All results / Stories / Ronald E. Carrington
RPS set to reopen Thursday after weather delay and early run on COVID-19 test kits
As school districts across the country consider postponing reopening following the holiday break or instituting remote instruction because of the new wave of COVID-19 infections, Richmond Public Schools stands fast in promoting vaccinations and testing to keep their doors open for in-person instruction.
Richmond police report increase in gun violence, homicides in 2021
Richmond saw an uptick in homicides last year, much of it attributable to young people, according to a recent Richmond Police Department report.
5 incumbents, 4 new members elected to Richmond School Board
The Richmond School Board will have four new members when the new board is sworn in in January, while five veteran board members retained their seats in Tuesday’s election.
Cheryl Burke sworn in to hold School Board seat through 2020
Retired elementary school principal Cheryl L. Burke was sworn in Tuesday as the official 7th District representative on the Richmond School Board. Mrs. Burke, 65, who was appointed by the board in 2017 to fill the seat on an interim basis, won a special election on Nov. 6 to fill the seat for the remainder of the term through December 2020.
Youngkin gets widespread pushback on attempt to lift mask mandate in schools
Just days after his inauguration, Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin is getting major pushback from legislators, parents and public school systems around the Commonwealth – including the Richmond area – over his executive order to end school mask mandates.
Parades and curbside visits bring joy to veterans’ home residents
Retired Sgt. 1st Class William “Big T” Taylor had not seen his family since early March.
School Board to take up rezoning, budget resolution April 8
The Richmond School Board is still far from making specific decisions on rezoning the city’s 44 public schools, but it is starting to take preliminary steps to address a long sought goal of “right-sizing” the division.
Richmond Virtual Academy may become its own school
The Richmond Virtual Academy is to become a new elementary school that could enroll between 400 and 500 students a year in online classes, the Richmond School Board decided Monday night. Instead of phasing out the program online learning program as Superintendent Jason Kamras proposed in February, the board, after hearing pleas from academy supporters, adopted a proposal by School Board member Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, to make RVA a school of record like other elementary schools, and eligible for annual state and local funding like other schools. While that decision must be approved by the state Department of Education, the vote to keep RVA as a functioning entity came as the board finalized its budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year. The board had a deadline on Wednesday to deliver a finished budget to City Council. Overall, the approved budget authorizes a record $548 million in total spending, or an expenditure of about $25,253 for each of the 21,700 students RPS estimated as enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Along with grants and one-time federal funds, the RPS budget provides $356.6 million in general fund spending, which mostly includes revenue from the city and state, or about $16,400 per student. The board, which cut $6 million from Mr. Kamras’ original general fund proposal, is relying on receiving a $15 million increase from the city in the fiscal year that begins July 1. That would boost total support from the city from $185.3 million this fiscal year to a new record of $200.3 million in 2022- 23. The increase from the city is largely designed to fund the local share of a 5 percent pay increase for teachers and other staff that the state plans to institute. Staff and teachers of the Richmond Virtual Academy, currently listed as a program and funded with federal CARES Act dollars, advocated for it to remain open and funded and rallied parents to lobby for the survival of the academy that adopted the owl as its mascot and bills itself as a space “where learning is a hoot.” The board’s vote was both a reaction to the lobbying and a rebuke to the adminis- tration, which had notified the academy’s entire staff that they would be laid off as of July 1 and would need to reapply for positions within RPS. Mr. Kamras initially proposed cutting the program from 70 to just 10 instructors, who would largely teach homebound students too sick or injured to come to school or students removed from in-person learning for discipline reasons. Cindi Robinson, the academy’s princi- pal, said the board’s action is good news for parents and students. “Virtual learning is not just a Band-Aid,” Ms. Robinson said, noting that numerous school divisions have found some students “actually thrive and do better” in an online program. Among them is Sheila Barlow’s 19-year- old son, Douglas. Ms. Barlow told the board that the virtual school has been a boon for her son and other students like him with serious disabilities who can now attend class from home in a safe environment. Her son has Down syndrome and can- not talk, she said. “He has a sign language interpreter for all of his classes,” Ms. Barlow told the Free Press. “If he goes back to in-person learning, my son would not have that service.” While