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| Dear RPS Family,
I continue to be overwhelmed by the love and support you have shown our students, families, and staff. #RPSStrong is more than a hashtag; it's the straight-up truth. Here are today's updates:
School Closure – Out of an abundance of caution, and to help families plan, I am hereby closing RPS through Spring Break. That means we will be closed, at a minimum, until Monday, April 13. I know this is only going to increase stress, childcare challenges, and financial hardship for many of our families, a significant number of whom already struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet. Please know that we are collaborating closely with Mayor Stoney and President Newbille to provide as much support as possible to those most in need. We are also talking with our incredibly generous philanthropic and non-profit partners about how they can assist. I'll have more details on this soon.
In the meantime, we all need to look out for each other. These are unprecedented times and our public institutions will respond – but it's going to take time. Our most powerful tool right now might just be our compassion for one another.
Food Distribution Centers – Enormous gratitude to everyone who made it possible to open our food distribution centers today! That includes food and nutrition staff, custodians, safety and security personnel, principals, volunteers, and so many others. Here's the fantastic team at George Mason ES!
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Most of our sites did not have a ton of people come through today. From talking with families and staff, our sense is the low turnout is due to three factors: First, word is still spreading that these sites are up and running. I think this will become less of an issue over the next few days, but please continue to share the site information with everyone you know. Second, many families did their best to stock up over the weekend. As we get to the end of the month, though, we expect an uptick as food and funds run low in many households. Third, and perhaps most significantly, some families are struggling with transportation TO the sites, or they can't leave children at home unattended to make the trip. We are working through a food distribution plan (from our school sites to neighborhoods) as we speak. I'll have an update on this very soon.
In the meantime, please also be aware of resources provided by FeedMore, our regional foodbank:
- Click here and enter your zip code to find nearby food pantries, including hours of operation.
- If you're facing a food emergency, call the FeedMore hotline at 804-521-2500 for assistance.
Tow more important notes: 1) We're closing the Henderson MS food distribution center due to construction in the area, which is making access challenging. But we have another site close by at Ginter Park. 2) We're opening a center at Carver ES (as of Wendesday, March 18) to support families in Gilpin Court. Please spread the word!
As a reminder, these are the RPS food distribution centers, open from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, M-F.
- Armstrong High School, 2300 Cool Ln, Richmond, VA 23223
- Binford Middle School, 1701 Floyd Ave, Richmond, VA 23220
- Blackwell Elementary School, 300 East 15th Street, Richmond, VA 23224
- Boushall Middle School, 3400 Hopkins Rd, Richmond, VA 23234
- Broad Rock Elementary School, 4615 Ferguson Ln, Richmond, VA 23234
- Carver Elementary School, 1110 West Leigh St, Richmond, VA 23220 (as of Wed, March 18)
- Chimborazo Elementary School, 3000 E Marshall St, Richmond, VA 23223
- Fisher Elementary School, 3701 Garden Rd, Richmond, VA 23235
- Francis Elementary School, 5146 Snead Rd, Richmond, VA 23224
- George Mason Elementary School, 813 N 28th St, Richmond, VA 23223
- Ginter Park Elementary School, 3817 Chamberlayne Ave, Richmond, VA 23227
- Greene Elementary School, 1745 Catalina Dr, Richmond, VA 23224
- Huguenot High School, 7945 Forest Hill Ave, Richmond, VA 23225
- Lucille Brown Middle School, 6300 Jahnke Rd, Richmond, VA 23225
- Miles Jones Elementary School, 200 Beaufont Hills Dr, Richmond, VA 23225
- MLK Middle School, 1000 Mosby St, Richmond, VA 23223
- Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School, 2409 Webber Ave, Richmond, VA 23224
- Reid Elementary School, 1301 Whitehead Rd, Richmond, VA 23225
- Summer Hill Preschool, 2717 Alexander Ave, Richmond, VA 23234
- Wythe High School, 4314 Crutchfield St, Richmond, VA 23225
Volunteers – Oh my! We've had over 500 people sign up so far - just incredible! In full transparency, we're quickly reaching the point where we're not exactly sure how to fully utilize all this help (great problem to have!). Please know that we're doing our best to leverage this outpouring of support. One request: please do not show up at a food distribution site if you haven't been contacted to do so. While we appreciate the support, for social distancing purposes, we don't want dozens of people congregating at our food sites. Please also note that, in lieu of volunteering, you can donate to the RPS Education Foundation. Thank you!
