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Candidates for 3rd District seat on School Board get public vetting
More than a dozen people turned out to comment on the candidates vying for the Richmond School Board’s vacant 3rd District seat following a speed round of public interviews conducted by the board. Only 11 of the 12 candidates were interviewed, with no mention of why only Norma Murdoch-Kitt was absent.
12 candidates to be interviewed for 3rd District School Board seat
Twelve people will be interviewed next week as the Richmond School Board moves to fill the vacant 3rd District seat.
Richmond’s graduation rate trails the state
Nearly 1,500 new freshmen entered Richmond schools in 2012 to start their quest for a high school diploma. Four years later, nearly one in five did not receive that important credential when graduation ceremonies were held last spring.
State seeks improvement in RPS special ed
The Virginia Department of Education is not satisfied with the state of special education in Richmond Public Schools, according to a report delivered Monday night to the Richmond School Board — the first meeting of the academic year.
RPS to pay consultants $1,692 for each temporary teacher hired
Richmond Public Schools has an emergency shortage of 119 teachers, and the administration hopes a Staunton consult- ing firm will help fill the void by placing temporary teachers in classrooms. Although the school district continues to offer contracts to new hires daily, teachers continue to resign less than two weeks before the start of the new school year, Tamica Epps, executive director of human resources for RPS, told the Richmond School Board during its Aug. 15 meeting.
Richmond Public schools seeking volunteers for cleanup projects
Volunteers are being sought to carry out projects to beautify city schools next week.
More than 1,200 students in Richmond schools graduation ceremonies
Break out the caps and gowns. Graduation time has arrived in Richmond.
Fill schools, not jails
More than 200 demonstrators call for more school funding
Kevin Lauray resolutely marched across the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge late Monday afternoon with his 4-year-old daughter, Aiyanna Lauray, on his shoulders as she held high a sign, “Support Our Schools.” His girlfriend, Shaira Maravilla, and their four other children walked the distance — from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End, across the bridge, to City Hall — with a crowd of about 200 to demand more money for Richmond Public Schools.
Richmond Public Schools undergoes staff changes
Richmond Public Schools’ leadership team is undergoing a major makeover. Ralph Westbay, who helped craft the school system’s current budget plan as the assistant superintendent for financial services, is retiring May 1.
School officials make push for more money
Audience members applauded repeatedly as students from Richmond Public Schools delivered stirring remarks, creative musical performances, inspiring spoken word renditions and precision marching exercises at the 2016 State of the Schools Address.
Planned school cuts causing pain
North Side resident Sherri Davis said she is concerned about planned budget cuts that may close schools, crowd classrooms and have parents scrambling to arrange transportation for their children. “It becomes a safety issue when you propose to put more kids in classes,” the mother of two Richmond Public Schools students told the Free Press on Wednesday. “It’s already hard enough for teachers to teach the large numbers of students they have in their classrooms.”
City charter school flunks accreditation
A Richmond charter school has been denied accreditation, providing fresh ammunition to foes of a Republican push to open the floodgates to create such schools.
Grant brings new books to Henderson Middle School
Henderson Middle School has received a $10,000 grant from Emily’s Hope Foundation to purchase 500 new books for it’s library, according to Dr. Vonita Foster, the school’s media specialist.
Richmond Public Schools losing budget director during critical season
Richmond Public Schools is losing one of its chief budget architects as the School Board and Superintendent Dana T. Bedden prepare to kick off their budget negotiations for fiscal year 2017 with Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond City Council. Betsy Drewry, RPS director of budget and planning, will leave her position Friday, Feb. 5, to become director of budget and finance for Prince George County, she told the Free Press at Monday’s School Board meeting at City Hall. Ms. Drewry is exiting after 18 months in the position. She was the Prince George school system’s budget chief for 14 years prior to coming to Richmond.
City high schools lose football games, but wins loom large for hoops season
In Hollywood, where movies are made and fantasy thrives, it is common for underdogs to overcome impossible odds to triumph and celebrate.
Program aims to dismantle school-to-prison pipeline
One hundred and forty-nine students were arrested in Richmond Public Schools during the 2014-15 school year, according to Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham. Of those, 59 were arrested for disorderly conduct, offenses that included not sitting down in class or using profanity toward a teacher, he said.
Pilot program to provide free dinner for students
Beginning in March, Richmond Public Schools will provide free dinners to students at eights of its schools in underserved communities. Those students also will be given backpacks containing free meals to take home for the weekend and extended school breaks such as holidays and inclement weather closings.
City schools’ All-City Jazz concert Nov. 5
Richmond Public Schools is hosting its second annual All-City Jazz Concert at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St. in Downtown.
Graduation rate in city inches up
Richmond awarded diplomas to 1,156 students in June, or 81.4 percent of the 1,421 students in the Class of 2015, new data from the Virginia Department of Education shows. The good news: That is Richmond’s best showing since the state began reporting systematic graduation results for each class in 2008.
