| Thursday, January 26, 2023
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Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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| School Board/City Council Meeting – The School Board and City Council will hold a joint budget meeting tonight at 6 pm at Martin Luther King, Jr. MS. You can watch the livestream of the meeting in English or Spanish. Please note that there won't be public comment at this meeting.
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| Calendar Reminder – All RPS schools will have a 2-hour early dismissal tomorrow, January 27. Keep in mind that we do not have extended day programming on early release days. School will resume for students on Monday, January 30.
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| Richmond Environment Survey – The James River Park System and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay are working with RPS to create an Environmental Literacy Plan for Richmond. Community members are invited to share their feedback at the final two listening sessions on Saturday, January 28, from 1 - 3 pm, at Albert Hill MS, and Monday, February 13, from 6 - 8 pm, at Second Baptist Church.
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| Storied Strings – Six RPS students recently performed at the VMFA’s Storied Strings studio – and had their music professionally recorded! They even met the exhibit's curator, Dr. Leo Mazow, to discuss careers in music. Congratulations to Zamora, Arianna, and Angela from Franklin Military Academy, and Eliot, Axel, and Tucker from Albert Hill MS!
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| Citywide Writing Competition – All RPS students are invited to enter the community-led Game Changer writing competition, with prizes up to $500! Poems, essays, and short stories from all grade levels will be accepted. Entries must be submitted by Wednesday, February 1. See the flyers below for details.
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| 2023 State of the City – Don't miss Mayor Stoney's State of the City address at Main Street Station on Tuesday, January 31, at 7 pm! Doors open at 5:30 pm.
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| With great appreciation,
Jason
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- Shout-out to Mrs. Roxanne Wilkins, an exceptional education teacher at Swansboro Elementary School. She is commended for her dedication and support and for ensuring students' academic, emotional, physical, and social success. Additionally, she is the Swansboro Elementary School 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year! Congratulations, Mrs. Wilkins! Shout-out to Tina Hutchinson, Patricia Hughes, Sheryl Ford, Lakisha Bryant, Lisa Morton, Segade Clements, and Arshequa Betts for all they do to lead and support instruction. Shout-out to Mrs. Diane Glover for spearheading Swansboro's school-wide spelling bee. Additionally, thank you to the Spelling Bee Committee members: Sarah Sheets, Kenya Griffin, Kim Greenshields, Twanya Jones, Latriece Haskins, and Margaret Banks for your collaboration in creating a successful event. Shout-out to Swansboro interventionists Tavaris Turner, Gwendolyn Brown, and Twanya Jones for helping meet students' needs while increasing their academic abilities.
- I would like to shout-out Ms. Rochelle Wilkins to acknowledge her "go beyond the call of duty" work ethic. Usually, when I need her assistance, it is not at the most propitious time. However, reaching out to her at these inopportune times does not matter, as Ms. Wilkins always responds to my emails, texts and calls promptly. She provides me with testing information that assists me with one of my most important tasks, which is to maintain my pulse on high school students' Standards of Learning scores. Her support enables my school to provide students, parents, administration (building and central office level), and stakeholders with information directly linked to on-time graduation.
- I would like to shout-out Ms. Leach from G.H. Reid. Ms. Leach is a phenomenal teacher advocate to all the kids, even one not in her class. Thank you for always being collaborative, positive, and responsive. You're always prepared with a plan that keeps students first. I appreciate your leadership and all you do to support the exceptional education department. You are a huge asset to RPS!
- I would like to shout-out Ms. Grandison, math coach, and Mrs. Sneed, reading coach, at Fairfield Court Elementary School. They provide meaningful collaborative planning and do not hesitate to model or provide instructional resources to support our scholars. Ms. Grandison and Mrs. Sneed have worked to build strong relationships with teachers, students and other coaches across the district. We are proud to have them on our team to help us to continue to soar towards student success!
- I would like to shout-out the FCES reading interventionists, Mrs. Mills and Ms. Goode, and our math interventionist, Ms. Parrish, for always being available to address the specific needs of children when regular classroom instruction is not sufficient. Our interventionists work with teachers to design methods of learning that are most appropriate for each child. We truly appreciate you and all that you do!
