Monday, January 6, 2014

All Over But the Shouting …

2014 Begins with New Richmond Public School Board Chair, Vice-Chair and Superintendent

When the members of the City of Richmond School Board convene their first meeting of 2014 tonight, School Board insiders say the first order of business will be to elect Donald Coleman, current vice-chair and 7th-District member, to serve as chairman for the coming year. Coleman is replacing the current school board chair, Jeffrey Bourne, 3rd-District.

As of 3 p.m., sources on the school board were unsure whether Kristen Larson, 4th-District member, or Mamie Taylor, 5th-district member, will garner a majority of votes to be elected to serve as vice-chair. Shonda Harris-Muhammed, who also wanted the vice-chairmanship, bowed out today and told colleagues she is supporting Taylor's bid for the position.

Once the new chair and vice-chair are chosen, the board's agenda has a few perfunctory housekeeping items to resolve, prior to going into closed session to discuss the details of the employment contract the board is expected to sign with Dr. Dana Bedden, chosen last month to be the district's new superintendent. Bedden is expected to be sworn in as Superintendent on January 13, 2014.

Contacted before convening the Student Disciplinary committee meeting today, Coleman seemed pleased and circumspect when asked about his ascent to the chairmanship. "I am pleased that I have earned the confidence of my colleagues and I do hope that at the end of the evening I will be the new chair." Coleman said that he hopes to bring "greater communication and cooperation" to his chairmanship in the coming year.

Outgoing school board chairman Bourne acknowledged that while the last year has been difficult, the board has much to be proud about and said that he is looking forward to finding his voice as an advocate and activist on behalf of the city's children. "For the sake of all of Richmond's children, we need to redouble our efforts and show everyone that we can all work together for the greater good," he noted.

Check back later for more developments on this story and for details about the contract Bedden is expected to sign tonight. Meanwhile, read the following research about Richmond's new Superintendent, Dr. Dana T. Bedden.

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Editorial: Irving ISD incumbents will represent all students

May 3, 2011 By NDG Staff 5 Comments

The Irving ISD races are worth a close watch. The challengers of current IISD Place 1 trustee Nancy L. Jones and Place 2 trustee Adrian “A.D.” Jenkins both are proponents of English immersion. This process differs from bilingual education in that English Language Learners comprehend English without the aid of their native language. In some cases, the students are distanced from their culture and linguistic background. In order to cut the fat out of their budgets, some school districts have considered eliminating expensive bilingual education initiatives and opting for cheaper immersion programs. The election of Steven Jones and Marilyn Gail Conder Wells to Place 1 and Place 2 trustee seats, respectively, could be the death sentence for bilingual programs and the board’s move toward a body that represents the district’s diverse population. Therefore, the North Dallas Gazette’s endorsement for Irving ISD Places 1 and 2 go to incumbents Nancy Jones and Jenkins.

Steven Jones wants to serve the best interest of those who want to continue to live in the 1960s and keep district the way it was. Recently, the Place 1 candidate came under attack for questioning a Hispanic Irving ISD staff member because of the way she pronounced her name. Personal attacks as a means to spew ignorance and disrespect is not warranted. Steven Jones is playing too much into the hands of politics, feeding the egos of those who fear the day when they are not the majority (that day has come), and lacks the competence to make the right decision to help children.

Steven Jones wrote in his candidate profile to The Dallas Morning News that he would “do everything … to make English the language of the IISD and ensure we give every student the number one tool to succeed in the United States of America – a mastery of the English language.” His comments beg to question Steven Jones’ ideology on a student’s right to a public school education. There is not a problem with teaching Spanish speakers English, but there is no justification in ordering a certain population to abandon their heritage, an attribute of English immersion programs. The endorsement of these programs is assimilation at its worst.

Second, the election of two more Caucasian school board members defies the importance of diversity on the board of a school district that is 70 percent Hispanic (IISD Superintendent Dana Beeden is an African American). In early 2010, a federal judge struck down a lawsuit filed by Manuel Benavidez that challenged the school board’s at-large election system. It is not hard to imagine that should the board revert to all Caucasian once again, another lawsuit will follow.

Incumbents Nancy Jones and Jenkins understand it is not representing a chosen few that helps the children of Irving ISD. Steven Jones and Wells have yet to comprehend division achieves very little. The board of trustees needs individuals who will embrace diversity, not sweep it under the rug. It also requires leaders who never forget doing what is best for all students is the desired end result.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/looking-at-wake-county-superintendent-finalist-dana-bedden

Looking at Wake County superintendent finalist Dana Bedden

Submitted by KeungHui on 05/23/2013 - 04:00

I'm going to do separate posts, probably one per day, about the three finalists for Wake County schools superintendent.

Today's article has an overview of all three finalists. I'm going to start first with Dana Bedden, superintendent of the Irving Independent School District in Texas, as he's the least known locally.

Bedden was also the lone finalist willing to talk Wednesday. He called close to deadline so I was only able to put a fraction of what he said in the print article. Consider this the bonus coverage.

In addition to his education experience, Bedden was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving some stints of active duty when his unit was called up. Bedden said he was accepted into West Point but chose to go instead to the University of Florida.

Click here for a letter from Bedden that he sent to the staff of the 35,000-student district that's a summary of his tenure as superintendent.

Bedden said he started during a period when Texas was starting the new STAAR testing system and implementing a major state education budget reduction.

After the initial hit, Bedden said they weathered through the challenges to raise teacher pay and avoid more layoffs while not raising taxes and maintaining their financial ratings. While Bedden said it's not something he could necessarily do in Wake, he proudly noted that the starting teacher salary in Irving will now be $50,000 a year.

At the same time, Bedden said he worked to address the adversarial relationship that he had inherited between the school system and business community. He said it's improved to the point now where the local chamber of commerce is raising money for the school system.

Bedden also pointed to increased parental involvement at schools through the "Our House Is Your House" campaign. He said there's now a parent center established at every school.

Bedden said that while they're not saying that all schools should be exactly the same, they're working to set the same expectations for what they should all be doing.

“Every decision I’ve made is based on how we can make our children successful,” Bedden said.

Bedden also pointed to how he commissioned an audit of the special education program.

In terms of academics, Bedden said that the SAT participation rate has shot up from 39 percent to 85 percent. While the scores are still below the state average, Bedden said they've gone up even as more students take the exam.

Bedden also pointed to how the numbers of students taking Advanced Placement exams is going up along with the percent who are passing by getting 3s or higher.

Bedden noted that Irving is one of 487 districts nationwide invited to participate in the AP STEM Access program. The program was created to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented minority and female high school students taking Advanced Placement courses in STEM disciplines.

While 82 percent of Irving's students receive free-and-reduced lunch, Bedden said that shouldn't be a road block or a barrier to academic success.

Bedden said they've increased foreign language instruction to the point where students can be trilingual instead of just bilingual.

They've also increased the number of students participating in performing arts programs during the tight budget times, according to Bedden.

"He was really progressive when he came here,” said Gwen Craig, who until recently was a member of the Irving school board, called the board of trustees. “He’s done a wonderful job of leading the district.”

Bedden was unanimously hired by the Irving board of trustees in 2010. But, after the May 11 election, six of the seven board seats are now held by Bedden's critics.

At the first meeting Monday of the new Irving board, the new majority announced plans to hold a special closed-session meeting Friday to review Bedden’s performance.

Bedden has clashed with some board members about having replaced a staff-developed curriculum with a third-party curriculum and for expanding a program that allows Spanish-speaking students to take some of their core classes in their native language through fifth-grade. The new board majority has advocated rolling back those programs.

For instance, the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that the new Irving board dropped the CSCOPE curriculum Monday against staff’s advice,

The article says that about three-quarters of Texas school districts buy the suite of teacher guides and lesson plans instead of writing their own curriculum. Irving ISD is one of the first to drop the program.

The article says that conservative groups across the state claimed CSCOPE’s lessons contained socialist and Islamist propaganda.

Craig and former board president Ronda Huffstetler both charge that the real problem isn’t Bedden’s job performance. They say he’s in danger of being fired from Irving, a city outside of Dallas, because of his race.

“Irving is a white community and we have an African-American man,” Craig said. “They’ve never given him a chance.”

Both former board members predict the new majority will fire Bedden, something they say is undeserved.

Steven Jones, president of the Irving board and a longtime critic of Bedden, did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

Bedden has been reluctant to publicly criticize board members. He declined to say if he felt race was behind his current difficulties with the board.

"I can't speak for other people," Bedden said. "Every day I come in ready and focused on improving the district's performance."

Bedden said that he is lawfully required to carry out any action by a majority of the board that doesn't violate state law or doesn't violate ethics.

Bedden said his job is to advise the school board. If they reject his advice then it's his job to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.

Despite the job uncertainty, Bedden said he didn't seek the Wake job. He said he was contacted by McPherson & Jacobson, the board's search firm. He noted that his wife grew up in Wake and his son now attends UNC-Chapel Hill.

“It’s one of the best districts in the country,” Bedden said. “It’s also an opportunity to bring my family home. It’s a win-win situation.”

Bedden said he's also aware of the controversy in Wake that has seen superintendents exit at a rapid rate over the past three years.

"I want to see if I can be part of moving the district forward and providing some stability," Bedden said. "I don't want to add to the revolving cycle."

Wake school board chairman Keith Sutton said they hadn’t been aware of Bedden’s difficulties with his board when they decided to name him a finalist. But Sutton said he doesn’t think it will hurt his chances.

“He’s been a superintendent with three different districts so we know he’s capable, he’s experienced,” Sutton said. “The board change is something that’s happened here where there’s been a change in political philosophy. That happens.”

Wake school board member Tom Benton said that Bedden offered a compelling vision for what he’d like to do in Wake.

Craig and Huffstetler both say Bedden is capable of leading Wake, which is more than four times the size of Irving.

They say the victors write history. But if Irving ISD has any victors after Superintendent Dana Bedden’s resignation, they can’t even talk about it.

The behind-the-scenes struggle between Bedden and a growing faction on the school board pitted trustee against trustee, turned board meetings into public theater and stressed one staffer to tears.

After three years, it ended July 1 with the stroke of a pen. Bedden took a conditional buyout worth up to $325,000 and quit. The board looked forward to a new “philosophical direction” for the district and its 35,000 students.

And the old saying took a twist: Now that he’s out of power, Bedden’s allies are free to praise him as a transformative leader who pulled the district from crises into modernity but never got the credit he deserved.

Those who might dispute that history, like board President Steven Jones and other trustees who took over the board after Bedden’s 2010 hiring, have sworn silence as a price for his departure.

No comment

“I can’t comment on anything related to Dr. Bedden,” Jones said, pointing to terms in the exit contract forbidding the superintendent or trustees from discussing accusations or private information.

If he could, Jones might recount Bedden’s career differently than Jerry Christian and Ronda Huffstetler, who both voted to hire him and who retired from the board in May — on the same day Jones’ allies took control of it.

“Dr. Bedden came at a time when the district had some pretty serious challenges,” Christian said. “He obviously had big shoes to fill.”

Jack Singley, who led the district for two decades, left it with something of a mess after his retirement and death in 2009. There were record-keeping problems, including Social Security numbers stolen from a trash bin; state and federal concerns about racial inequalities; and a new state exam that teachers weren’t prepared for.

Meanwhile, Irving’s decades-long shift from a mostly white, middle-class suburb to one with a large poor, Hispanic population left the district with mediocre state ratings and an image problem.

When Bedden moved to Irving in 2010 — recruited by a nearly unanimous board from a Georgia school system — he said his real estate agent tried to show him houses in every district but the one that hired him.

Bedden would later say he steered Irving through “the perfect storm.” In his first year, the state slashed millions from the district’s budget, Irving ISD cut hundreds of staff positions, and a hasty rollout of a new curriculum system aligned to state standards irked many teachers.

But most laid-off teachers returned, and complaints about the curriculum ebbed. Meanwhile, the district started reaching out to area real estate agents and hired the local chamber of commerce to help with fundraising.

Christian and Huffstetler also praised Bedden for cleaning up record-keeping, securing scholarships from corporations, and pushing students to take SAT tests and prepare for math and science degrees.

“That man has done more for this district in three years — way more than we asked him to, and everything we asked him to,” Huffstetler said.

But some of Bedden’s achievements are disputable. Despite his curriculum overhaul, Irving’s first-year scores on the new state test dropped by double digits in many subjects — more than for most of its neighbors. The district blamed bad data keeping by the state.

Staffers credited his discipline overhaul for drastically reducing the rate of suspensions for black students. But the program made headlines in 2011 for a consultant’s study claiming Irving schools experienced a “race war” between black and Hispanic students.

Christian blamed the bad press on decisions or circumstances beyond Bedden’s control. If the superintendent had a flaw, he said, it was “not being able to deal more effectively with people like Steven Jones.”