Aspire Academy hopes to inspire student interest
They’re lost in the classroom and repeatedly act out — leading to repeated suspensions, expulsion and, sometimes, criminal charges.
Richmond schools spokesman resigns
Less than three months after he was hired, Richmond Public Schools spokesperson Richard Davis III has resigned his position. His last day on the job was Aug. 28, according to an RPS official.
City schools start with teacher vacancies, new salad bars
Timothy Billups and his staff in the Richmond Public Schools Department of Human Resources began the summer with the daunting task of filling nearly 400 teacher vacancies. With school bells set to ring for the new RPS school year Tuesday, Sept. 8, they’ve whittled that number to well under 100. The latest tally submitted by Mr. Billups on Aug. 25 to the Free Press shows 76 vacant teacher positions — five in elementary schools, 41 in secondary schools and 30 in special education.
Schools to stay open during bike races
Richmond Public Schools is not going to shut down during the international bike races that will engulf much of the city next month. Assistant Superintendent Tommy Kranz told the School Board on Monday night that he is anticipating “business as usual” during the upcoming 2015 UCI Road World Championships, scheduled to run from Saturday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 27.
Free school supplies for RPS teachers
Free school supplies will be available to Richmond Public Schools teachers when classes begin, thanks to a nonprofit called HandsOn Greater Richmond (HOGR).
‘Dialogue’ pages create feedback for School Board
Richmond Public Schools wants to make it easier for parents, students, teachers and the public to ask School Board members questions, make suggestions, express concerns or compliment their work — and get responses in a timely manner.
Double-dipping still a practice in city schools
Double-dipping is still in vogue in Richmond Public Schools, even though the practice of paying retirees extra money to fill vacancies has been loudly criticized.
Confidentiality breach: Teacher’s file contains personal info on others
If you teach or have taught for Richmond Public Schools, your colleagues may have access to your personal information. The disclosure that the RPS Human Resources Department is failing to guard confidential records came from a former teacher who found her personnel file contained information it should not have, including Social Security numbers of other teachers.
Board asks to throw out schools lawsuit
The Richmond School Board is seeking to dispel a legal cloud hanging over the collective heads of its nine members.
Protests erupt over teacher cuts, reassignments
Teachers, students, parents and supporters mobilized via social media when they learned Richmond Public Schools officials began instituting cost-cutting changes affecting the jobs of some of their most beloved teachers. “Please help!” read one urgent Facebook post.
Richmond high school graduations start Tuesday
Break out the caps and gowns. It’s graduation time in Richmond.
Have your say in new name for Thompson Middle
Thompson-Elkhardt Middle School. Or Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School.
Baker School building eyed for conversion into apartments
A vacant school building at 100 W. Baker St. in Gilpin Court is being eyed for conversion into 55 one-bedroom apartments for the elderly and disabled.
20 Richmond Public Schools students chosen as Altria College Opportunity Fund scholars
Twenty Richmond Public Schools students will receive scholarships totaling up to $800,000 from Altria during a program Thursday, May 21, at the historic Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward.
Slavery memorial to gain in capital budget plan
The battle over the ballpark in Shockoe Bottom apparently is over. At the same time, hopes are fading for Richmond Public Schools to gain funding to develop essential new schools on South Side to relieve overcrowding.
Services sacrificed in council’s $ plan
Richmond Public Schools is on track to gain an extra $9 million to help meet critical needs in the coming year. Police officers and firefighters also are on track to gain bigger raises of roughly 2.5 percent to help reduce turnover in public safety.
Richmond schools to get boost from state
Higher than expected enrollment is helping Richmond Public Schools avoid falling into a deficit. Richmond reported 128 more students than expected on March 31, boosting total enrollment to 21,973 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to a report to the School Board. The extra students should result in a $1.6 million boost in the state’s contribution, according to the report from Ralph L. Westbay, assistant superintendent for financial services. The state contribution previously had been projected at $121.7 million.
School Board weighs options to close schools
Richmond Public Schools is considering a seismic shift in how it attempts to solve overcrowding issues and meet other pressing demands related to its burgeoning student population. For the first time, Superintendent Dana T. Bedden and his leadership team are publicly admitting they could close up to six school buildings and move those students into existing schools even if no new buildings are constructed. Those findings are part of the thick new Richmond Public Schools Facilities Needs Report, which focuses on current and future building needs.
Prospects dim on third city charter school
Plenty of words are expected to be spilled next week when supporters and foes of a proposed boys-only charter school appear before the Richmond School Board to speak about the combination middle-high school. But the public hearing that the Richmond School Board has scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, could be an exercise in futility for charter school organizers such as Tunya Bingham, a corporate tax expert who has spent three years trying to get the Metropolitan Preparatory Academy open.
