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| Thursday (PM), November 5, 2020
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| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
I'll be honest: I've got the TV on in my office as I write this, eagerly awaiting additional vote counts. I haven't been shy about where I stand on this election, as I believe much more than simple policy differences is at stake. What I just witnessed on TV only reaffirmed that belief. I recognize and respect that some of you reading this have a very different perspective from mine. That's democracy, and I believe it's worth fighting for despite its many imperfections.
What worries me as both RPS Superintendent and as a father is what happens after this election is finally over. How will we ever repair? How will we restore faith in an objective sense of truth? How will we undo the corrosive impact of the repeated denigration of whole groups of Americans? How will we learn to co-exist, if not thrive, with people we fiercely disagree with? How will we rebuild our democratic institutions?
I honestly don't know. But one thing I'm sure of is this: if we only teach reading and math in RPS – and not tackle these larger questions with our children – we will have failed. That's what will be keeping me up tonight.
With great appreciation,
Jason
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- Thanks to Christal Corey for being an amazing member of the Academic Architect team. She is always thinking ahead and thinking outside of the box! Thanks to Michelle Spence, the office manager at Lucille Brown Middle School, for working so hard to support us and getting us the information and resources we need! Thanks to Michelle Mayo, Stephanie Henderson, and Lisa Coles for being the most awesome counseling team we could have at LMB! You do so much work that we don't always know about and we are thankful for your support!
- I would like to give a shout-out to Mrs. Tomorrow Lofton-Pickens from Lucille Brown for working tirelessly to ensure that all students are successful. With learning completely virtual now, she goes above and beyond to make sure each student understands the material, and provides additional support for students who need it. Tomorrow is a great asset to RPS.
- I want to shout out Emily Wilson and Nick Cipolla for the hard working MVPs of 6th Grade Science at River City Middle School! Ms. Wilson is always keeping our team on track, making sure we are organized and ready to go! Mr. Cipolla is always great with content ideas, and continues to keep learning fun and engaging for students, especially his LIEP students. Thanks for making every day possible! Go, Red Tails!
- I would like to give a special shout out to Ms. Shenequa Hill and Dr. Howard Hopkins for making sure that one of our MLK students received a needed dining room set. Ms. Hill connected me to the kindhearted donor and Dr. Hopkins gladly used his truck to pick up and deliver the dining set to the family in need. Thank you both so very much! The family who received the dining room is still in need of more furniture to include beds and a living room set. If anyone has a resource to share, please let us know.
- Shout out to Ms. D'Addario at Miles Jones Elementary for her dedication to our 2nd grade ESL students and collaboration with the teachers. Whenever I need assistance, she is there! Shout out to the Miles Jones staff that participated in the Trunk-Or-Treat drive thru last week! The trunks looked great and the student turnout was amazing...non-stop vehicles for two hours straight, filled with our students! It was so nice to see their smiling faces again, so eager to say hi!
- Congratulations, Ms. Trickey! You are a great asset to Swansboro Elementary and you are so deserving of this prestigious award!
- I would like to give a shout out to Ms. Washington, my son's first grade teacher. I feel like she has done a great job with virtual learning. She has found ways to keep the children interested, and my son is learning faster than he was in the classroom. I love the way that she breaks the day down for the children. She gives them moments where they can dance and move around so they're just not sitting in one spot all day long, and she makes learning fun and interesting. I'm so glad that he has a first grade teacher like her. I'll know he'll be ready for the second grade.
- Please shout out Jeff Sparzak in the Technology Services Department for 5-star service while assisting me with my RPS hotspot! He directed me on next steps to troubleshoot my technology issues and was courteous and knowledgeable throughout the call.
- Kudos to Mrs. Sission-Jones and Mr. Pierce and the scholars in your class. Joy is the best way to describe it. Your scholars were encouraging each other throughout the lesson, offering praise without prompting, and being supportive through rigorous material. Thanks for being awesome!
- Shout out to Milondra Coleman and Lamont Davis from John Marshall for the energy and love they share daily to their students with open discussions on current events.
- I wanted to give a huge shout out to Mr. Gregory Gilliam at Cardinal Elementary. Mr. Gilliam saved the day today! I was having technical issues during our social studies lesson on past and present this afternoon, and when I was finally able to get back on, Mr. Gilliam had continued the discussion by comparing the past when he was little to today. He even drew pictures to go with some vocabulary words that were confusing for some of the students. He is a great teacher and asset to my class everyday! Thank you, Mr. Gilliam, for all you do to support our students!!!!
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| RPS Live Recap – Many thanks to Rodney Robinson for joining me on RPS Live! yesterday to discuss RVA Men Teach, a new RPS initiative to retain, support, and recruit male teachers of color. If you missed the discussion, you can watch it here.
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| Emergency Childcare Centers – If you need childcare for your RPS students, please make sure to register below!
- The YMCA is offering childcare at Miles Jones ES, Holton ES, and Huguenot HS (Huguenot is scheduled to open 11-30). For more information, click here.
- The Peter Paul Development Center is offering childcare at MLK MS. For more information, click here.
- There are also a number of community-based childcare centers (not housed in RPS schools) across the city. For more information, click here.
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| ArborDayRVA – Did you know that Richmond is getting 10,000 FREE Eastern Redbud trees to help regrow our canopy? You can pick one up tomorrow at sites all across Richmond. Visit Reforest Richmond's website for locations and to volunteer. See below for Blackwell ES Assistant Principal Smith showing off some of these beautiful baby trees!
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| Open Enrollment – We are now accepting applications for out-of-zone schools, specialty schools, and Governor's Schools for the 2021-22 school year. Please note that the deadline is December 1.
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RPS Love Store – Show your RPS Love and help us raise money for RPS families in need and local racial justice non-profits by ordering something today from the RPS Love Store!
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Important Links – I'll note in orange when there have been additions/updates so you you won't miss anything.
#ReopenWithLove Links
Local, State, and National Public Health Links
Local, State, and National Public Education Links
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