Jones’ arrival

The founder of a respected local theater company, Jones burst onto the local political scene about a year after Bedden’s hire. Charming and staunchly conservative, he campaigned for the board against the “status quo,” Bedden’s contract extension and “the lock he has on the seven trustees.”

It wasn’t Jones’ first run-in with a local government body. Two years before he ran for the school board, the Irving Arts Board discussed reducing his theater’s public grant based on “consistent disregard and public disrespect” for his benefactors.

Meeting minutes from 2009 recount some alleged incidents involving Jones at the public arts center: evicting the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra from the rehearsal hall; berating a theater tech who couldn’t open a locked door for him on Memorial Day; getting an Irving City Council member to intervene so he could borrow a spotlight; and loading city theater equipment into his car after being told he couldn’t use it.

The arts board decided to withhold part of Jones’ grant that year and release it only if he behaved well. Jones said earlier this month that he didn’t know anything about the matter.

As a candidate in 2011, Jones peppered district staffers with information requests, according to district emails: How many bilingual teachers weren’t U.S. citizens? How many administrators had math or science degrees? How much did Bedden’s office renovation cost? Bedden asked him to stop calling so many employees.

A blowup in Bedden’s office ended when the superintendent asked the candidate to leave district headquarters. The story became something of a folk legend, with Bedden or Jones playing the aggressor, depending on who told it.

Christian said he warned Bedden that the school board that backed him could change. But “he probably thought Steven Jones might not win. And if he did, he might not ever gain control of the board.”

Jones did win. He and another candidate with the same platform ousted two incumbents. In the next year’s election, Jones gained another ally — just short of a board majority.

Jones continued to contact Bedden’s staff directly, eschewing more senior trustees’ deference to the superintendent. Associate Superintendent Melody Paschall once emailed that Jones had asked her to forbid principals from attending noon board meetings.

“Another example of behind-the-scenes directives that are not appropriate,” Bedden replied.

The district’s internal auditor got caught in the conflict after Jones contacted her about an employee suspected of electioneering on school hours, according to a 2012 grievance she filed against Bedden that was obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

Misty Shipley recounted the superintendent “storming into my office” and accusing her of passing information to Jones, which she denied. Bedden called that an exaggeration but wrote that he apologized to Shipley after he saw her crying later that day. She eventually dropped her grievance.

Board censure

Thanks to an uncontested open seat, it was inevitable by spring 2013 that Jones’ supporters would soon control the board.

But after two new employees wrote to Bedden that Jones had told them they might not have jobs after May’s election, the superintendent’s supporters on the board took drastic action.

News of the April vote to censure Jones for “usurping” Bedden’s authority caused a sensation in the hallways. A flurry of staff emails obtained by The News recorded the shock:

“Never ending drama!!” “How can teachers work with this going on?” “I’m going to have to get out pretty soon. I think it will all go to the dogs come May.”

With a 4-3 majority, the superintendent’s allies censured Jones, condemning him for breaking policy and law. Days later, Bedden ordered a private investigator to follow up on the accusations.

But it didn’t matter. Jones’ three endorsed candidates swept May’s election. About an hour after taking power, the new board threw out Bedden’s curriculum overhaul. Six weeks later, Bedden resigned in return for paychecks through September, a quarter-million-dollar buyout if he doesn’t find a similar job by then, and a promise to keep any accusations to himself.

Like Jones, Bedden has stayed silent about his career in Irving and its end. Huffstetler said she talked to him the morning after he quit.

“He was like I was,” she said. “Relieved that the battle is over.”

No comments:

HELL TO THE REDSKINS and Mayor Dwight C. Jones

Click on the various links below (many thanks to Silver Persinger) to see what Richmond City Council members had to say about the Redskins/Westhampton/Bon Secours/Richmond Public Schools BOONDOGGLE ...

▼ November (7)
- Hell to the Redskins - No Cost Training Facility i...
- "Enhanced" Redskins/Bon Secours Deal Explained at ...
- Another Turn at Bat - Administration Continues to ...
- Special Council Meeting on the Redskin/Bon Secours...
- Alternatives to Incarceration? Get to Work or Go ...
- Details of Redskins/Bon Secours Deal Discussed at ...
- Redskins/Bon Secours Giveaways & Riverfront Plan D...
- Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, "2014 State of the City Address," Jan. 31, 2014.
  Richmond Virginia, "Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ prepared remarks for the 2014 State of the City Address," Jan. 31, 2014.
  Resolutions and cooperation agreements on the training camp deal, resolutions 2012-236-220 and 2012-235-219, from Nov. 26 and Dec. 17, 2012.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "West End school site to get new life," Dec. 2013.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Skins camp support split," October 2013.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "SMG likely to take over Washington Redskins training camp," July 29, 2013.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Redskins deal passes after last-minute negotiations," Nov. 27, 2012.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Richmond council takes final steps toward Redskins training camp," Dec. 27, 2012.
  Richmond Times-Dispatch, "City, hospital work to sell ‘Skins deal," Nov. 21, 2012.
  Interviews with James Hester, city assessor, Feb. 5 and Feb. 19, 2014.
  Legislative Information System, State Code: 58.1-3203. Taxation of certain leasehold interests; concessions, accessed Feb. 5, 2014.
  Interview with Charlotte Perkins, performance management officer for Bon Secours, Feb. 14,
  Deed of Lease, Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center, July 8, 2013.
  Performance Agreement, Richmond Economic Development Authority and Bon Secours, July 8, 2013.
  Naming Rights Agreement, July 8, 2013.
  Leigh Street Development Cooperation Agreement, July 3, 2013.

A brief History of the Redskin Debacle

A list of "enhancements" to the deal, the fruit of hours of talks with council members who opposed the deal in its original form, were compiled into a...

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Richmond mayor’s task force discusses initiating contact with new School Board

Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond’s newly elected School Board should have a gentler introduction to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ school-reform style than the current board, but it shouldn’t expect the pleasantries to lead to a windfall of cash.

The mayor’s volunteer school finance reform task force spent nearly an hour Tuesday debating the best way to initiate contact with the School Board, which will feature seven newcomers among its nine members in January.

But City Council President Kathy Graziano, an...

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Council passes resolution on Redskins deal

Author: ROBERT ZULLO | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 12, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Over vocal opposition from West End residents, Richmond’s City Council tonight approved a broad resolution endorsing Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ proposed deal with Bon Secours Richmond Health System to build a nearly $9 million training camp for the Washington Redskins.

The proposed agreement with Bon Secours, announced last month, provides $6.4 million in sponsorship for the camp in exchange for a long-term, low-cost lease on the former Westhampton School property at Libbie and Patterson...

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Jones: Progress, but also missteps

Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: October 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)

No one could accuse Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones of a lack of vision.

In the last year of his first term, the Baptist minister and former state delegate has laid out ambitious plans to dramatically transform the city's public-housing complexes, bring the Washington Redskins' summer training camp down Interstate 95 to a new home in the city and make the James River more accessible to residents, among other programs.

Those initiatives join the ongoing construction of a $134 million...

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Residents ask Richmond City Council to give schools more funds

Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: April 11, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)

Residents beseeched the Richmond City Council to meet the school system's request for an additional $23.8 million during a public hearing Tuesday night on the city budget.

A small but passionate procession of school employees, parents and other residents lined up to ask council members to "fully fund" Richmond Public Schools in the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1.

The hearing came less than eight hours after a consulting group recommended steps, including staffing cuts and ...

UPDATE: Mayor to finance new baseball stadium with debt savings

Author: Times-Dispatch Staff Times-Dispatch
Date: March 2, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND, Va.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said today he will use interest rate savings from paying off old debts as debt service for the city's share of a new $50 million baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Jones said the city is using money repaid from an old loan to the Richmond Metropolitan Authority to pay off $26.1 million in debt at an average interest rate of 5 percent and allow the issuance of $36 million in debt at a lower rate, around 3 percent. The...

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Richmond picks builder for two schools

Author: Will Jones
Date: September 15, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond's plans for two new elementary schools on South Side are back on track with a company that initially did not vie for the work.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced this week the selection of MB Contractors of Roanoke to build a new Broad Rock Elementary School and a new Oak Grove Elementary School for a combined $39.2 million. The 650-student schools are scheduled to open in January 2013 - four months later than planned - and they will be the city's first new public school buildings...

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Mayor Jones: Mistakes made in Richmond jail-planning process Author: Will Jones
Date: September 12, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND

Acknowledging mistakes in its jail-planning process, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones' administration revealed Monday that it will seek relief from state design requirements for the facility.

"There have been some mistakes but, in a project of this size, it's not unnecessarily unnatural," Jones said in an interview, in which he insisted that the city's procurement process had not been compromised.

Citing new and ongoing concerns about the process, the City Council...

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Hurricane briefs for Wednesday, Aug. 31 Author: Times-Dispatch Staff
Date: August 31, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond

Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Tuesday announced a free shuttle service to transport residents who are without power to operating grocery stores. The GRTC City Supermarket Shuttle will be free to the riders today.

"We want residents to have some ability to get the goods and products that they need that will keep in this environment while power is being restored," the mayor said in a statement.

Buses will board passengers at specific locations and transport them to nearby...

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Search result 384 of 1006

Michael Paul Williams: With redistricting, Richmond drawing new race issue Author: Michael Paul Williams
Date: July 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
An African-American member of the Richmond School Board would be redistricted into oblivion as part of an effort to preserve the black voting strength in a neighboring ward.

Under a draft redistricting plan, the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Kimberly Gray, the 2nd District representative on the School Board, would be absorbed into the majority-black 3rd District.

That's the same 3rd District that since 2004 has been represented by a white councilman and white School Board members. In...

Redistricting plan moves School Board member

Author: Will Jones
Date: July 20, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond City Council is ready to seek public comment on a redistricting plan that would move School Board member Kimberly B. Gray out of her 2nd District and would not spread the city's large public-housing communities across more districts.

Protecting incumbents wasn't among the council's adopted criteria for redistricting, but the prospect of moving the western part of Jackson Ward and subsequently Gray into the 3rd District is expected to generate controversy.

"Everyone is...

Jones gets final report on Richmond redistricting Author: Will Jones
Date: July 7, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is welcoming but not yet endorsing three options for redistricting, including one that would overhaul the city's electoral map and reduce the number of voter districts from nine to as few as five.

On Wednesday, Jones accepted a final report from a committee appointed to make recommendations for redistricting in light of the city's 22 percent poverty rate and the concentrations of poor residents in the East End and South Side.

The City Council, which is...

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Search result 387 of 1006

RMA payout comes with a catch Author: Will Jones
Date: June 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond will have to wait another decade or longer to take ownership of the expressway system if it collects $60.3 million to settle a long-standing debt with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.

Because the city provided early financial support, portions of the toll-road system within the city limits are scheduled to revert to city ownership when the RMA's primary public debt of about $122 million is paid off.

That's now scheduled to occur in 2022, but the date would be pushed...

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Two School Board members would shift districts under redistricting plans Author: Will Jones
Date: June 25, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Two members of the Richmond School Board would be drawn out of their districts under a pair of redistricting options that are being finalized by a committee appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

School Board member Kimberly B. Gray would be shifted in both scenarios from the 2nd District to the 3rd, while Maurice Henderson would be moved in one of the plans from the 5th to the 2nd.

Committee members emphasized in a meeting Friday that they had not considered the residency of City...

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Ideas for $60.3 million windfall abound Author: Will Jones
Date: June 24, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Three members of the Richmond City Council credited Mayor Dwight C. Jones for negotiating a $60.3 million windfall for the city but made it clear that the council would have to sign off on any use of the money.

"The mayor deserves a lot of credit and congratulations for pulling this coup," Councilman E. Martin Jewell said Thursday. "But we are the governing body ... and it seems to me that we should have some ideas as well as the mayor for how those dollars should be spent."

Or used...

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Panel ponders reducing districts in Richmond

Author: Will Jones
Date: June 19, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond should consider reducing its number of voter districts from the current nine to seven or five as a way to help tackle the poverty that plagues the city, according to an unfinished report of a commission appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

One longer-term option being suggested would involve changing the city charter and redrawing from scratch the voter districts, which grew out of a 1970 annexation fight that created Richmond's ward system.

The draft report says the purpose...

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Possible Consequences

§ 22.1-19.1. Action for violations related to secure mandatory tests.

A. The Office of the Attorney General, on behalf of the Board of Education, may bring a cause of action in the circuit court having jurisdiction where the person resides or where the act occurred for injunctive relief, civil penalty, or both, against any person who knowingly and willfully commits any of the following acts related to secure mandatory tests required by the Board to be administered to students:

1. Permitting unauthorized access to secure test questions prior to testing;

2. Copying or reproducing all or any portion of any secure test booklet;

3. Divulging the contents of any portion of a secure test;

4. Altering test materials or examinees' responses in any way;

5. Creating or making available answer keys to secure tests;

6. Making a false certification on the test security form established by the Department of Education;

7. Excluding students from testing who are required to be assessed; or

8. Participating in, directing, aiding or abetting, or assisting in any of the acts prohibited in this section.

For the purpose of this subsection, "secure" means an item, question, or test that has not been made publicly available by the Department of Education.

B. Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit or restrict the reasonable and necessary actions of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Department of Education or their agents or employees engaged in test development or selection, test form construction, standard setting, test scoring, reporting test scores, or any other related activities which, in the judgment of the Superintendent of Public Instruction or Board of Education, are necessary and appropriate.

C. Any person who violates any provisions of this section may be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation. Furthermore, any person whose administrative or teaching license has been suspended or revoked pursuant to § 22.1-292.1 may be assessed a civil penalty for the same violation under this section and the reasonable costs of any review or investigation of a violation of test security.

All civil penalties paid to the Commonwealth pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Literary Fund.

D. For the purpose of this section, "person" shall not mean a student enrolled in a public school.

2000, cc. 634, 659; 2004, cc. 939, 955; 2006, cc. 25, 95; 2011, c. 248.

DISCIPLINE & DISABILITIES & RACE & GENDER

Dive Brief:

Black students with disabilities miss significantly more instructional time due to suspension than their white peers, according to a new report released Thursday by Harvard University law professors and The Civil Rights Project at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
"Disabling Punishment" provides state-by-state data on the number of days that students with disabilities missed due to suspension and identifies the five states with the biggest racial gaps. For example, in Nevada, for every 100 students with disabilities, black students were out of the classroom for 209 days, compared to 56 days for white students. The other four are Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee and Nebraska, where the number of days of suspension for black students with disabilities is quadruple that of white students, according to the report.
The researchers also argue that some of the student behaviors leading to suspension could be a result of their disability, such as emotional disturbance — calling this the “equivalent of denying that student access to education.” They recommend that state leaders identify districts where these gaps are the largest and have state-level administrators analyze the reasons why the consequences for certain infractions are different for black students with disabilities than they are their white peers.

Removing students from the classroom should be “a measure of last resort,” the researchers write, and they call for the use of climate surveys, behavior incident reports and other monitoring strategies to determine if schools are improving “conditions of learning.”

The analysis was conducted in response to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ efforts to revisit and possibly rescind Obama-era guidance aimed at reducing racial disparities in school discipline. The guidance is related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which states that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate complaints of discipline policies and practices that discriminate based on students’ “personal characteristics”

Earlier this month, DeVos held back-to-back “listening sessions” with supporters of the guidance — who say it improves school safety and helps them be mindful of using alternative strategies — and opponents who argue that the guidance has increased disruptive behavior in school and that the federal government shouldn’t be dictating local school district policy.

In addition, DeVos opened a public comment period in order to decide whether to push back until 2020 an Obama administration rule that asks states to identify whether students of color are overrepresented in special education programs. The comment period closes on May 14.

In a piece on growing efforts to reduce out-of-school suspension — and implement alternatives that change students’ behavior — Barbara Higgins Perez, a former Oceanside Unified School District administrator who founded a consulting group, said that in her 20 years as an educator, she never once had a student return to school following a suspension with any completed assignments. The chances of a student with a disability doing any schoolwork at home are probably even lower, especially if they need the accommodations or support from a special education teacher that is available at school.

TO BE YOUNG, GIFTED and BLACK

Using her family’s experiences in Chicago, Hansberry started work on A Raisin In The Sun. A line from one of Langston Hughes’ poems inspired the play’s title. The work was completed in 1957 in the midst of Hansberry’s growing activism and involvement with feminism and gay rights. It has been theorized that Hansberry was a closeted lesbian, which was supported by secret letters and journal entries discovered after her death.

The play debuted on Broadway March 11, 1959, earning praise from critics and audiences alike. Set in the Chicago neighborhood of her youth, A Raisin In The Sun examined the impact racial segregation had on Black lives in the Fifties. At age 29, Hansberry was the youngest playwright and only the fifth woman to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. So immediately popular was A Raisin In The Sun that for the next two years, it was translated into 35 languages and performed around the globe. Hansberry continued to work as a writer and playwright, but only one other play made it to Broadway.
In 1963, Hansberry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and two surgeries failed to arrest its spread. Hansberry died in 1965 at age 34. Paul Robeson and SNCC leader James Forman eulogized Hansberry at her funeral. Messages from James Baldwin and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were also shared. Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted, And Black” was inspired by Hansberry.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

What Works?

Dropout Risk Factors and Exemplary Programs

By: Cynthia Hammond , D. Linton , J. Smink and S. Drew

Dropout decisions may involve up to 25 significant factors, ranging from parenthood to learning disabilities. The most effective interventions address the various factors and employ multiple strategies, including personal asset building, academic support, and family outreach. A list of 50 exemplary programs is included.

Demography as Destiny: How America Can Build a Better Future

By: Alliance for Excellent Education

Barely 50% of minority students graduate from high school on time. If this trend continues and the minority student populations increase as projected, the economic strength of the U.S. will be undermined. But if 78% of all student populations graduate on time by 2020, the U.S. can realize stunning potential benefits: conservatively, more than $310 billion would be added to the national economy.

Dropping Out is Hard to Do

By: Craig D. Jerald

Recent research shows that some high schools have much lower dropout rates than would be predicted based on the composition of their student bodies. Moreover, requiring students to work harder and complete a tougher academic curriculum might actually improve graduation rates rather than making them plummet, as so many educators fear.

Alphabet Soup

Acronyms / Glossary:

FAPE — Free Appropriate Public Education
IDEA — Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEP — Individualized Educational Program
LRE — Least Restrictive Environment
PTI — Parent Training and Information Centers
Child Find — Child Find requires public school districts to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities. This obligation to identify all children who may need special education services exists even if the school is not providing special education services to the child.
Prior Written Notice — IDEA requires that the school/district provide written notice whenever the district (1) Proposes to begin or changes the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to your child; or (2) Refuses to begin or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child or the provision of FAPE to your child. [34 CFR §300.503(b)]. The school district must provide the notice in understandable language [34 CFR §300.503(c)].

Related Links:

Learn about Self-Advocacy: Speaking Up
Short, step-by-step video clips of young people sharing their experiences with self-advocacy. Includes a map to help youth find self-advocacy groups in their state.

Youth Organizing! Disabled & Proud
A program of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC). YO! Disabled & Proud connects, organizes, and educates youth with disabilities

Youth in Action! Becoming a Stronger Self-Advocate.
Speaks directly to young adults with disabilities with a focus on self-advocacy

KASA (Kids As Self Advocates).
KASA empowers youth to learn how to advocate for themselves and others through better knowledge of school, health care, technology, and other current issues important to young people

Youthhood.org
This engaging site reminds students with disabilities they are not alone as they explore community and build a better collective future.

Speak Up! Using What You’ve Got to Get What You Want
Engaging multimedia tool that trains young people with disabilities how to speak up and advocate for themselves.

Sample Letters

DREDF Special Education Training Materials

Find Your Parent Training and Information Center

DREDF eNews and Special EDitions:

Special EDitions

Archived eNews & Special EDitions

Recent Articles that quote JASON KAMRAS

Undocumented suspensions persisted in D.C. schools despite repeated alerts

senior DCPS official: Jason Kamras, then chief of human capital. In an email to Kamras, Harrison wrote that

Emma Brown and Alejandra Matos · Education · Jul 24, 2017

Sometimes, teacher turnover is a good thing, study finds

average student achievement, the study found. Jason Kamras, chief of human capital for D.C. Public Schools,

Emma Brown · Education · Jan 25, 2016

D.C. Public Schools, closely watched for its reform efforts, is overhauling teacher evaluation and training

that sexy, but it's really sexy to us," said Jason Kamras, the school system's chief of instructional

Emma Brown · Education · Feb 10, 2016

School systems develop principal ‘pipelines’ to nurture talent

"We have really amazing people in DCPS," said Jason Kamras, chief of human capital for D.C. Public Schools.

Emma Brown · Magazine · Apr 10, 2015

District embarks on plan to bring more quality teachers to poor schools

Highly effective teachers in D.C. Public Schools most likely to work in Ward 3, report says.

Michael Alison Chandler · Education · Feb 6, 2015

Unions push to cancel classes for pope's visit

DCPS officials say they don't want to lose instructional time.

Michael Alison Chandler · Education · Sep 18, 2015

D.C. schools change IMPACT evaluations for principals

press pause," said Jason Kamras, the school system's chief of human capital. Kamras said the school system

Emma Brown · Education · Jan 21, 2014

D.C. Public Schools will take a hiatus from test-based teacher evaluations with move to Common Core exams

Test scores will not play a part in teacher evaluations next year as city moves to new Common Core exams.

Emma Brown · Education · Jun 19, 2014

Jonetta Rose Barras: When will DCPS stop

The trend of replacing school leaders continues.

Jonetta Rose Barras · Opinions · May 21, 2014

DCPS reaches tentative agreement with principals union

The four-year contract calls for 3 percent annual raises.

Emma Brown · Education · May 18, 2014

D.C. school officials: 44 teachers were given mistaken performance evaluations

teachers were too high and half too low, said Jason Kamras, chief of human capital for D.C. Public Schools.

Nick Anderson · Education · Dec 23, 2013

D.C. Public Schools plans to offer principals multi-year contracts

Chancellor announced contracts at oversight hearing before the D.C. Council's Education Committee

Michael Alison Chandler · Education · Feb 24, 2015

IMPACT scores ward-by-ward in D.C.

D.C. public school officials offered a more detailed look of disparities in teacher effectiveness across the city.

Michael Alison Chandler · Local · Feb 24, 2015

Errors found in D.C. teacher evaluations

One teacher was fired as a result.

Valerie Strauss · Local · Dec 23, 2013

Best Comment of the Day:

Having been a "truant officer" involved in court under CHINS etc this is dear to my heart. You have raised some great points. I would like to add another.

The Code of Virginia is clear regarding truancy and to some degree dropouts. I looked at Richmond web page and found two interesting reports. Under "Drop Out Rates submitted to VDOE for the 2014-15 school term there were 295 dropouts for grades 9-12. Ok. Then I found that for grades 7-8 there were 55 dropouts.

This raises several questions? What happened to the 55 middle school kids? How many involved court action ? CHINS? Same is true for high school school students. What were these kids attendance rates at elementary (I think we know)? There are more questions than answers. But somewhere there are records of nothing being done or something being done. Too many dropouts and rate of absences [too] high.

Thank you for these posts !

~ Bob Whytal

If CHICAGO CAN, WHY CAN'T WE?

Chicago Schools Lead Country in Academic Growth, Study Finds

By Sarah D. Sparks

Exactly 30 years after then-Secretary of Education William J. Bennett labeled Chicago Public Schools the worst in the nation, new research shows that Windy City schools now lead the country in academic growth.

A new study by Stanford University researchers Sean Reardon and Rebecca Hinze-Pifer tracked reading and math test score growth among public school students from 2009 to 2014. Across racial groups, the researchers found that Chicago students learned significantly faster from grades 3 to 8 than did students in nearly all other U.S. districts—gaining about six years' worth of learning in five years.

Moreover, there was evidence that incoming student cohorts were improving rapidly. At each of grades 3 through 8, Chicago students' test scores rose two-thirds of a grade level from 2009 to 2014, compared to the average national improvement of one-sixth of a grade level in those grades during that time. Black, Hispanic, and white students all showed that improvement.

Altogether, only 4 percent of districts in the country—and none of the other 100 largest districts— have growth rates that high, Reardon noted. "Chicago is not just an outlier among large districts; it's an outlier among all 11,000 districts we can measure this for. It's a striking case," Reardon said.

Reardon and Hinze-Pifer analyzed Illinois state test scores in reading and math for Chicago and compared them to scores nationwide using a database of nationally comparable, district-level test data. They found Chicago students perform below the national average in reading and math, and white students in the city outperform black and Hispanic students by a full grade level on average. But they also found that the city has narrowed its national academic gap as well as some racial gaps.

In 2008-09, Chicago 3rd graders scored about 1.4 grades below the national average in math and reading. By the time those 3rd graders got to 8th grade, they performed only .4 of a grade level—about half a school year— below the national average. That was 19 percent faster than the average national academic growth during that time. Hispanic students, who made up 45 percent of the school district during that time, grew 1.2 grade levels faster than the national average for all students, helping them close the achievement gap with white students by .4 of a grade level from grade 3 to 8.

Chicago's Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said the results mirror the districts' own analysis over the last five years, and "we're really excited to see these data reaffirmed on the national level."

Chi-Town Challenges

In the last decade, the 370,000-student Chicago district has been roiled by rising poverty, shrinking enrollment, and shifting racial demographics, but the researchers found the growth rate has been too fast for a changing student body to account for the improvement. The district does hold back about 5 percentage points more struggling students in grades 3 to 8 than other districts, but this could account for only about 1/20th of the difference in academic growth, according to the researchers. And while Chicago was under pressure to improve for federal and state accountability purposes, the researchers found that the improvements they noted on state tests mirrored the district's gains on the Trial Urban District Assessment, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress that is not used for accountability.

