| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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School Board Meeting – The School Board will hold an in-person meeting tonight at 6 pm at City Hall (17th Floor Board Room). You can watch the livestream of the meeting in English or Spanish. Hope to see you there!
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RPS Shines – Tomorrow is our 3rd Annual RPS Shines event – a time to celebrate our 2024 Division Teacher of the Year, New Teacher of the Year, School Teachers of the Year, Support Staff Members of the Year, Principal of the Year, and recipients of the Lucille Brown Impact Award and Rodney A. Robinson Equity in Education Award. To watch the livestream, just head over to the RPS Shines page at 6:30 pm. Hope you're able to join us!
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Student Recognition and Awards Ceremony – Congratulations to the more than 100 students honored this past weekend at our 2024 Student Recognition and Awards Ceremony! We celebrated our Valedictorians, Salutatorians, and recipients of the Scholastic Standout Award (one per school) and Maggie L. Walker Award (one per school). Enormous gratitude to the students' families and teachers for guiding and supporting these exceptional young people. To the awardees, we are SO proud of you and can't wait to see what you'll accomplish next!
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Decision Day Announcements – Class of 2024, please keep sharing your post-graduation plans with us at outreach@rvaschools.net. Please be sure to include your name and high school along with your plans. Thank you!
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With great appreciation,
Jason
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Shout-Outs – Please help us continue to inspire and uplift the RPS community by submitting shout-outs to shoutouts@rvaschools.net. Entries can be submitted in Spanish or English!
- Shout-out to Natalie Mead and Cheryl Thompson, preschool coaches, for providing awesome support to MLK Preschool this year. It's been a pleasure working with you. Thank you for the collaboration and support. We proved that teamwork truly makes the dream work! Many thanks!
- I would like to shout-out Ms. Barr, Ms. Pollard, and all the team at Dogwood that had a part in planning the SOL bootcamp. Our daughter participated in all 3 days of the bootcamp and it made a difference. She passed all her SOLs. She was so excited to let us know. She put in the work, but she also had the support of an amazing 8th grade team at Dogwood. A special thanks to Ms. Grant and Mr. Washington for their encouragement. Thank you.
- Huge shout-out to Mrs. Pauletta James for securing a grant to take the class of 2025 from John Marshall High School to Washington, DC to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She was able to provide snacks, transportation by Amtrak, lunch, and, of course, museum admission through the grant. They also were able to visit the Washington Monument. I personally witnessed the kids having a great time and learning a lot. Good job, Mrs. James! We appreciate you and all that you do for your students!
- The child study team at MLK Middle School is amazing. They are committed, talented, diligent, conscientious, and very hardworking. Most importantly, they always keep the students' needs at the center of whatever they are doing. I could not have been more impressed by their work and their dedication.
- I would like to shout-out Principal Director Lucy Jones as well as Wendy Just, for coming to Fairfield Court to support our 5th grade science remediation retakes. They have met with our students and teachers to support our school wide goals. It is greatly appreciated!
- Ms. Tyler, the assistant principal and school testing coordinator at Frances McClenney Elementary, has been doing a phenomenal job with testing! Thank you for all that you do! Shout-out to the K-2nd grade teachers at Frances McClenney Elementary! The teachers and students have been doing a wonderful job in the hallways during the testing window. Ms. Shelby Goode, the front office secretary, and Ms. Flowers have been doing an amazing job managing the office and supporting the staff at Frances McClenney Elementary School. Thanks for all that you both do!
- I would like to say thank you to Amanda E. McKeithan with the Engagement Office for always stepping up and making things right. As a parent of kids in RPS, I don’t know how we would have made it through. Mrs. McKeithan is a true asset as an attendance specialist and any other role she takes on. Thank you for making a difference!
- Shout-out to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School cheer team, which has been nominated for middle school cheer team of the year. This is the first gala awards sponsored by Cheer SZN. Voting ends on May 23.
- Shout-out to Ashley Bland in the Talent Office. Ms. Bland cut through red tape for me and helped me when I thought no one would. She is an amazing asset to RPS!
- I would like to give a shout-out to Mrs. Anita Davis, 4th grade teacher of Richmond Virtual Academy. She is an amazing teacher who has the heart of the children in the center of her heart. I enjoyed listening to her work with our scholars this year and encouraging them to be the best version of themselves and challenging them to excel beyond what they thought they could. Kudos to her for all that she has imparted and continues to impart to our children. She has indeed had a positive impact and each of us parents can genuinely say, “She has left an indelible impression in the lives of our children!” Thanks, Mrs. Davis!
- I would like to shout-out the amazing Ms. Cox, Mr. Spencer, his custodial team, and Ms. Glasheen's 4th grade class who helped coordinate and bring in a giant pallet of water to our school, Broad Rock Elementary School, today. Thank you for being so helpful and kind so we can have water bottles for our end of year events!
- Shout-out to Kelli Merideth Poindexter, Chair of the National Links-STEMREADY Signature Program, and member of the James River Valley, (VA) Chapter, who has coordinated with three John Marshall High School students – R'Mia Crutchfield, Kimora Lee-Williams and Hezekiah Harris – to talk with the astronauts aboard the Space Station. We are so happy to be included in the historical event. We would like to thank Astronaut Jeanette Epps and all the astronauts for taking the time to talk with us.
- Dr. Kelly has created a testing environment that is efficient and great for students. The entire staff is grateful for all she has done to make sure the process is smooth and done with correctness and order. Thank you for being the STC at PHSSA!
- Mr. James Johnson, our talented and respected music teacher at G.W. Carver, wrote and produced this amazing song featuring Carver students. These powerful lyrics boast affirmations that make everyone feel great! We are so privileged to have him care so much about our students. He teaches music composition, song, self respect, and so much more on a daily basis!
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- Shout-out to team Armstrong for lifting up the importance of mental health awareness. Thank you for promoting positive health and stomping out the stigma! Good work!
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| Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
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| Three Ways to Pre-K – We're thrilled to offer preschool for eligible 3 and 4-year olds living in Richmond, along with three convenient ways to apply. Don't delay – spaces fill up quickly, and we don't want your child to miss out on this valuable opportunity! To begin your child's preschool registration, just visit our website.
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| RPS Poster Campaign – Looking for a cool end-of-year gift for an RPS teacher or graduate? We've got you covered! We turned our school map t-shirts into 24" x 36" posters and they look amazing! Pick one up at the RPS Love Store today.
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| #TeachWithLove at RPS – We're thrilled to offer signing bonuses of up to $7,000 for new hires starting in the fall! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, please take a moment to visit our website to browse open positions. For more information, please email talentoffice@rvaschools.net.
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| RPS Links
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Health and Wellness Links
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