- Ms. Balmer at Cardinal Elementary is a dedicated ESL teacher, but when she is performing other duties her love for the children is so clear. She also steps in for many "save the day" moments. She is also kind and professional to her coworkers.
- Special thanks to Movement Church for sharing the love of coffee and donuts with Cardinal Elementary this week. It was such a treat and a pick-me-up on a cold January day!
- Nurse Rosa has amazing kindness and patience when dealing with children and teachers. As my class seemed to be passing a bug recently, I felt like she was our personal clinic, but I know she had many others to attend to as well. Thanks for not being upset that I sent so many down to see you with aches and pains!
- To the Cardinal Elementary encore staff, thanks for your patience and understanding, especially on PLC days!
- Shout-out to the Cardinal ES art teacher, Ms. Hawkins, who has lead students in some beautiful art projects featuring the octopus and seahorse. The children did an amazing job and they look awesome on display in the hallway!
- I would like to give a big shout-out to the staff in the transportation shop for doing their best to keep school buses on the road picking up students. They are doing the best with what they have!
- A huge shout-out to Chanae McGlaughlin for always capturing the special moments at Mary Scott Preschool! Chanae's pictures are amazing to see. Just check out our preschool & kindergarten enrollment flyers – some of her work is featured on them.
- I would like to shout-out Mrs. Stacy Green, the amazing ITRT at Woodville Elementary. I appreciate her flexibility, patience, and willingness to support the staff at Woodville! Mrs. Green, please know that this never goes unnoticed or taken for granted! Thanks for always doing it the Woodville way!
- I want to send hugs and shout praises to Tricia Parham for always checking in at Mary Scott to make sure we are ok and we have everything we need. You are much appreciated, Ms. Parham!!
- I would like to shout-out Mr. Gurley, Mr. Pierce, Mr. Boyd, and Mr. Carter at Boushall Middle School for leading our "Eagle Men of Distinction" group. Our student leadership opportunities are transforming lives every day. I would also like to shout-out Ms. Royster, Dr. Allen, Ms. Braxton, Mr. Young, Ms. Parsons, Mr. Gertisen, Ms. Kelley, Ms. Harris, and Mrs. Jones at Boushall for supporting our students daily.
- I would like to give Nurse Richards of Maymont Preschool a huge shout-out for her tireless efforts to keep our students, families, and staff healthy, informed, and safe. Her care and compassion for our tiny peacocks when they are feeling less than their best is so admirable.
- I would like to send a hearty shout-out to Kirsten Buist, school counselor at Huguenot High School. She has been giving her students 200% to assist them through assessment season. Ms. Buist is a dynamic team member who supports her colleagues and challenges the students on her caseload to achieve academic success. Thank you, Ms. Buist, for all that you do for the Huguenot Falcons and for the invaluable help you have provided to the English department.
- I want to send a huge thank you to the leadership team at Mary Scott Preschool. The PLC was engaging, fun and refreshing. Thank you, Rhonda Long, Keisha Brown, and Ida Jones-Belton for your expertise!
- Shout-out to the dynamic duo, Nia Wyche and Tomeka Liggans, for all of their hard work and dedication to their modified role as an SIL. They wear so many hats and they are very much appreciated at River City Middle School.
- I’d like to send a shout-out to the wonderful sixth grade staff and LIEP team at River City Middle School for providing coverage for their teammates to ensure students have classroom teachers and keep learning. Our students and I appreciate your dedication.
- A huge shout-out and thank you to Mrs. McLeod and Mrs. Scott at Lucille Brown Middle for their pristine organization and guidance during math & English VGA testing! And thank you to all teachers who supported in making the experience seamless for everyone!
- Shout-out to Mr. Williams at Miles Jones ES! He is doing incredible work with our students and they look up to him so much! What a great role model for them to have in their lives! Thank you, Mr. Williams, for all the extra little things you do to help out!
- Kudos to Demetria Trent, payroll technician in Finance. She provided me with impeccable service, with a smile. I really appreciated her efficiency and professionalism.