Learning at Home – We've received some questions about whether students will be held accountable for grades during this time. No, they will not. We encourage families to take at-home learning seriously, but no student will be penalized for not completing assignments that have been shared. As a reminder, we've got lots of great resources for at-home learning on our website. Just click here.
Read Aloud – One of the best things kids can do while we're closed is read! And one of the best ways to get them hooked on books is with a "read aloud." So today we're kicking off a croud-sourced read aloud of the Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. I'm reading the first two chapters (see below), then Mayor Stoney will jump in, followed by School Board Chair Linda Owen, Vice-Chair Cheryl Burke, other School Board Members, Council President Newbille, and more!
With great appreciation,
Jason
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Information for RPS Employees (Important Updates)
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Principals
- At schools serving as food distribution sites – As of tomorrow (March 17), principals at these schools only need to report from 9 am – 1 pm.
- At schools NOT serving as food distribution sites – As of Thursday (March 19), principals at these schools should no longer report to their buildings and only telework. We will be fully closing these buildings Wednesday afternoon.
- Why the change? In short, because our principals can largely telework and they have personal responsibilities and family concerns like everyone else. We're exceptionally grateful to those who will be reporting to oversee the food distribution centers!
Custodians
- At schools serving as food distribution sites – As of tomorrow (March 17), custodians at these schools only need to report from 9 am – 1 pm. They will continue to receive "straight pay" (on top of normal pay) for these hours. If a custodian at one of these sites is over the age of 50, has health issues, or has any other hardship, they should contact their principal so we can find a replacement.
- At schools NOT serving as food distribution sites – As of tomorrow (March 17), custodians at these schools should no longer report.
- Why the change? In short, because it's not critical that we clean schools right now (beyond the areas being used for food distribution). It's more important that our custodians – many of whom are of advanced age – are at home. We will do a deep cleaning of all schools before we reopen.
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I'll continue to update these resources as we receive more. The newest ones are in blue at the top.
Internet Access – Comcast is now offering 60 days of free service to families with limited income. To sign up, call 855-846-8376 (English) or 855-765-6995 (Spanish). In addition, Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will now be FREE to anyone who needs them – including non-Xfinity subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, just select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots, and then launch any browser.
Translation Instructions – Please see below for instructions in multiple languages for how to access the translation functionality of our website. Disclaimer: these directions were made using online translation services so they may be a little clunky. If native speakers send me better versions, we'll update the document. I'm including it here as an image because I'm not sure how everything will render in your browser if I include it as text. But that means you can't click the links. So we'll be placing a "clickable" version on our website soon. Big thanks to Jeanne Callahan, English Department Chair at TJ, for putting this together!
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I'll continue to update these FAQs as we receive more questions. The newest ones are in blue at the top.
Will students receive official grades for the work they're doing while we're closed? No.
Will we need to go to school in the summer? I highly doubt it. In all likelihood, the State will waive the days we're closed, meaning we won't have to make them up. Once I know for sure, I'll let everyone know.
Will we be closed for more than two weeks? I honestly don't know. That said, I think it is likely. You should begin to prepare for this possibility.
Will long-term subs be paid? Yes! As noted in the staff section above, ALL RPS employees – full-time, part-time, and hourly – will be paid.
Will we be cleaning our buses? Yes! All of them will undergo a deep cleaning.
Are these messages available in other languages? Yes. They're all posted on the COVID-19 page of our website (www.rvaschools.net/covid-19), which has an auto-translate function for dozens of languages. The translate button is on the top right of the menu bar.
Where do I find the "Learning at Home" section of the RPS website? It's now up on our homepage. Just click here.
Where are the food distribution centers and what are the hours? The hours are 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday. The locations are listed here. Please note that RPS families can go to ANY of the centers below, regardless of their home school. Families can also pick up multiple meals so that they don't have to come back every day of the week. We recognize that some families may have difficulty getting to these centers. As a result, we are working on a limited neighborhood distribution strategy, but need a bit more time to work through the details. I'll share more on this soon.
If my child has medication at school, but I can't get there to pick it up, what should I do? Any adult on a student's contact card can pick up the medication. I also want to note that I've designated our principals as essential personnel, which means they'll be at the school buildings if you need to come by next week.
Are events run by external organizations that rent space at schools (like churches for Sunday services) cancelled? Yes. As of Saturday, March 14, ALL activities are cancelled.
Will Spring Break still be off? Yes. Even if we were to reopen school in two week's time, we would still be off for Spring Break.
If I want to help in some way, what should I do? Please fill out this Google Form so we can follow up with you. Thank you!
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