"This is not driven by cheating or teaching to the test or gaming the system in some way," Reardon said. "I'm persuaded there really are impressive rates of learning in Chicago."

The researchers suggested the learning gains are likely coming from changes in the preschool and early elementary grades. "But the interesting question is, what is it that is happening in Chicago in the schools, in the city, in kids' early childhood that is leading to both the rapid growth rate from 3rd to 8th grade and the improvement from one cohort to the next. And what can we learn from that, ... for other school districts?" Reardon said.

CPS' Jackson suggested that the district's focus on expanding preschool attendance, improving professional development for elementary school principals, and aligning the district's curriculum have all played a role in the district's growth. Yet she also said competition from private and charter schools and clearer accountability standards have also helped boost achievement.

"I believe the level of transparency we have provided around what a quality school is has been transformational in this district," Jackson said.

Jackson said the district is looking to partner with more researchers interested in digging into district data to identify the cause of elementary and middle-school growth and how it might be replicated in other districts, as well as how academic growth is progressing in high schools, which were not part of the Stanford study.

Photo Source: Getty

Related:

Notable Quote from FaceBook About RVA Public Schools ...

I think people have to open their eyes and their mouths. The obvious answer is that RPS needs additional funds. It is crystal clear to an outsider that the City says one thing and does another. The entire school board needs to go out there on the front steps of City Hall along side the teachers and students and demand that City Council and the Mayor explain how they can find funding for baseball, football and beer manufacturers, but cannot, or will not, adequately fund the schools.

How many people have to come to Richmond and tell them that if they want to attract middle class residents and decent jobs, while reducing poverty and increasing real estate values, they have to invest in their schools. Baseball stadium jobs, football training center jobs, food vendor jobs, beer company jobs, are all good jobs for high school or college students, but they will not pay big people bills, and they damn sure will not get anyone out of the projects. ~ Glen Allen

GREAT NEWS!

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

July 6 at 1:57pm

Agency records can be subject to the Freedom of Information Act even if they are kept in an employee’s nongovernmental email account, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Office of Science and Technology Policy reversed a decision by a district court, which dismissed the case last year. The D.C. Circuit’s decision could set an important precedent for journalists and other FOIA requesters by clarifying that agency records are subject to FOIA regardless of their location.

Court rules FOIA can apply to private email accounts | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all…

RCFP.ORG

GRANTS ...

Education Hub

Have you visited GrantSpace, Foundation Center's learning community for the social sector? In the Education area of the site, you'll find education-themed videos and podcasts, sample grant proposals, the latest education-related reports from IssueLab, funding facts and figures, an FAQ, a Twitter feed featuring the tweets of education funders, and more. Stop by and join the conversation!

Girls Who Code

Founded in 2012, Girls Who Code aims to close the gender gap in technology by providing young girls with women role models in the tech industry and high-quality instruction in computer science. With the goal of reaching a million young women by 2020, the organization's model pairs intensive instruction with high-touch mentorship led by top female engineers and entrepreneurs. Learn more.

Women in the South

For women of color, the gap in earnings between those with a high school degree and those with at least a bachelor's degree is wider in the South than in other regions, a report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research finds. The report, The Status of Women in the South (259 pages, PDF), examined data from fourteen Southern states related to women's employment and earnings, health and well-being, poverty and opportunity, political participation, and safety and found that millennial women between the ages of 25 and 34 were more likely to have a bachelor's degree than males the same age but less likely have one than millennial women in other states. Download the report.

Single Gender Education Articles

http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-singlesexvscoed.htm

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NASSPE: Policy > The Virginia Military Institute Case

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The Justice Department asserted that VMI, as a state school, could not legally ... with the Justice Department: the state of Virginia could not fund a single-sex ...

Court Approves Settlement Reached in Challenge to West ...

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American Civil Liberties Union

Jul 8, 2013 - ... to West Virginia Single-Sex School Program Rooted in Stereotypes ... Board of Education has agreed to abandon single-sex education for ...

United States v. Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Wikipedia

Commonwealth of Virginia's exclusion of women from the Virginia Military Institute ... but equal facilities separated on the basis of sex: "it is not the ' exclusion of women' that ... any ROTC program at one of the six senior military colleges, including VMI. ... Virginia". Duke Law Journal (Duke University School of Law) 48 (2): ...

United States v. Virginia | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago ...

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Virginia failed to support its claim that single-sex education contributes to educationaldiversity because it did not show that VMI's male-only admissions policy ...

United States v. Virginia et al., 518 U.S. 515 (1996). - Legal ...

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Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is the sole single sex school among Virginia's public institutions of higher learning. VMI's distinctive mission is to produce " citizen ...

United States v. Virginia et al., 518 U.S. 515 (1996). - Legal ...

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Mar 4, 2015 - Virginia at one time boasted many single-sex colleges. ... College student waves to a crowd member during the school's graduation ceremony ...

Judge stops W. Va. single-sex classes: Were they a success ...

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Attendance Matters

INCUBATING A DEFECTIVE REGULATORY FETUS

DECEMBER 3, 2014 CRANKY

In 2013 (latest data on the VDOE site), Richmond had a 93.4% attendance rate. That is equivalent to a 6.6% absence rate, i.e., the average student was absent for 11.4 of the 173 teaching days in 2012-13.

Too many of those absences were unexcused. For example, that year and in 2014, over 2,000 Richmond students had ten or more unexcused absences.

Your State Board of Education is required by law to enforce the compulsory attendance statutes. At present, it does not even collect enough data to know whether the school divisions are in compliance with Va. Code § 22.1-258, which requires a set of escalating responses, culminating in court action upon the seventh unexcused absence.

The Board finally got around to publishing a proposed regulation on January 30, 2012, 1038 days ago. The proposal was grossly inadequate (pdf at 11). They re-proposed the regulation on January 10, 2013, 692 days ago. As of today, the (defective) re-proposed regulation awaits review by the Governor.

To provide some context, here are a few selected gestation periods:

All the while, Richmond’s students cut class with impunity.

Your tax dollars at “work.”

By John R. Butcher ...

CREDULOUS REPORTERS, MENDACIOUS BUREAUCRATS

OLD NEWS; SAME OLD DISTORTIONS

OCTOBER 18, 2014

The Free Press reported on Oct. 14: “Richmond graduation rate up, but dropout rate still among Va.’s highest.” The story relies on “a new state report on on-time graduation.”

In fact, the story relies on the VDOE cohort report that has been available since at least Sept. 25 (the date on the pdf version is Sept. 19). So it seems that, for the Free Press, it’s “new” if it’s not at least three weeks old.

More seriously, the Free Press story uncritically spouts the “on-time” statistics that VDOE uses to baldly misrepresent the actual graduation rates Thus, the “almost 81% rate” reported by the paper is VDOE’s 80.5% “on-time” rate that is exaggerated by 9.0%.

The story lists a “bright spot” at Armstrong. In fact, the 80% “on-time” rate there includes 7.3% modified standard diplomas and 4.6% special diplomas, so the federal graduation indicator of advanced+standard diplomas, i.e., the real graduation rate, is only 68.1%. Hardly a “bright spot.”

To it’s credit, the story also points out that even the funky “on-time” rate is some ten points below the state rate and that we have one of the worst dropout rates in the state.

There is good news here: It’s not that Richmond’s 71.5% real graduation rate is good but that it is much better than last year’s 65.1% rate.

LOUSY SCHOOLS, MENDACIOUS BUREAUCRATS

THE ACCREDITATION DIRGE

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 CRANKY

Despite VDOE’s inflation of the accreditation numbers, Richmond has been in free fall since 2012.

There also is a graduation requirement: Full accreditation requires an 85 on the “graduate completer index.” All of the mainstream high schools except TJ bombed this requirement again this year:

This is a distinctly awful performance compared to the statewide data:

Your tax dollars at “work.”

Meet New RPS "Team Bedden"

New RPS team taking on big challenges - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Education

View all 13 images in galleryBy ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch

Finding people to help turn around a school system widely regarded as one of the state’s most challenging hasn’t been easy for Richmond Superintendent Dana T. Bedden, but after nine months of searching, he finally has in place the team he wants.

Of seven top newcomers, none has a connection to city schools or Bedden. Several are young leaders on their way up, but the group also includes a former state bureaucrat eager to again take on a district-level challenge and a well-traveled expert on facilities issues.

There also are three holdovers from the staff of the previous superintendent, giving the team a measure of institutional knowledge as it begins working to improve a system in which only 11 of 45 schools earned full state accreditation this year and where most buildings are in a state of disrepair.

“It’s a big mission, but every one of them is professional, and I think they came here because they wanted to be part of something special,” said Bedden, himself a newcomer to Richmond.

***

When Bedden was hired in January after working as superintendent in Augusta, Ga., and Irving, Texas, he walked into a school system in disarray.

Academic achievement was plummeting, the city’s aging collection of school buildings was falling apart and the school system’s staff was fleeing for other jobs as fast as possible.

Bedden’s immediate challenge was preparing the new budget and putting out the system’s seemingly endless fires, but he also found time to rework the organizational chart and begin the search for people to help him succeed.

He expanded the number of people who report directly to the superintendent from two to 11.

And to fill the positions, he changed the way the city hires. For each position, he recruited a panel of experts from surrounding school systems and private industry to review applications and recommend finalists.

Of the 11 jobs, 10 are now filled (Bedden is still looking for a chief of staff.)

The assistant and associate superintendents are new, as are the directors of elementary and secondary education and the school turnaround specialist.

The school system also has new people in several other key positions, notably in transportation and as principals in four of the city’s eight middle schools.

“With that many outsiders who don’t feel like they have to defend the ways of the past, it gives us the freedom to be creative, to try new things,” said School Board member Glen H. Sturtevant Jr., 1st District, one of seven people who joined the nine-person board after the November 2012 election.

That group, plus the two holdovers, have pushed for sweeping changes for a school system that quickly plummeted from full accreditation in 2010 to the ranks of the state’s worst performers in less than three years.

Sturtevant said the new leaders have a big challenge.

“I think we’ve already seen some progress,’ he said. “Now they need to present us with some reasonable, achievable goals that can demonstrate we’re going in the right direction.”

***

Sturtevant and other board members said a big difference has been the customer service focus on Bedden’s staff.

“You see that focus not just to the public, but also to principals and other school leaders,” he said.

Vice Chairwoman Kristen N. Larson, 4th District, said the new staff is having an immediate impact on the middle school level, a transition point in which the city traditionally loses students to private schools and surrounding counties.

“I think the fact that they were able to bring in four new principals already is a good sign,” she said.

School Board member Kimberly Gray, 2nd District, called the change “refreshing.”

In their sixth year on the board, she and Chairman Donald L. Coleman, 7th District, are the only members, of nine, who survived the 2012 election.

“What we have before us is a great opportunity,” she said.

Bedden’s team sees it that way, too.

While he never worked with any of them before coming to Richmond, he has quickly created deep loyalty.

“He’s extremely sharp. He knows a lot about everything,” said Ralph Westbay, the assistant superintendent for financial services. “But he doesn’t want to do your job. I’ve worked with superintendents who do.

“He wants you to do your job, and he gives you the freedom to do it.”

Tommy Kranz, the assistant superintendent for operations, has been the most visible so far because he has taken the lead on facility issue.

He likes to downplay his role – “It’s my job to make sure our students have a safe place to go to school,” he likes to say – but what he has done hasn’t been overlooked.

“He’s done a great job of keeping those issues off my desk,” Bedden said. “When he does that, I can focus on academic issues.”

Larson said Kranz has also had a meaningful impact on transportation.

“Early in the year, a parent called me to complain about her child’s bus not being there on time,” she said. “The next morning, he was at the bus stop with her. When you get that kind of commitment, good things happen.”

D. Timothy Billups

Title: Executive Director of Human Resources

Previous Job: chief of staff, Richmond Public Schools

Career Highlights: worked for Quaker Oats and Deluxe Check Printers Inc.

Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, bachelor’s; Virginia Tech, master’s

Why you came to Richmond: Having grown up in the area, for me, the capital city is home; thus, I have a vested interest in seeing it flourish. If each of us, working together, contributes the best of who we are each day, personally and professionally, then the impact that we can make on the children and families of our city will be boundless.

What you hope to accomplish this year: An even greater expansion of our recruitment initiatives. We will begin using different technology that will allow interaction between HR, stakeholders and applicants.

Michelle Boyd

Title: Executive Director, Exceptional Education and Student Services

Previous job: director, Exceptional Education and Student Services

Career highlights: Worked collaboratively with the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Commonwealth University in the development of Virginia’s first public charter school that focuses on enhancing post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities (Richmond Career Education and Employment Academy, located in George Wythe High School).

