| Happy Wednesday! As a reminder, during summer break, I'll be sending RPS Direct once a week on Wednesdays. So please keep sending shout-outs and other information you'd like to share throughout the summer. Thank you!
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| We're Hiring! – Are you or someone you know ready to teach, lead, and serve with love at RPS next year? View our current job openings and apply today. We're thrilled to offer $2,000 signing bonuses for many key positions!
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| Volunteer for RPS Summer Fest – We're looking for volunteers to help out with this year's Summer Fest on Saturday, July 23. We have a variety of roles and time slots available. Learn more and sign up today!
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| Wellness Session for School Staff – Greater Richmond SCAN and the YWCA are holding their What Is Wellness? session on Thursday, July 14. See the flyer below for more details!
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| VDOE Career Success Stars – Two RPS alumni have been highlighted by the Virginia Department of Education as Career Success Stars in Career and Technical Education! Meet Cynthia Roberts, Huguenot HS and Richmond Technical Center alum, who is taking the welding world by storm; and Troy Wheeler, Thomas Jefferson HS alum, a Captain in the U.S. Army who is sharing his appreciation for the JROTC program. They are both so inspiring!
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| Finally, I'd like to share – with her permission – an update about Dr. Tracy Epp, our Chief Academic Officer. Dr. Epp has been on leave tending to some family matters and has decided to step down from the CAO role so that she can continue to do so. Though I am going to miss her dearly, I applaud her for truly putting family first.
Those of you who know Tracy know that she's a fierce advocate for children – especially for those furthest from opportunity. She's also wicked smart, incredibly hard-working, and more determined to help students succeed than just about anyone else I know. She has had a profoundly positive impact on RPS that will last for many years to come, and we are all deeply in her debt.
Please join me in thanking Tracy – my dear friend and colleague – and wishing her and her family peace, joy, and lots of love.
With great appreciation,
Jason
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- I want to thank the students who made the butterflies for individuals in the hospital. What a day brightener. I was in ICU, received the handmade butterfly, and thought it was a beautiful gesture. Thank you.
- I wanted to send a special shout-out to one of the best teachers at Southampton Elementary, Ms. Tisone! The best 2nd grade teacher ever! She took pictures of the students all year long and posted them through ClassDojo, which I thought was awesome. She always communicated with parents, posted reminders, had the students publish their own book. She had the students perform outside and every kid had a part and sung songs, and she provided each student with an award which made each student feel special! I can go on and on and my daughter will truly miss Ms. Tisone! Please know that from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything that Ms. Tisone has done this school year! What a great school year coming back from virtual last school year!
- I would like to give a shout-out to the Linwood Holton ES staff and more specifically, Ms. DeMet. This year was filled with anxiety and uncertainty. During it all, Ms. DeMet remained consistent in her approach and provided the support that her students needed in their very own way. For that, I am grateful.
- Shout-out to Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School's summer school cafeteria staff. They are ensuring the food is appetizingly displayed. The food looks appealing and the students are excited to eat! The staff is pleasant to the students and takes pride in their service.
- Congratulations to Lisa Johnson-Hicks on her new position as a principal at Mary Scott Preschool. She is an asset to the early childhood RPS community
- Please shout-out Ms. Beverly Griffin, Keith Archer, Patrick, and the super-swift technology asset analyst Mr. Ian Johnson with the Asset Management Team. Their customer service was not short of outstanding! Thank you so much for all of your assistance while I visited the Vatex Building for tech support.
- Thank you to the faculty and staff of the Southside Sunflowers, housed at River City Middle School. We had an amazing summer school opening and look forward to an awesome summer of teaching and learning for our scholars. Specific thanks to our liaisons, Mrs. Wyche, Mrs. McLeod, and Mr. Hicks, for their patience in addressing registration concerns and teacher needs. Thank you to Ms. Liggans and Ms. Pettiford-Hines for coming in early and staying late to ensure that we were prepared to welcome families on day one. Thank you to Ms. L. Gray for answering my many calls for an assist. Thank you to Ms. Sidney Gunter for always putting her hands on deck and leading summer school with supreme organization, grace, and love.
- Thank you to the Exceptional Education Department for their support in transitioning students to ESY at River City. Dr. Volley, Mrs. Ceja, Mr. Angeles, Ms. Liggans, and Ms. Pullens continue to lead by example, and their commitment to the students that we serve makes all of the difference.
- Thank you to the faculty and staff of River City Middle School for pivoting with ease to support the opening of the summer session at our school. Special shout-out to Ms. Parker, Ms. Canas, Ms. Lizardo, Mr. Hornes, Mr. Hyden, and Ms. Cox.
- Thank you to all the student intervention liaisons (SILs) at Growing Greatness Summer School at Miles Jones Elementary! Dr. Kelly, Ms. Scott, Ms. Matthews, Ms. Hayden, and Mr. Brown, we would not have made it these first few days without all you have done! We also want to thank all office associates and administrators who have made the collaboration pleasant and the transition easier for everyone. Thank you to every teacher, instructional assistant, custodian, and instructional support staff member who has stepped in when we needed you. Stay amazing, everyone!
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| Summer Meals – Now through August 3, we'll be providing free dine-in breakfast and lunch, Monday-Thursday, at eight locations. Meals may not be distributed or picked up. See the flyer below for more information and additional food options around Richmond.
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- Masks are not required outdoors on RPS property for staff or students.
- The isolation period for positive individuals is reduced from 10 to 5 days (distancing during lunch and mask wearing are required on days 6-10).
- Contact tracing is no longer performed for individual cases; it is only performed for "outbreaks" (3 or more linked cases).
- Quarantines from outbreaks are reduced from 10 to 5 days.
- All social distancing and group size restrictions are eliminated, including during meals.
- School communities will be notified when there is a positive case but we will not do a daily division update. Cases will be updated weekly on our website.
We'll continue to monitor the trajectory of the virus and adjust accordingly for the fall. Thank you for helping keep everyone safe!
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| RPS Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment – RPS preschool and kindergarten enrollment is happening now! Enroll your 3 and 4-year-olds in our free, high-quality preschool program, and your 5-year-olds in kindergarten. Please also remember, if your student is currently in RPS preschool, they will still need to enroll in RPS kindergarten.
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| RPS Summer Fest 2022 – We're thrilled to announce our second annual RPS Summer Fest on Saturday, July 23, at George Wythe HS! We hope you'll join us for free food, games, music, a visit from the Lit Limo, enrollment assistance, and much more. Be sure to mark your calendars – you won't want to miss this!
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| Important Links – Last updated on May 24, 2022.
RPS Links
COVID-19 Links
Crisis Support Links
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