- A very grateful shout-out to Christopher Mitchell in Data Science! Chris has been working closely with the exceptional education department to streamline much of our reporting. He took the time today to meet with all of the division's ICCs and explain the new reporting system. Chris provided an excellent presentation that was easy to understand and much appreciated by all attendees! He also took the time to answer a myriad of questions and field lots of comments! Thank you, Chris, for sharing your expertise and time with the EE department. We appreciate you!
- Shout-out to Ms. Couther, sixth grade AP and our fearless leader here at MLK Middle School!!! Ms. Couther gives her all in all she does. She works hard but loves even harder. The kids feel her love for them and it radiates through the hallway. Thank you for all you do; your efforts do not go unnoticed!!!!
- Stephannie Crutchfield and Joi Lowery on the school improvement team are an amazing duo who have been working tirelessly this year! From ARs to CSIPs, SIGs to EBIs, Stephannie and Joi keep us on track and in good standing with the VDOE. They care deeply about the success of our school teams and students. Thank you for what you do!
- A great big thank you to Vincent Johnson at Mary Scott Preschool for preparing our school for today's visit from the Mayor. The floors look great and we thank you for the surprise treats this morning! You rock, Mr. Johnson!
- Finally we have completed testing at John Marshall and we could not have done it without our phenomenal co-workers! Thank you so much to our admin team – Mrs. Murray, Mr. Cheatham, and Mr. Vernon. Your behind-the-scenes work is the main reason we are successful. You guys are in the trenches with us daily and it is appreciated. To the amazing department coaches – Mrs. Waltman-King, Ms. Lee, Mrs. Waller, Mr. Gallegos, Mrs. Quash, Mrs. Battle, Mr. Freeman, and Mrs. Smedley – who have assisted with calls, remediation, double checking lists, and testing the kids. Kudos to you! To all of our teachers! You guys have taught, tested, and loved on the students and because of that we have had an amazing fall testing administration. Our student support services team – Mrs. Battle, Ms. Bryant, and Ms. Harris – we bow at your feet; you ladies are the standard! Thank you for last minute assistance with spreadsheets, calling students, double checking lists, and just knowing your students. Our front office staff – Ms. Smith and Ms. Andrews, Mr. Trent and Ms. Dark – have assisted us with smiles! From making announcements, answering a million testing calls, collecting Chromebooks, and ensuring attendance was correct, you guys always get it right. To our CSAs – Ms. Fernandez, Mrs. Tucker, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Collins – our halls were clear, lunches were delivered, and students were directed to testing locations! Thank you!!!! You guys are wonderful and you make the STC's job so much easier! Your testing team loves you and there is nothing you can do about it!
- Shout-out to Ms. Liggans and Ms. Wyche, testing coordinators at River City. This round of VGA testing went so smoothly and it's all thanks to them!
- Shout-out to Ms. Colleen Woolley, ESL teacher at River City! She is a ray of sunshine and she is always willing to help out fellow teachers. Her infectious joy is an asset to RCMS.
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| FY24 Budget – See the flyer below for details about our FY24 budget work sessions and public hearing.
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| 2023-24 Open Enrollment Applications – The deadline for families to submit open enrollment applications for the 2023-24 school year via the Enroll RPS Portal, is next Wednesday, February 1, at 4:30 pm. This is your opportunity to apply for up to three schools outside of your "zoned school," including Richmond Virtual Academy. A few important notes:
- We unfortunately cannot accept late applications for any reason. Please plan accordingly.
- As long as your application is submitted before the deadline, the timing of your submission will have no impact on the outcome.
- If you have additional questions, please email us at enrollrps@rvaschools.net.
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| Teacher Job Fair Event Registration – Registration is now open for our upcoming teacher job fair! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, join us on Saturday, February 11, from 9 am - 1 pm, at Martin Luther King, Jr. MS. To register, just scan the QR code below with your phone's camera.
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| ART 180 Summer Residency – Applications are now open for the ART 180 Atlas Artist Residency program. Ten students from across the city will be selected to spend eight weeks in the Atlas Gallery working alongside a professional artist – all while getting paid! The deadline to apply is March 16. Don't miss this unique opportunity!
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| Important Links – Last updated on November 14, 2022.
RPS Links
COVID-19 Links
Crisis Support Links
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