Education: Clarion University of Pennsylvania, bachelor’s; University of Maryland, master’s; College of William and Mary, doctorate

Why you came to Richmond: I was drawn to Richmond Public Schools by the school division’s and community’s commitment to enhance opportunities for all students, which aligned with my professional beliefs.

What you hope to accomplish this year: a) increased programming and supports to enhance school climate, b) increased percent of students with disabilities who are educated in general education settings, c) development of transition programs to support students who are over age for their respective grade levels, and d) expansion of professional development opportunities for professional and support staff.

Janice E. Garland

Title: Executive Director of School Improvement and Innovation

Previous job: lead school improvement coordinator in the Office of School Improvement at the Virginia Department of Education

Career highlights: National Institute of School Leadership (NISL) certification (2014); USED School Improvement Grant Conference, presenter (2013); Program Director for Four Rivers Technology in Education Consortium (2007-09); Fulbright Scholarship Award (study abroad in Japan, 2002); Oxford University Roundtable At-Risk Conference: Oxford, England, Presenter (2003); Virginia Association of Federal Program Administrators Leadership and Service Award (2004).

Education: University of Richmond, bachelor’s; Virginia Commonwealth University, master’s; Seton Hall University, Ed.D. in Leadership and Policy, anticipated May 2015

Why you came to Richmond: I was impressed with Dana Bedden’s visionary leadership and focus on improving outcomes for all students. The position allows me to work with a diverse team whose focus is improving conditions that will increase student learning. … The school-level improvement team focuses on a few goals that have the potential to make the most significant impact on student achievement.

What you hope to accomplish this year: The team’s goal is to deliver on-site building-level support, ensure strategic deployment of resources (human, capital, material) and enhance leadership and instructional capacity in order to have the greatest impact on student learning.

Anthony W. Leonard

Title: Executive Director of Elementary Schools

Previous job: elementary principal from 2004-2014 (Prince William County)

Career highlights: I advanced Kerrydale Elementary School from the second-lowest performing, non-accredited elementary school (ranking 67 out of 69) to one of the top performing, fully accredited Title I elementary schools. … won Virginia Board of Education Rising Star Award in Prince William County in 2010, the 2012 Virginia Board of Education VIP Competence to Excellence Award, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 School of Excellence Award.

Education: West Virginia Institute of Technology, bachelor’s; George Mason, master’s; Virginia Tech, doctorate

Why you came to Richmond: My education experiences include serving all socio-economic groups. I have been a product of the lower socio-economic groups we serve in RPS and have discovered a way to level the playing field for all students by enhancing their success.

What you hope to accomplish this year: Support all elementary schools in achieving accreditation and meeting all Annual Measurable Objectives.

Timothy L. Mallory Sr.

Title: Chief of Safety and Security

Previous job: security manager, Chesterfield County Schools, 2007-14

Career highlights: Served as the Southeast Regional Director of the National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officials Association, Project Director for the Emergency Response and Crisis Management and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grants, Norfolk Public Schools and the Project Director for the Readiness and Emergency Management and COPS Grants for Chesterfield County Public Schools.

Education: University of Maine, associate’s degree; Saint Leo University, bachelor’s; Regent University, master’s

Why you came to Richmond: I am a native of Richmond and a product of Richmond Public Schools. What a great opportunity to give back to a community and school district of which I am a product. To bring my talents and experiences to support the students and staff in providing a safer school environment and to also be a part of a great school security department.

What you hope to accomplish this year: To complete security assessments of all schools and provide recommendations to the superintendent. Identify staff development opportunities for security specialists. The School Security Department will continue to build relationships with community stakeholders and work closely with Family and Community Engagement/Truancy Officers.

Abe E. Jeffers

Title: Executive Director of Secondary Schools

Previous job: High school principal, Fairfax County Public Schools

Career highlights: Trained as a science teacher, I have taught physics, earth science, physical science and chemistry to students in Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio and Maryland. I taught seven years and worked nine as a high school administrator in Fairfax County, two years as an administrator in Southwestern City Schools (Ohio), and four years as an administrator in Oneida Special School District (Tennessee). I have completed the National Institute for School Leaders (NISL) Executive Development Program and am a certified facilitator. I have served on many local division and school task forces, and completed a three-year term on the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals Board of Directors.

Education: University of Tennessee, bachelor’s; University of Virginia, master’s; Ohio State, doctoral course work

Why you came to Richmond: To help build a better district.

What you hope to accomplish this year: Develop procedural and organizational practices in teacher evaluation and feedback; shift the registration/master schedule work so it is complete prior to students and teachers leaving for the summer; focus our work on instruction and student learning; facilitate principal collaboration.

Andrea M. Kane

Title: Associate Superintendent of Academic Services

Previous job: associate superintendent for school performance, Anne Arundel, Md.

Career highlights: Prior to joining RPS, Ms. Kane dedicated 23 years of service to Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She held a multitude of instructional roles including computer technologist, classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, senior manager for elementary school improvement, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and associate superintendent for school performance.

Education: Sweet Briar College, bachelor’s; Loyola College, Maryland, master’s; North Central University, pursuing doctorate

Why you came to Richmond: I wanted to serve an urban population. I also wanted to build my own professional capacity by shadowing and learning from a results-focused, systems-oriented leader, Dana T. Bedden.

What you hope to accomplish this year: Building teacher and administrator capacity centered on teaching and learning. I am leading a team that will create the district’s Academic Improvement Plan. The plan will address four domains: early childhood education, capacity building for RPS instructional staff, review of RPS resources and programs, and development and implementation of instructional monitoring plans. Research and experience support the notion that quality instructional programs for our youngest and most fragile learners must be a priority. Over time, we will significantly decrease academic challenges that are often observed later in the middle and high school years. Included in the plan is a proposal to increase the amount of time for professional development for teachers.

Kavansa Gardner

Title: Executive Director of Information Communication and Technology Services

Previous job: senior applications developer and project manager at several companies, including Alfa Laval Industries, AMF Reece and ECK Supply Corp.

Career highlights: Executive director of Information Communication and Technology Services at Richmond Public Schools. In this role, I’m responsible for the day-to-day operations of technology including, but not limited to, networking, user services telecommunications and other information technology functions of RPS. I’ve been with Richmond Public Schools for 12 years, beginning as an applications developer and project manager. I was promoted to director of Information Technology in 2007.

Education: Virginia State, bachelor’s; Virginia Commonwealth University, master’s

Why you came to Richmond: I want to make a difference in the lives of inner-city school children by reducing the digital divide.

What you hope to accomplish this year: This year we hope to complete the deployment of our new student information systems, upgrade our virtual environment, increase the capabilities of our network filtering system and increase wireless reach in our schools. Also, we want to improve the overall technology infrastructure throughout the district.

Ralph Westbay

Title: Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services

Previous job: executive director of Finance & Technology, New Kent County Public Schools

Career highlights: director of finance for Petersburg Public Schools, assistant superintendent for finance for Chesterfield County, executive director of Finance & Technology for New Kent County Public Schools.

Education: University of Northern Colorado, bachelor’s; Virginia Commonwealth University, master’s

Why you came to Richmond: I was inspired by Bedden’s strong leadership skills and I wanted to be part of the team to help make a difference by improving the quality of education outcomes for the youth of the city.

What you hope to accomplish this year: The goal for this year is to develop a strong financial services team that supports the mission of educating every child of this city by maximizing the value of the dollar in a transparent, accountable manner that engenders the trust and support of the citizens through our stewardship.

Thomas Kranz

Title: Assistant Superintendent for Support Services

Previous job: private industry

Career highlights: Served 10 years with Okaloosa County School District in Florida as assistant superintendent and chief operation officer and in the Hamilton County School District in Tennessee as assistant superintendent and chief financial officer

Education: University of New Orleans, bachelor’s

Why you came to Richmond: I was interested in the opportunity to return to public sector where I felt I could do the most good.

What you hope to accomplish this year: For the entire operations team to improve the delivery of our services with an emphasis on customer service.

zreid@timesdispatch.com

(804) 775-8179

GOOD NEWS TODAY: Teach for America NOT Coming to Richmond

My phone messages and e-mail have exploded with messages from Richmond teachers and professors charged with educating our next generation of teachers, all of whom who are thrilled to learn that the controversial "Teach for America" program will NOT be coming to Richmond Public Schools. Style Weekly has the scoop, click here to READ MORE.

As one professor aptly put it: "Our kids need stability, not some do-gooder wannabe teachers offering little more than 'face-time' before they return to college to get their MBAs or whatever ... "

Can't Help But Wonder What Was on the Menu ...

Digital Journalist's Legal Guide

http://i.imgur.com/f1p3isu.png

Welcome to the Reporters Committee's Digital Journalist's Legal Guide.

If you are gathering and disseminating news and information in any medium, this guide is for you. It will be as useful to bloggers as to a staff reporter at a national newspaper.

Please note: This site is meant to help educate you about your rights, and is not meant to be taken as legal advice from an attorney or a substitute for direct consultation with an attorney. The Reporters Committee can usually help journalists, traditional or digital, find an attorney in your jurisdiction when you are sued or arrested. In such cases, contact our hotline for help.

This guide is arranged by the legal topics below, which will also always be on the menu to the left. Please pick a topic to start:

Gathering news and getting information:

Open records & meetings (FOIA)

Are you having trouble getting access to information from federal, state or local governments? Do you need to follow the latest on how privacy and national security issues are affecting access?

Access to courts

Are you being kept out of a judicial proceeding, or denied access to court documents? Do you need to contest a sealing order that has placed newsworthy information off-limits?

Newsgathering (Access to places)

Have you been stopped by police while covering a news story? Have you been kept out of a news scene because you've been denied credentials? Do you have other issues and concerns related to official interference with your right to gather news and information?

Protecting and defending your work:

Sources and Subpoenas (Reporter's Privilege)

Have you been served with a subpoena? Is someone demanding that you reveal a source, or provide what you feel is protected newsgathering information? Do you have a question about the reporter's privilege -- the right not to be compelled to testify or reveal sources in court?

Libel

Is someone threatening to sue you over what you've written, or claiming that what you printed is not true? Do you have a question about libel cases or related issues, like anti-SLAPP laws and the fair report privilege?

Invasion of Privacy

Are you worried about how to present what may be personal yet newsworthy details in a news story? Do you have a question about other privacy claims, like intrusion upon seclusion and publication of private facts?

Knowing the legal restrictions:

Government Censorship (Prior restraints)

Has a court ordered you not to print information that you lawfully obtained, ornot to report what you heard in open court?

Content Regulation

Are you being threatened with revocation of a domain name? Do you need to know what the FCC and FTC are doing to regulate the Internet? Need to know how the "fair use" exception to copyright law works? Have you been told to take down something from your site for copyright reasons? Or, has someone else taken your work without permission?

TRUANCY: A LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE

Consider:

The 2004 case of Justin Creech. Justin was a 15-year-old student at Thomas Jefferson High School who was stabbed to death by another TJ student in the middle of the day at Broad Street and Malvern Avenue. Both boys were truant.
The 2012 case of Antonio I. Shands Jr. Antonio was days from graduation at Huguenot High School when City of Richmond truancy officers engaged in a high speed chase of a carload of students they suspected of being truant. That chase resulted in Antonio's death. (One of the other consequences of that tragic scene was that members of Mayor Dwight Jones' staff and City Truancy officials realized that they had not received proper training nor were they legally designated truancy officers).
A Richmond Times-Dispatch story noted: "In an email June 1 to School Board members, a copy of which was obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond school officials said Shands and other Huguenot students in the car had been caught skipping school by truancy officers.
Initial reports indicate that these individuals were observed by city truancy officers at Pony Pasture during a truancy sweep this morning. Once these individuals sighted truancy officers, they fled in a vehicle, subsequently being involved in a car accident. "

Their (Still) Cheating Hearts

Save Our Schools: School Report Cards: Beware Their Cheating ...

Dec 06, 2012

The School Report Cards on the VDOE Web site provide a lot of data but no way to compare schools or divisions except to copy the data out of the individual reports (Can you spell "pain"?). Recently, however, they put up a ...

http://saveourschools-getrealrichmond.blogspot.com/

Save Our Schools: Beware Their Cheating Hearts

Mar 29, 2010

Beware Their Cheating Hearts. (Originally posted 6/21/2009, Revised 3/28/2010). Time was when teachers and school administrators had to concern themselves with the possibility of children cheating on tests. Nowadays, it is the other way ...

http://saveourschools-getrealrichmond.blogspot.com/

A remembrance of things past ...

Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond involved two different decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States. In Bradley I (1973), more properly known as School Board, City of Richmond v. State Board of Education, the Court summarily affirmed a decision by the Fourth Circuit, which reversed an early order calling for an interdistrict remedy to eliminate school segregation.

In the second case, Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond (1972, 1974), which became known as Bradley II when it reached the Supreme Court, the Court upheld an award of attorney fees to the plaintiff parents.

Bradley I was the result of extensive litigation to bring about the desegregation of the schools in Richmond, Virginia. The Fourth Circuit affirmed that an interdistrict remedy was inappropriate.

