classes, up in the number of AP tests taken, and up in the number of passing scores! David Coleman, head of the College Board, which administers AP exams, released a statement saying: "The College Board celebrates educators from across Richmond Public Schools for broadening the invitation to challenging coursework for many more students throughout the district...We are proud to support RPS in their efforts to expand access and opportunity to all." But the best news? On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet Angelica at Huguenot HS, who earned a 5 (highest score) on the AP Spanish exam!
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A year ago, Angelica couldn't have earned such a score. Why? Because we didn't even offer this course at Huguenot. I'll say it again: we can't expect greatness of our students if we don't ask greatness of them. That's why we must continue to expand our AP offerings, as well as advanced coursework of all kinds across our schools. Please join me in congratulating Angelica!
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Dreams4RPS Press Conferences
– Last week, we began each day with a press conference to raise awareness about each of the five priorities of our strategic plan, Dreams4RPS. (We have one more conference this morning for the fifth priority.) See below for the highlights!
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Tuesday – Priority 1: Exciting and Rigorous Teaching and Learning
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We began Tuesday morning at Westover Hills ES, which saw big gains on their SOLs last year. More importantly, WHES has established a "love of learning" culture, which infuses everything they do. Big shout-out to Principal El Koubi and the entire staff there! We also visited Greene ES, Albert Hill MS, and Huguenot HS (where I met Angelica!). In addition to increasing our AP offerings, we're expanding our math curriculum pilot as a result of some very promising data from last year: pilot schools saw double the math gains when compared to non-pilot schools. We're also implementing a literacy block at the elementary level to enhance our reading instruction. Big shout-out to Dr. Tracy Epp, our Chief Academic Officer, for leading this work!
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Wednesday – Priority 2: Skilled and Supported Staff
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Wednesday was all about our extraordinary educators and support staff. We kicked off the day at Franklin Military Academy, and then went on to Woodville ES, John Marshall HS, and Obama ES. Some of the highlights for Priority 2? A 5% raise for our teachers over the past two years; a complete overhaul of our nursing salary schedule to help us compete with the private sector; 10 new art, music, and world language positions to nurture our students' passion for learning; a dozen new ESL positions to support our English Learner students; a campaign to recruit more male teachers of color that we're launching this winter; and much more. Enormous gratitude to Jennifer Bramble, our Chief Talent Officer, for leading this work!
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Thursday – Priority 3: Safe and Loving School Cultures
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At RPS, we want every child to feel welcomed and loved for who they are – every single day. That's what Priority 3 is all about. We began the day at Oak Grove - Bellemeade, where the staff is working diligently to create a warm and nurturing environment. One of the highlights of my week was joining about two dozen staff members and community partners at Oak Grove to give students high-fives as they walked into school. We also visited Broad Rock ES, Francis, ES, and MLK MS. We have a number of wonderful initiatives going on this year to support Priority 3 – from the expansion of our trauma-informed and restorative justice work, to the hiring of additional nurses and social workers. Deepest thanks to Harry Hughes, our Chief Schools Officer, for leading this work!
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Friday – Priority 4: Deep Partnership with Family and Community
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We ended the week with a focus on collaboration with our families and community partners. Our first stop was George Mason ES, where we launched Brothers United, a mentoring program for our young men of color, last year. We announced an expansion of the program to more schools, as well as an enhanced partnership with Girls for a Change, a local non-profit that supports young women of color. We also heard from a parent who participated in the home visit program last year – which we're expanding in 2019-20 – and highlighted the new satellite site of the Welcome Center at Boushall MS to support our recent immigrant families. Huge kudos to Dr. Shadae Harris, our Chief Engagement Officer, for leading this work!
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RPS Shines 2019
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I missed a few of our partners last week. My apologies! See below for the additions. Thank you!
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• Cross Creek Nursery
• Delta House Foundation
• Infinite Scholars Program
• Micah Association
• Partnership for the Future
• Richmond Education Association
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Rezoning
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We have two important updates on the rezoning process. First, the School Board is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss five questions raised by the Rezoning Advisory Committee:
• How should we prioritize the rezoning goals established by the Board?
• What is driving the timeline? Does a decision need to be made this fall/winter?
• When will we know the costs of the various proposals?
• How many proposals should we send to the Board?
• Will the Board review its open enrollment policies to help achieve some of the objectives outlined for rezoning? If so, when?
Second, we've published a calendar for the next batch of rezoning meetings:
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Have a great week!
With the deepest appreciation,
Jason
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