the board’s action appears to have saved the virtual academy, the board’s funding will provide only for a reduced operation. Richmond’s virtual operation enrolls about 768 students, including 500 elementary school students, which is fewer students than Henrico and Chesterfield’s school systems. But that would shrink further. The board’s funding would allow for only 30 total staff, including a principal, counselors and other staff and about 23 instructional staff strictly for elementary programming. Currently, the school has at least 70 staff members, including a 43-member instructional staff. As part of the transition, the School Board agreed with the administration’s plan to end enrollment for middle and high school students who can move to the state’s online program, Virtual Virginia. The revamped Richmond Virtual Acad- emy also will oversee virtual educational programming for students who are home- bound for disciplinary or health reasons. According to board members, the ad- ministration is expected to drop the cur- rent homebound program that dispatches teachers to the homes of students to provide in-person instruction two hours a day. If it becomes a school of record as anticipated, RVA would not only have a budget, but would also report state Stan- dards of Learning test results. The board’s budget, meanwhile, cuts more deeply into the central office staff than Mr. Kamras proposed and largely eliminates contracts for consultants pro- viding curriculum training. Ms. Gibson also won approval for an audit of Mr. Kamras’ original budget plan after she turned up a significant discrepancy in total employee numbers compared with the current year. The board also provided funding for the first time to enable 400 students to take math, science and other required high school classes at the Richmond Technical Center along with their career and voca- tional training programs. Under the initiative advanced by Jona- than Young, 4th District, the students will no longer have to be shuttled back to their home schools for those courses. This change is seen as a harbinger of the proposed career and technical high school that RPS plans to create in a former tobacco plant in South Side. In addition, the board also provided funds to support an increase in the number of students during the next four years at two specialty high schools, Richmond Com- munity and Franklin Military Academy, and three regional high schools, Code RVA and the Maggie L. Walker and Appomattox regional governor’s schools.
Cheryl Burke wins Richmond School Board seat
Cheryl L. Burke, who was appointed in 2017 as the interim 7th District representative to the Richmond School Board, was elected Tuesday night to fill the seat for the rest of the term through 2020.
Local quilt guild makes face masks for VCU health workers
Naima Wares-Akers and her legion of Richmond area quilters are filling a deep gap in keeping hospital employees and other health care workers safe from the coronavirus.
Lady Luck visits Va. in Mega Millions
Money! Money! Money! Americans took a deep breath Tuesday night, praying to be the lucky winner of the biggest drawing in Mega Millions history.
Mothers Club comes to an end after 66 years
After 66 years of donating to charities, helping individuals and organizations in the Richmond community and building a strong bond of friendship among their members and children, The Mothers Club has disbanded.
In what unique way did your mother show you she loved you?
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. It’s a day for pampering mom with flowers and gifts and taking her to dinner to show her how much we love and appreciate her for all she has done for us.
On the battlefield:
City schools, agencies and government work to find strategies to combat gun violence
South Richmond residents are preparing to bury a mother and her infant daughter, two of the latest victims of a spate of indiscriminate violence that has left families devastated and in tears over the unnecessary loss life.
School Board breaks impasse with City Council by approving new 1,800-seat George Wythe
After a year of internal disagreement and conflict with the mayor and City Council, the Richmond School Board voted 5-4 Monday to build a much-needed and long-overdue new George Wythe High School with a capacity for 1,800 students.
Kamras proposes changing role for SROs; board gives green light to new 1,600-student high school
Richmond schools Superintendent Jason Kamras presented a proposal to the School Board Monday night to re-imagine the role of school resource officers, or SROs, the police hired to provide public safety in the city’s public schools.
RPS graduation rate improves; no longer the lowest in state
Richmond Public Schools no longer has the lowest on-time graduation rate in Virginia.
School Board makes no change to North Side attendance zones
The Richmond School Board voted 6-3 Monday to reject a plan to modify school attendance zones in North Side.
RPS rezoning plans with pairings criticized as too costly
Parents and community members voiced opposition to several proposals to rezone Richmond Public Schools attendance districts, saying the plans are too costly and diversity in schools can be achieved in other ways.
RPS Board affirms rezoning plan will be finished by late Dec.
The Richmond School Board reaffirmed Monday night that it will complete school rezoning by late December.