Chesterfield and Henrico counties, which were adjacent to the city of Richmond, challenged a federal trial court’s joining them to the suit in order to effectuate a unitary school system.

The Fourth Circuit began by noting that in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1972), the Supreme Court limited the remedies that the judiciary could use to achieve unitary systems.

The court pointed out that previously, the board agreed that its freedom of choice plan to desegregate the schools was insufficient to achieve its goal.

In addition, a federal trial court ruled that the third plan, an interdistrict remedy developed by the city, would eliminate racially identifiable schools to the extent possible in the city. Subsequently, the adjoining counties were added to the suit.

As part of its judgment, the Fourth Circuit reviewed research on the percentages of Black and White students in each school that would have indicated the achievement of a unitary system.

The court thus observed that joining the neighboring counties to the Richmond district would have been tantamount to imposing a quota by limiting the number of spots at some schools available to minority children.

At the same time, the court could not uncover any evidence that the establishment of the school district lines 100 years earlier was racially motivated.

Also, the court found no evidence of an interaction among the districts to keep the adjoining school systems White by confining Black students to Richmond.

The Fourth Circuit ruled that requiring the consolidation of the three school systems would have ignored Virginia’s history and traditions with regard to the establishment and operation of schools.

The court thought that such action would also have invalidated legislative acts that created the public school structure currently in place in Virginia.

If the court were to ignore the history and tradition that created the public school system in Virginia,

then the court feared that it would create budgeting and financing nightmares.

Further, the court examined the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the states the authority to structure their internal governance, including schools. Absent evidence of a constitutional violation in the establishment of the school districts, the Fourth Circuit maintained that remedy was beyond the authority of the trial court.

The vestiges of segregation, in the opinion of the circuit court, had been eliminated in the City of Richmond. An equally divided Supreme Court affirmed in a one sentence per curiam order.

Bradley II came about as the result of an award of attorneys’ fees. The trial court had awarded the plaintiffs attorney fees for the costs they incurred in the litigation. However, the Fourth Circuit reversed in favor of the school board. While Bradley II was pending, Congress enacted Section 718 of the Emergency School Aid Act as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.

This amendment allowed the award of attorneys’ fees when appropriate in desegregation cases.

Under this law, courts can apply the law as it exists at the time that they render judgments, even if infractions occur before relevant statutes come into effect, as long as doing so would not result in injustice or violate the laws involved.

When Bradley II reached the Supreme Court, the justices noted that a reading of the act’s legislative history seemed to allow an award of attorney fees in this situation. In fact, the Court noted that since 1968, the board had been remiss in its duty to create a unitary school system.

To this end, the Court decided that it was pertinent that the board was aware that it could have been liable for attorney fees. Therefore, the Court reasoned that Section 718 allowed the award of attorney fees when it is appropriate to do so pursuant to the entry of a final order in a school desegregation case.

The Court explained that fees could be awarded for the services that attorneys provided before the law was enacted where the propriety of a fee award was pending resolution on appeal. The Court added that the award was appropriate, because it was not necessary for a fee award to be made simultaneously with entry of a desegregation order.

Bradley I and II illustrate that because it took a long time for school boards to realize that they had a duty to effectuate unitary school systems in an expeditious manner, those that failed to do so were liable to pay the costs of litigation.

Aside from the historical interest, it is worth noting that deliberate acts by school boards to delay remedying segregation when complying with known legal requirements can result in the unnecessary expenditure of funds for legal fees and awards of attorney fees.

~ J. Patrick Mahon

This was Oliver W. Hill's Favorite Frederick Douglass Speech

Danny Glover performing Frederick Douglass' "What Does the Fourth of July Mean to the Slave?"

(Click on the text above to hear the speech performed).

Ten years before the Civil War, the city of Rochester, N.Y., asked Frederick Douglass to speak for its July 4, 1852, celebration. He accepted, but rather than join in the "celebration," Douglass took it in an unexpected direction. Here, Danny Glover performs a brilliant retelling of that speech.

If you recall, Douglass was a freed slave who educated himself and became a noted writer, orator, and social reformer. At 1:09, he suggests why the idea of a freed slave speaking at such an event was...well...weird. At 2:22, there's a great bit about the "blessings" that all free people had but slaves did not. At 3:43, he really nails the rising sentiment of abolitionists at the time.

If We Build It ...

From the Virginia Code: § 22.1-140.

Plans for buildings to be approved by division superintendent. No public school building or addition or alteration thereto, for either permanent or temporary use, shall be advertised for bid, contracted for, erected, or otherwise acquired until the plans and specifications therefore have been approved in writing by the division superintendent and are accompanied by a statement by an architect or professional engineer licensed by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects that such plans and specifications are, in his professional opinion and belief, in compliance with the regulations of the Board of Education and the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The division superintendent's approval, architect's or engineer's statement, and a copy of the final plans and specifications shall be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(Code 1950, §§ 22-97, 22-152, 22-153; 1954, cc. 257, 291; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 79, § 1; 1968, c. 501; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 161; 1975, cc. 308, 328; 1978, c. 430; 1980, c. 559; 1991, c. 550; 1993, c. 227; 1998, c. 27.)

Dull Hatchet Job

By John R. Butcher

The RT-D on Dec. 21 published a hit job on Richmond School Board member Kimberly Gray. The piece is based on a really sloppy hatchet job by Ron Broadbent, who appears to be on the staff of the Darden Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education at UVa.

Broadbent’s report is a three-page cover memo to LeAnn Buntrock, Executive Director of the Partnersip, with eleven short memos, each two pages or so, summarizing Richmond School Board meetings during 2010 and one longer memo gushing over the school board’s retreat at Darden on May 21-22.

The RT-D story focuses on Broadbent’s criticism of Gray “who was cited for speaking out and not following protocol during meetings.” The story overlooks the much juicier content in Broadbent’s report.

Who is this Broadbent?

Broadbent’s reports all are directed to the Darden Curry Partnership but neither the Darden faculty directory nor the University’s People Search lists Broadbent.

Broadbent’s cover memo tells us that he is a “former public school educator with over thirty years of experience, twenty-four of which were in administration.” Whatever that experience may have been, it did not leave Broadbent a friend of the Mother Tongue. For example he says:

Warning: Do not read this if you already have a headache:

· James Pughsley in January of 2007 [et al] are examples of where they (sic) board had training on how to be a more effective board . . .

· One of the most positive aspects of the Richmond Public School Board meetings is when . . .

· The board spent 25% of the meeting hearing a final presentation on the proposed budget for 2010-2011, discussing and voting on.

· Ms. Gray voted against the measure sighting (sic) the need for public comment and input.

· Further more, it would appear to be a violation of school board policy and protocol in my opinion.

· By a 5-4 vote, the school board voted to approve an alternative sight (sic) for the Patrick Henry Charter School . . . .

· The board spent 91% of its time . . . on matters related to the Balanced Scorecard. This is the highest percentage in quite sometime.

Perhaps it is a good thing Broadbent got out of teaching and went into administration, where his illiteracy wouldn’t directly harm the kids.

What did he actually say?

As reported in the RT-D, Broadbent criticized Gray repeatedly for speaking out. For example, regarding the August 16, 2010 meeting, Broadbent reports:

Ms. Gray continues to attempt to dominate with her numerous comments and personal opinions on practically every agenda item. Towards the end of the meeting so as to keep the board on task and be able to vote on the “consent agenda”, (comma sic) [Chairman] Bridges had to request of Ms. Gray that she end her comments and questions.

Read that carefully, please: Gray is being assertive (bad!) while the Chairman is not doing her job (no comment!).

Again, regarding the 8/2/10 meeting, Broadbent criticizes Gray for speaking “five different times regarding the audit and four times during the discussion of the A.D.A. report.” He neglects to mention that the Chairman allowed this.

In a related vein, Broadbent chastises Gray & Murdoch-Kitt for voting against the budget on Feb. 16: “By its 7-2 vote, the board did not present itself as a unified/cohesive board with respect to the proposed 2010-2011 budget.”

Then Broadbent praises the board for its deportment on May 3 in the 5-4 vote on the temporary Patrick Henry relocation (Bridges, Gray, Murdoch-Kitt, Scott, & Coleman voting aye; Page, Smith, Wilson, & Henderson, nay). As to the latter meeting he reports: “Concerns: None.” Apparently “no” votes by Page, Smith, Wilson, & Henderson are fine but those by Gray and Murdoch-Kitt demonstrate a lack of cohesion.

Conclusions

1. Broadbent’s reports broadcast both his biases and his inability to tell a straight story, not to mention his distant acquaintance with the English language.

2. Kudos to the Times-Dispatch for posting the Broadbent reports that it so badly misreported.

3. Great Praise to Kim Gray for standing up to the school board that is wasting tens of millions of dollars every year.

VGLA Math Participation Rates/Richmond Public Schools 2009-2010

Bellevue Elementary 76%

Overby-Sheppard Elementary 70%

Oak Grove/Bellemeade Elementary 67%

Woodville Elementary 65%

George W. Carver Elementary 61%

George Mason Elementary 56%

Lucille M. Brown Middle 55%

Ginter Park Elementary 52%

Blackwell Elementary 50%

Henderson Middle 50%

Albert Hill Middle 48%

Binford Middle 46%

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle 45%

Chimborazo Elementary 45%

Thomas C. Boushall Middle 41%

Fred D. Thompson Middle 40%

Westover Hills Elementary 40%

Fairfield Court Elementary 40%

Miles Jones Elementary 39%

Clark Springs Elementary 38%

G.H. Reid Elementary 36%

Summer Hill/Ruffin Road Elementary 35%

Amelia Street Special Education 34%

J.L. Francis Elementary 33%

John B. Cary Elementary 32%

Broad Rock Elementary 30%

Elkhardt Middle 30%

E.S.H. Greene Elementary 26%

Southampton Elementary 25%

Maymont Elementary 24%

J.E.B. Stuart Elementary 23%

Swansboro Elementary 22%

Linwood Holton Elementary 20%

J.B. Fisher Elementary 15%

Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary 14%

Mary Munford Elementary 11%

Source: Virginia Department of Education

VGLA Reading Participation Rates 2009-2010

Overby-Sheppard Elementary 75%

Woodville Elementary 75%

Bellevue Elementary 68%

Blackwell Elementary 68%

George Mason Elementary 68%

Oak Grove/Bellemeade Elementary 67%

George W. Carver Elementary 67%

Clark Springs Elementary 59%

Lucille M. Brown Middle 55%

Miles Jones Elementary 52%

Fairfield Court Elementary 52%

G.H. Reid Elementary 52%

Chimborazo Elementary 51%

Thomas C. Boushall Middle 50%

Albert Hill Middle 49%

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle 48%

Ginter Park Elementary 47%

Henderson Middle 47%

Westover Hills Elementary 44%

Binford Middle 43%

John B. Cary Elementary 42%

Swansboro Elementary 41%

Summer Hill/Ruffin Road Elementary 41%

J.L. Francis Elementary 39%

J.E.B. Stuart Elementary 39%

Linwood Holton Elementary 38%

Fred D. Thompson Middle 37%

Amelia Street Special Education 37%

Broad Rock Elementary 36%

E.S.H. Greene Elementary 35%

Elkhardt Middle 31%

Southampton Elementary 31%

Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary 24%

Maymont Elementary 24%

Mary Munford Elementary 17%

J.B. Fisher Elementary 6%

William Fox Elementary 0%

Source: Virginia Department of Education

Girl Scouts ...

Virginians with Disabilities Act (VDA)

In the 1980's, sixty-four disability organizations formed a coalition known as INVEST (INsure Virginians Equal Status Today) to accomplish passage of the Virginians with Disabilities Act (VDA). This landmark civil rights legislation declared the state's commitment to support and encourage persons with disabilities to participate fully in the social and economic life of the Commonwealth. It preceded the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by five years, and is considered by many to be the model for the federal legislation that created the ADA.

Signed in 1985 by former Gov. Charles S. Robb, the law was a landmark in the protection against discrimination in employment, housing, education, voting transportation and access to public accommodations.

Today, the Virginians With Disabilities Act protects nearly one million state residents.

The act declared "it is the policy of this Commonwealth to encourage and enable persons with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the social and economic life of the Commonwealth and to engage in remunerative employment". The Act protected Virginians with disabilities from discrimination under any state program or activity, by employers in hiring and promotion, by educational institutions receiving state funds, in the use of public places and in places of public accommodation, in housing, and in the exercise of the right to vote.

Dare to Ask Why the Richmond School Board Refuses to Let This Happen Here

We live in a nation in which one out of every four African-American males will either be incarcerated, institutionalized or dead before they are 21 years old. Our city school system continues to suspend and expel far more students than it graduates. Yet, our elected leaders refuse all efforts to open their minds to the possibility that we can -- and must -- do better for the sake of all our children and our city.

