| 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 in the 17th Floor Board Room at City Hall. You can watch the livestream of the meeting in English or Spanish. Hope to see you there!
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Calendar Reminder – As a reminder, due to the upcoming primary election, tomorrow, March 5, will be a Teacher Work Day with no classes for students. View the 2023-24 calendar online to see all upcoming holidays.
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Celebrating Attendance Engagement – I'm thrilled to share that the efforts of our family liaisons, principals, teachers, staff – and of course, our students and families – to reduce chronic absenteeism in RPS continue to serve as a model for school divisions across the country. Correspondent Jessica Gomez from "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien" recently spent time at Fairfield Court ES to learn more about how we're engaging families to reduce chronic absenteeism. Enormous gratitude to Chief Engagement Officer Dr. Shadae Harris, Principal Angela Wright, and Family Liaison Marquis Davis for helping to tell our story!
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Portrait Unveiling – Last week, we had the great pleasure and honor of unveiling the portrait of former Senator/Mayor Henry L. Marsh III at Marsh ES! Enormous gratitude to local artist Ed Shelton for creating the masterpiece, and to Nadine Marsh Carter, Board Chair Stephanie Rizzi, Board Member Cheryl Burke, Council Member Dr. Cynthia Newbille and Supervisor Roscoe Cooper III for helping celebrate this truly historic occasion. Many thanks as well to Principal Smith, Ms. Bailey, Ms. Weaver, and the entire Marsh team for organizing a beautiful ceremony!
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Lights Up! – The Richmond Public Arts Alliance will host the Genworth Lights Up! Youth Series on Saturday, March 16, from 10 am - 12:30 pm at the Pine Camp Cultural Arts and Community Center (4901 Old Brook Rd). The series provides youth ages 3-18 with the opportunity to participate in workshops and experience performances by some of Richmond's most talented visual and performing artists. All workshops are free and pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
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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!
- I would like to shout-out the entire Richmond Public Schools School Social Work Team, and wish each and every one of you a Happy School Social Work Week! A heartfelt thank you for all that you do goes to: Christina Bowman-Peterson, Syreeta Chapman, Diane Brown, Lorien Wilder, Towanda Edwards-Osborne, Silka Steele, Briana Branch, Lori Brooks, Shawmika Wright, Alandra Copeland, Jaymes Whitehead-Urquhart, Chanda Hannah, Erin Callahan, Barbara Barden, Amanda Miceli, Nichelle Ortiz Torres, Rebecca Wood, Kimberly Peacock, Kailyn Hampton-Studivant, Teresa Horgan, Olufemi Shepsu, Ashley White, Dominique Vanhorne, Allanah Rocha, Abigail Broas, Tori Griffin, Ingrid Brunson-Griffin, Katherine VanDerbeek, Kathryn Bentley, Kelly Salinas, Megan Adair, Thomas Gillespie, Jasmine Terry, Joy Matthews, Mackenzie Morley, Shyanna Hicks, Lisa Mullens-Jennings, Dianne Callender, Natia Smith, John Gammon, Annette Lumsden-Cook, and Ginell Walkes. Join the celebration and share a kind moment with your School Social Worker this week!
- I'd like to shout-out the phenomenal RPS school social workers ahead of School Social Work Week, which is March 3-9. Our team is exceptionally skilled in providing services to students who face significant challenges to school success. We show up and show out for our students every day! Keep shining, School Social Work team!
- I want to give a big shout-out to Kelly Salinas, the school social worker at Overby-Sheppard Elementary. She is amazing and she is always thinking of the children. Her commitment to ensuring our students are happy doesn't go unnoticed!
- This might feel like a delayed shout-out, but that only says how much I am still thinking about the Black History Month performance at Westover Hills Elementary School. That evening was Westover Hills at its best. Shout-out to Ms. Hoye, Ms. McKeithan, Ms. Blackstone, Ms. Warren, and Ms. Grady who made sure our students were ready and shining for this performance. Shout-out to Mr. Patterson...he went above and beyond in every way to support this performance. Running around the gym with chairs for all and catching a football in the middle. Shout-out to our students who make us proud every day.
- As we close out Black History Month, and on behalf of the HLMES school and community, we want to acknowledge and thank all those that supported and participated in the unveiling of a portrait of former Senator and first Black Mayor of Richmond, Henry L. Marsh III. At the start, the Franklin Military Academy Color Guard presented the flags, lead by Seargent Dawn. The ceremony continued with a musical piece performed by the HLMES chorale ensemble lead by Ms. Hill, an instrumental solo performed by Mr. Taylor, Mistress of Ceremony Ms. Te'Arri Forbes, biography recitation by Mr. Kah Zaree Wells, and an original poem titled "The True Monarch of Marsh" by Kayvon Jennings Jr. The highlight of the occasion was the unveiling of the portrait masterfully created by Artist Ed Shelton. We appreciate and enjoyed the remarks provided by daughter of former Senator Marsh, Ms. Nadine Carter-Marsh J.D. We were encouraged by and appreciate the presence of our Monarch caregivers, the Chair of the RPS School Board, Ms. Rizzi, our District 7 School Board Representative, Ms. Burke, the Honorable Richmond City Councilwoman Dr. Cynthia Newbille, and Dr. Roscoe D. Cooper III, Supervisor on the Henrico Board of Supervisors. None of this would be possible without the organization by our school counselors, Ms. Weaver and Ms. Kimberly Bailey, who continue to provide experiences for our scholars beyond the classroom. The hospitality provided by Ms. Best and Ms. Robinson allowed our guest to feel right at home. We are greatly appreciative of this event, and look forward to many more.