As you read the Chicago Tribune story, please know that the members of the Richmond School Board, Supt. Yvonne Brandon, Mayor Dwight Jones, the Legislative Black Caucus and the Crusade for Voters are all absolutely opposed to charter schools -- which means that as long as this mindset prevails, Richmonders cannot ever hope to share in the success that these students in Chicago recently experienced.

I hope you will dare to ask them to re-think their positions. How many more generations must be sacrificed because adults cannot act in the best interests of our children?

And, remember the immortal words of Robert F. Kennedy:

"If we fail to dare, if we do not try, the next generation will harvest the fruit of our indifference; a world we did not want - a world we did not choose - but a world we could have made better ...."

Courage Under Fire & Suspensions of Disbelief ...

Two members of the Richmond School Board struck a blow to help dismantle the "School-to-Prison Pipeline" when they voted June 15th against the pro forma acceptance of the RPS Code of Conduct.

By their votes, Adria Graham-Scott (4th District) and vice-chair, Kimberly B. Gray (2nd District), each demonstrated "Courage Under Fire" to stand up to -- and apart from their colleagues -- on behalf of RPS children.

The good news is that the RPS School Board, thanks to a change in state law effective July 1, will no longer be able to suspend students for tardiness or truancy.

High fives to Richmond Free Press reporter, Danny C. Yates, who kept the group honest when some members postured that the action originated with the RPS Board.

"The new suspension policy is the only major change from last year's Standards of Conduct. Some members hoped for additional revisions," reported Yates in the most recent edition of the Richmond Free Press.

Indeed. Change is needed.

RPS' excessive use of school suspensions and abusive zero-tolerance policies are well-documented -- thanks to the hard work of Style Weekly reporter Chris Dovi and Style's editor, Scott Bass.

Click here to read about how RPS suspends far more students -- by 10,000 -- than the Washington, D.C. public schools do. Although the D.C. public schools have 46,000 students — nearly twice Richmond’s enrollment -- only 2,245 children were suspended last year, here to read Jason Roop's excellent article detailing the "how and why" CCP (Community Education Partners) came to be in Richmond and why RPS needs to re-think its zero-tolerance disciplinary policy.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

If

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City Hall renovations: $54 million in 15 years
Date: August 29, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
On several occasions, Richmond officials have considered building a new City Hall to avoid costly renovations. By choosing to stay in the towering structure on East Broad Street, the city has had to budget about $54 million for the building to cover repairs and renovations during the past 15 years.
Many of the decisions to spend heavily on City Hall upkeep were made by officials long gone from office. But the current crop of political leaders is now faced with the question of how much...

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After Richmond spends millions on City Hall, renovation focus turns to schools
Date: August 28, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
On several occasions, Richmond officials have considered building a new City Hall to avoid costly renovations. By choosing to stay in the towering structure on East Broad Street, the city has had to budget about $54 million for the building to cover repairs and renovations during the past 15 years.
Many of the decisions to spend heavily on City Hall upkeep were made by officials long gone from office. But the current crop of political leaders is now faced with the question of how much...

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Search result 150 of 1006

Mayor's diversion won't help city schools Author: Staff Writer
Date: August 22, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
OPINION
"I don'twant the distraction of poor building maintenance to keep us from focusing on teaching our children and maximizing the potential of every last child in the city of Richmond," Mayor Dwight C. Jones said Monday.
The late-summer jab at the school district - in response to its report listing $35 million in immediate maintenance needs - could hardly have been more off the mark.
With all due respect, poor building maintenance is more than a "distraction" to the...

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Richmond City Council vote could close loophole that aided Skins deal Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: March 23, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The loophole in city law that Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration used to help secure a major sponsor for the Washington Redskins training camp last fall would be closed under a proposed ordinance that cleared a City Council committee Tuesday.
The ordinance would amend city code “for the purpose of providing that revenues from the sale, lease or other use of former school properties be set aside for the construction of new public school facilities or for the operations of the...

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Williams: RMA deal falls apart amid dysfunction
Date: March 15, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
“At the first of a series of neighborhood rallies, it was proposed that the county residents boycott all city-owned facilities and city-sponsored events, such as concerts, lectures and sporting events.” — reaction to a 1972 plan to consolidate the Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico school districts, from Robert Pratt’s “The Color of Their Skin“
“The city can have it.” — RMA board member Charles Richard White of Chesterfield, regarding The Diamond in Wednesday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch...

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Search result 265 of 1006

City’s elected, appointed school boards find common ground in balanced budget Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: March 5, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond School Board got a vote of approval Monday that would have seemed highly unlikely a year ago.
On a unanimous vote near the end of a morning meeting in City Hall, Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ Schools Accountability and Efficiency Review Task Force offered its support of the balanced budget the city School Board passed last week.
The group also pledged to ask Jones to look for additional money for at least two school needs: financially rewarding staff members, who are finishing...

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Upcoming Public Meetings Author: Staff Writer
Date: March 4, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Monday
Richmond City Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 900 E. Broad St. On the agenda is a measure to set March 12 as the date for Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ submission of the proposed budget to council. A resolution that would reverse the decision of the city’s Commission of Architectural Review on the appropriateness of vinyl windows for a house at 2916 Monument Ave. is also on the agenda.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C....

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Search result 267 of 1006

Chesterfield board receives update on Hull Street revitalization Author: JEREMY SLAYTON Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: February 7, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Could the joint Richmond-Chesterfield County project to revitalize a nearly 5-mile stretch of Hull Street Road be a sign of similar partnerships on the horizon?
One member of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors believes so.
“It is frankly too rare to see the jurisdictions coordinating a planning effort like this,” Midlothian District Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker said Wednesday. “We are better than some people think in the broader regional issues, and not as good at some of this...

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Search result 268 of 1006

Local News for Sunday, Author: Staff Writer
Date: January 27, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
State of the City, budget sessions set in Richmond
RICHMOND — Mayor Dwight C. Jones will deliver his State of the City address at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Richmond CenterStage’s Carpenter Theatre, 600 E. Grace St.
Jones, sworn in for a second term Jan. 12, has made overhauling the city’s public housing, combating poverty and spurring economic development major priorities.
Jones’ administration also has scheduled a series of public budget planning meetings over the next two weeks:...

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Search result 269 of 1006

Richmond expecting $11.5M schools deficit Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: January 22, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
It’s going to be another tough year for educators and students in the city of Richmond, with teachers and programs likely to be in the middle of an effort to close a budget gap of about $11.5 million.
Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon is due to present her budget for the next fiscal year to the School Board during its meeting today.
Before the budget had even been released, School Board Chairman Jeff M. Bourne offered a friendly but firm challenge, saying the board wasn’t likely to...

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Search result 270 of 1006

School Board requests help from city auditor Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: January 12, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond School Board has asked city auditor Umesh Dalal to complete a “base line” audit of the school system’s $320 million in annual spending, but the effort won’t likely be a duplication of a private review last year.
School Board Chairman Jeff M. Bourne delivered the request in a two-page letter sent to Dalal and several others Friday.
“This is a look fully and completely at how we do everything,” he said by telephone after the letter was delivered. “We’re not under any...

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Redskins deal passes after last-minute negotiations Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 27, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
After lengthy negotiations over the weekend and Monday secured concessions on schools funding in exchange for key votes, Richmond's City Council approved Mayor Dwight C. Jones' economic development package that will build a nearly $9 million training camp facility for the Washington Redskins and allow two major hospital expansions.
A list of "enhancements" to the deal, the fruit of hours of talks with council members who opposed the deal in its original form, were compiled into a...

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Search result 288 of 1006

Richmond mayor’s task force discusses initiating contact with new School Board Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond’s newly elected School Board should have a gentler introduction to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ school-reform style than the current board, but it shouldn’t expect the pleasantries to lead to a windfall of cash.
The mayor’s volunteer school finance reform task force spent nearly an hour Tuesday debating the best way to initiate contact with the School Board, which will feature seven newcomers among its nine members in January.
But City Council President Kathy Graziano, an...

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Search result 289 of 1006

Council passes resolution on Redskins deal Author: ROBERT ZULLO | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 12, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Over vocal opposition from West End residents, Richmond’s City Council tonight approved a broad resolution endorsing Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ proposed deal with Bon Secours Richmond Health System to build a nearly $9 million training camp for the Washington Redskins.
The proposed agreement with Bon Secours, announced last month, provides $6.4 million in sponsorship for the camp in exchange for a long-term, low-cost lease on the former Westhampton School property at Libbie and Patterson...

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Search result 306 of 1006

Jones: Progress, but also missteps Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: October 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
No one could accuse Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones of a lack of vision.
In the last year of his first term, the Baptist minister and former state delegate has laid out ambitious plans to dramatically transform the city's public-housing complexes, bring the Washington Redskins' summer training camp down Interstate 95 to a new home in the city and make the James River more accessible to residents, among other programs.
Those initiatives join the ongoing construction of a $134 million...

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Search result 365 of 1006

Residents ask Richmond City Council to give schools more funds Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: April 11, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Residents beseeched the Richmond City Council to meet the school system's request for an additional $23.8 million during a public hearing Tuesday night on the city budget.
A small but passionate procession of school employees, parents and other residents lined up to ask council members to "fully fund" Richmond Public Schools in the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The hearing came less than eight hours after a consulting group recommended steps, including staffing cuts and...

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Search result 366 of 1006

UPDATE: Mayor to finance new baseball stadium with debt savings Author: Times-Dispatch Staff Times-Dispatch
Date: March 2, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND, Va.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said today he will use interest rate savings from paying off old debts as debt service for the city's share of a new $50 million baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Jones said the city is using money repaid from an old loan to the Richmond Metropolitan Authority to pay off $26.1 million in debt at an average interest rate of 5 percent and allow the issuance of $36 million in debt at a lower rate, around 3 percent. The...

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Richmond picks builder for two schools Author: Will Jones
Date: September 15, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond's plans for two new elementary schools on South Side are back on track with a company that initially did not vie for the work.
Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced this week the selection of MB Contractors of Roanoke to build a new Broad Rock Elementary School and a new Oak Grove Elementary School for a combined $39.2 million. The 650-student schools are scheduled to open in January 2013 - four months later than planned - and they will be the city's first new public school buildings...

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Search result 382 of 1006

Mayor Jones: Mistakes made in Richmond jail-planning process Author: Will Jones
Date: September 12, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND
Acknowledging mistakes in its jail-planning process, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones' administration revealed Monday that it will seek relief from state design requirements for the facility.
"There have been some mistakes but, in a project of this size, it's not unnecessarily unnatural," Jones said in an interview, in which he insisted that the city's procurement process had not been compromised.
Citing new and ongoing concerns about the process, the City Council...

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Search result 383 of 1006

Hurricane briefs for Wednesday, Aug. 31 Author: Times-Dispatch Staff
Date: August 31, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond
Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Tuesday announced a free shuttle service to transport residents who are without power to operating grocery stores. The GRTC City Supermarket Shuttle will be free to the riders today.
"We want residents to have some ability to get the goods and products that they need that will keep in this environment while power is being restored," the mayor said in a statement.
Buses will board passengers at specific locations and transport them to nearby...

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Search result 384 of 1006

Michael Paul Williams: With redistricting, Richmond drawing new race issue Author: Michael Paul Williams
Date: July 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
An African-American member of the Richmond School Board would be redistricted into oblivion as part of an effort to preserve the black voting strength in a neighboring ward.
Under a draft redistricting plan, the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Kimberly Gray, the 2nd District representative on the School Board, would be absorbed into the majority-black 3rd District.
That's the same 3rd District that since 2004 has been represented by a white councilman and white School Board members. In...

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Search result 385 of 1006

Redistricting plan moves School Board member Author: Will Jones
Date: July 20, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond City Council is ready to seek public comment on a redistricting plan that would move School Board member Kimberly B. Gray out of her 2nd District and would not spread the city's large public-housing communities across more districts.
Protecting incumbents wasn't among the council's adopted criteria for redistricting, but the prospect of moving the western part of Jackson Ward and subsequently Gray into the 3rd District is expected to generate controversy.
"Everyone is...

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Search result 386 of 1006

Jones gets final report on Richmond redistricting Author: Will Jones
Date: July 7, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is welcoming but not yet endorsing three options for redistricting, including one that would overhaul the city's electoral map and reduce the number of voter districts from nine to as few as five.
On Wednesday, Jones accepted a final report from a committee appointed to make recommendations for redistricting in light of the city's 22 percent poverty rate and the concentrations of poor residents in the East End and South Side.
The City Council, which is...

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Search result 387 of 1006

RMA payout comes with a catch Author: Will Jones
Date: June 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond will have to wait another decade or longer to take ownership of the expressway system if it collects $60.3 million to settle a long-standing debt with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.
Because the city provided early financial support, portions of the toll-road system within the city limits are scheduled to revert to city ownership when the RMA's primary public debt of about $122 million is paid off.
That's now scheduled to occur in 2022, but the date would be pushed...