- I am grateful for the exceptional support provided by Ms. Hayes and Mr. O'Dae in assisting me with creating monthly initiatives and other measures to promote literacy across our school community at River City Middle School. Their dedication and hard work have been invaluable in achieving our objectives, and I am grateful for their unwavering commitment to our cause.
- A resounding round of applause to the attendance team at Frances McClenney Elementary School for orchestrating the amazing glow and games party! Your dedication to ensuring our students have an unforgettable experience is truly commendable. Thank you!
- A big thank you to Ms. Winters and Ms. Tuck at Frances McClenney Elementary School for their invaluable support in math education. Your dedication makes a significant difference for our teachers and students alike. We deeply appreciate all that you do.
- Shout-out to my team...I couldn't ask for a better one! And special shout-out to my girl, Ms. Randolph, at Swansboro ES. Congratulations again, and keep up the great work.
- Shout-out to my daughter's case manager, Mrs. Griffin, at Carver Elementary. Thank you for everything you do for my child!
- My child began 6th grade at Dogwood Middle last year. They initially had a hard time adjusting to the world of middle school and it was difficult to get them to go to school. We reached out to Dogwood administration and my child's teachers and the team have been fantastic in working with all of us to help them stay up to speed academically and in feeling more comfortable in school. Everyone we've worked with at Dogwood has been great. In particular, we'd like to give a shout-out to Mr. Adam Scott (vice principal), Ms. Nichelle Ortiz Torres (social worker), and Kanika Bonaparte-Moore (school counselor) for all the help!
- I would like to recognize Ms. Wayne, 6th grade history teacher at Lucille Brown Middle School, for being awesome! Thank you for making the days fun and well organized for your students – it does not go unnoticed!
- Shout-out to the Fine Arts department at T.C. Boushall Middle School – Mrs. Himmelman, Mrs. Fitch, Mr. Carter, Mrs. McCauley and Ms. Jackson – for their amazing performances during the Black History Month celebration! We could have sold tickets to those performances! I'd like to shout-out Mrs. Tia Carver, AVID coordinator at T.C. Boushall Middle School, for leading her scholars in the best wax museum I've ever seen! Kudos to you and your scholars, Mrs. Carver! I'd like to shout-out the Men of Distinction, led by Mr. Pierce and the Eagle cheerleaders, led by Ms. Thomas, of T.C. Boushall Middle School for their inspiring performances during the Black History Month celebration last night! I'd like to thank Mrs. Miape, math teacher at T.C. Boushall Middle School for sharing information about Filipino culture with us at our Black History Month celebration last night. Your country is beautiful and the people and traditions are lovely! We are lucky to have you as part of our family! I'd like to thank the 7th grade English teachers at T.C. Boushall Middle School – Ms. Gray, Ms. Parsons, and Ms. Thorne – for finding the book love last month through "Speed Book Dating!" I hope we made some love connections!
- Shout-out to the following students in Ms. Barnes's Spanish classes for challenging themselves to use Spanish in an authentic way: Zion Anderson, Jack Brennan, Grace Elliot, Cheyenne Lopez, Elias Marquis-Luckritz, Amari Mingrone, Jude Shephard, and David Yeager. These students visited Mi Jalisco and conversed in Spanish as they ordered, waited for the meals, and asked for the check. They even gave reactions to their orders using the target language. (Of course all of the food was "deliciosa!") A special thank you to Henderson school administrators, the parents, and the staff at Mi Jalisco for supporting this educational and cultural experience for our Henderson students!
- Thank you, Delegate Rae Cousins, for personally inviting Ms. Williams' 4th grade class to the open session at the Virginia General Assembly. The class was addressed from the floor and received so many kind remarks. The students were able to learn more about Virginia history and make connections to classroom instruction.
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| Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
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Advocate for RHSA – On Wednesday, March 6, RPS will be requesting a waiver from the city Zoning Board to install light poles on the athletic grounds of the new Richmond High School for the Arts. If you can, please come out to support the RHSA community. For more information, visit our website or scan the QR code below with your phone's camera.
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2024 Graduation Schedule – I'm thrilled to share that the schedule for our 2024 graduation ceremonies is now available. Please be sure to mark your calendars and prepare to celebrate the Class of 2024!
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| Fine Arts Festival – Join us on Saturday, March 9, from 10 am - 4 pm at Huguenot HS as we celebrate the artistic accomplishments of our students at the seventh-annual RPS Fine Arts Festival. If you've never been, you're missing out!
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Tutor Recruitment – Are you a retired teacher, college student/recent grad, or community member interested in supporting the academic success of our students? We're currently accepting applications for academic tutors to support our high-intensity tutoring program. If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, just visit our website to apply or scan the QR code below with your phone's camera. This work is going to take #AllofUs!
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