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Search result 388 of 1006

Two School Board members would shift districts under redistricting plans Author: Will Jones
Date: June 25, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Two members of the Richmond School Board would be drawn out of their districts under a pair of redistricting options that are being finalized by a committee appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
School Board member Kimberly B. Gray would be shifted in both scenarios from the 2nd District to the 3rd, while Maurice Henderson would be moved in one of the plans from the 5th to the 2nd.
Committee members emphasized in a meeting Friday that they had not considered the residency of City...

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Search result 389 of 1006

Ideas for $60.3 million windfall abound Author: Will Jones
Date: June 24, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Three members of the Richmond City Council credited Mayor Dwight C. Jones for negotiating a $60.3 million windfall for the city but made it clear that the council would have to sign off on any use of the money.
"The mayor deserves a lot of credit and congratulations for pulling this coup," Councilman E. Martin Jewell said Thursday. "But we are the governing body ... and it seems to me that we should have some ideas as well as the mayor for how those dollars should be spent."
Or used...

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Search result 390 of 1006

Panel ponders reducing districts in Richmond Author: Will Jones
Date: June 19, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond should consider reducing its number of voter districts from the current nine to seven or five as a way to help tackle the poverty that plagues the city, according to an unfinished report of a commission appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
One longer-term option being suggested would involve changing the city charter and redrawing from scratch the voter districts, which grew out of a 1970 annexation fight that created Richmond's ward system.
The draft report says the purpose...

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you have a child with a disability, your child is entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This page has articles, law, cases, books, and other resources about FAPE.

You should also review information about these topics: IEPs, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE),Extended School Year (ESY), Evaluations, Tests, and Retention & Social Promotion.

Who is Responsible for Providing FAPE?

In this article, you will learn about the "free, appropriate public education " (FAPE) your child is entitled to under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, who is responsible for providing a free, appropriate public education and how it is delivered. You will also learn strategies you can use if you have a disagreement with your child's IEP team.

How Can I Get the School to Provide an Appropriate Program? Read one parent's journey from emotion to advocacy as she lobbies for the services her son needs.

High-Stakes! Can the School Use a Single Test to Retain My Child?

Should I Allow the School Retain My Child?

Advice to a parent's frequently asked questions about retention - generally, it is not a good idea.

To Promote or Retain? Summary of research on retention which shows that retention is not an appropriate intervention for children who have academic delays.

Homebound Services: Two Hours a Week = FAPE? The IEP controls the services, regardless of where they are delivered - at home or in the public school.

When a School Refuses to Protect a Child with Life-Threatening Allergies. A complaint filed alleging that the child on the basis of her disabilities, was denied a free and appropriate public education that addressed her needs, and failed to ensure a safe educational environment.

Individualized Instruction is Not One-Size-Fits All. You are right. A program the school considers “good”may not be adequate for every child, depending on the child’s needs.The bottom line is the child has a right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

What Does "swine flu" Have to do with FAPE? Guidance from US Dept of Education addresses the obligations of, and best practices for, state agencies and local schools with regard to the requirements for providing FAPE for children with disabilities when planning for an H1N1 outbreak.

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Articles about FAPE

Accommodations and Modifications. Some children with disabilities need accommodations and modifications in their special education programs. This 4 page printer-friendly article defines accommodations and modifications and gives examples for books, curriculum, instruction, assignments, and behavior.

Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities: Requirements Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Rev. September 2007). This pamphlet answers the following questions about FAPE: Who is entitled to a free appropriate public education? How is an appropriate education defined? How is a free education defined?Evans v. Rhinebeck: Your Roadmap to FAPE. How do judges determine if a child is receiving FAPE? Learn about procedural and substantive issues, educational benefit, and how to use test scores to show educational benefit.

FAPE? Ohio Child Entitled to an Education That is Appropriate -- and Free. What is FAPE? Court of Appeals says child entitled to appropriate education that is also free; orders district to reimburse parents for child's tuition at private school.

Garret F: Congress Intended to Open Door to All Qualified Children. U. S. Supreme Court decision clarifies that schools must provide related services when necessary for children to attend school.

IDEA Requirements: Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) & FAPE. The IDEA includes two fundamental requirements: that the child receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). What does least restrictive environment mean? What is mainstreaming?

Loving Parents Want What's Best for Child - But Schools Only Need to Provide FAPE. Learn why you cannot use words like "best" or "maximizing potential" in discussions with school staff; article includes Four Rules About FAPE.

Reexamining Rowley: A New Focus in Special Education Law. Attorney Scott Johnson argues that the "some educational benefit" standard in Rowley no longer reflects the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. State standards and educational adequacy requirements provide requirements of FAPE; these standards exceed the "some educational benefit" benchmark. This requires a fundamental change in how courts, school districts, and parents view special education services.

Unilateral Graduation & Compensatory Education: Kevin T. v. Elmhurst. Court finds that school district did not provide a FAPE, attempted to unilaterally graduate child, orders compensatory education.

Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate & Attorney. Because FAPE describes a program that is designed to meet the child's unique needs and from which the child receiveseducational benefit, you need to understand test scores and what your child's test scores mean.

The Untold Story - Florence County School District IV v. Shannon Carter. The inside story of the Shannon Carter case from due process, appeals, to oral argument before the U. S. Supreme Court.

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From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide

Our advocacy book, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide, 2nd Edition , is published by Harbor House Law Press. Use the links below to preview the book. To order

Introduction	Getting Started - Chapter 1
Reviews	SMART IEPs - Chapter 12
Skim Book	Complete Table of Contents

Legal Definition of FAPE

The legal concept of “FAPE” is shorthand for “free, appropriate public education.” You will find FAPE defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at 20 U. S. C. § 1401(3)(A)(9) (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 51) and in the Code of Federal Regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 300.17 (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 196).

In a nutshell, FAPE is an individualized educational program that is designed to meet the child'sunique needs and from which the child receives educational benefit, and prepares them for further education, employment, and independent living.

How can you tell if your child is receiving educational benefit? If you compare the child's educational achievement test scores over time, you will know if your child is receiving educational benefit.

For more information about educational benefit and test results, download, print and study Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate and Attorney.
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Caselaw About FAPE (more caselaw about FAPE & IEPs)

Bd. Ed. Hendrick Hudson Sch. Dist. v. Amy Rowley The first special education decision from the U. S. Supreme Court in 1982 defines FAPE.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights v. Sommer Boss (6th Cir. 1998). School ignores red flags, does not offer an IEP, child placed in private school, parents entitled to reimbursement.Evans v. Rhinebeck (S.D. NY 1996). Learn about FAPE for child with dyslexia; substantive and procedural issues, educational benefit. Includes excellent discussion of IEP goals and objectives.

Kevin T. v. Elmhurst Comm. School Dist. (N.D. IL 2002) Witness credibility, failure to review and revise IEP goals and objectives, regression of skills, assistive technology, statewide assessments, transition plans, unilateral graduation, and compensatory education as a remedy when a school district fails to provide a FAPE.

T. R. v. Kingwood Township (NJ) (3rd Cir. 2000) Clarifies requirement to provide a "free appropriate education (FAPE)" in the "least restrictive environment, meaningful benefit, continuum of placements.
Walczak v. Florida Union Free School Dist. (2nd Cir. 1998). Loving parents want what's best for child but school need only provide an appropriate education
.

Books about Special Education Law, NCLB & Advocacy

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition (ISBN 978-1-892320-16-2) by Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright is published by Harbor House Law Press, Inc.
Available as a print book/e-book combo.
Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide (ISBN 978-1-892320-09-4) by Pam and Pete Wright is published by Harbor House Law Press. The book is supplemented by theFrom Emotions to Advocacy website.
Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind (ISBN: 978-1-892320-12-4) by Peter W. D. Wright, Pamela Darr Wright and Suzanne Whitney Heath is published by Harbor House Law Press; includes the No Child Left Behind CD-ROM.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

If

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City Hall renovations: $54 million in 15 years
Date: August 29, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
On several occasions, Richmond officials have considered building a new City Hall to avoid costly renovations. By choosing to stay in the towering structure on East Broad Street, the city has had to budget about $54 million for the building to cover repairs and renovations during the past 15 years.
Many of the decisions to spend heavily on City Hall upkeep were made by officials long gone from office. But the current crop of political leaders is now faced with the question of how much...

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Search result 149 of 1006

After Richmond spends millions on City Hall, renovation focus turns to schools
Date: August 28, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
On several occasions, Richmond officials have considered building a new City Hall to avoid costly renovations. By choosing to stay in the towering structure on East Broad Street, the city has had to budget about $54 million for the building to cover repairs and renovations during the past 15 years.
Many of the decisions to spend heavily on City Hall upkeep were made by officials long gone from office. But the current crop of political leaders is now faced with the question of how much...

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Search result 150 of 1006

Mayor's diversion won't help city schools Author: Staff Writer
Date: August 22, 2014
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
OPINION
"I don'twant the distraction of poor building maintenance to keep us from focusing on teaching our children and maximizing the potential of every last child in the city of Richmond," Mayor Dwight C. Jones said Monday.
The late-summer jab at the school district - in response to its report listing $35 million in immediate maintenance needs - could hardly have been more off the mark.
With all due respect, poor building maintenance is more than a "distraction" to the...

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Search result 263 of 1006

Richmond City Council vote could close loophole that aided Skins deal Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: March 23, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The loophole in city law that Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration used to help secure a major sponsor for the Washington Redskins training camp last fall would be closed under a proposed ordinance that cleared a City Council committee Tuesday.
The ordinance would amend city code “for the purpose of providing that revenues from the sale, lease or other use of former school properties be set aside for the construction of new public school facilities or for the operations of the...

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Search result 264 of 1006

Williams: RMA deal falls apart amid dysfunction
Date: March 15, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
“At the first of a series of neighborhood rallies, it was proposed that the county residents boycott all city-owned facilities and city-sponsored events, such as concerts, lectures and sporting events.” — reaction to a 1972 plan to consolidate the Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico school districts, from Robert Pratt’s “The Color of Their Skin“
“The city can have it.” — RMA board member Charles Richard White of Chesterfield, regarding The Diamond in Wednesday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch...

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Search result 265 of 1006

City’s elected, appointed school boards find common ground in balanced budget Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: March 5, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond School Board got a vote of approval Monday that would have seemed highly unlikely a year ago.
On a unanimous vote near the end of a morning meeting in City Hall, Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ Schools Accountability and Efficiency Review Task Force offered its support of the balanced budget the city School Board passed last week.
The group also pledged to ask Jones to look for additional money for at least two school needs: financially rewarding staff members, who are finishing...

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Search result 266 of 1006

Upcoming Public Meetings Author: Staff Writer
Date: March 4, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Monday
Richmond City Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 900 E. Broad St. On the agenda is a measure to set March 12 as the date for Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ submission of the proposed budget to council. A resolution that would reverse the decision of the city’s Commission of Architectural Review on the appropriateness of vinyl windows for a house at 2916 Monument Ave. is also on the agenda.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C....

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Search result 267 of 1006

Chesterfield board receives update on Hull Street revitalization Author: JEREMY SLAYTON Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: February 7, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Could the joint Richmond-Chesterfield County project to revitalize a nearly 5-mile stretch of Hull Street Road be a sign of similar partnerships on the horizon?
One member of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors believes so.
“It is frankly too rare to see the jurisdictions coordinating a planning effort like this,” Midlothian District Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker said Wednesday. “We are better than some people think in the broader regional issues, and not as good at some of this...

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Search result 268 of 1006

Local News for Sunday, Author: Staff Writer
Date: January 27, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
State of the City, budget sessions set in Richmond
RICHMOND — Mayor Dwight C. Jones will deliver his State of the City address at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Richmond CenterStage’s Carpenter Theatre, 600 E. Grace St.
Jones, sworn in for a second term Jan. 12, has made overhauling the city’s public housing, combating poverty and spurring economic development major priorities.
Jones’ administration also has scheduled a series of public budget planning meetings over the next two weeks:...

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Search result 269 of 1006

Richmond expecting $11.5M schools deficit Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: January 22, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
It’s going to be another tough year for educators and students in the city of Richmond, with teachers and programs likely to be in the middle of an effort to close a budget gap of about $11.5 million.
Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon is due to present her budget for the next fiscal year to the School Board during its meeting today.
Before the budget had even been released, School Board Chairman Jeff M. Bourne offered a friendly but firm challenge, saying the board wasn’t likely to...

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School Board requests help from city auditor Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: January 12, 2013
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond School Board has asked city auditor Umesh Dalal to complete a “base line” audit of the school system’s $320 million in annual spending, but the effort won’t likely be a duplication of a private review last year.
School Board Chairman Jeff M. Bourne delivered the request in a two-page letter sent to Dalal and several others Friday.
“This is a look fully and completely at how we do everything,” he said by telephone after the letter was delivered. “We’re not under any...

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Redskins deal passes after last-minute negotiations Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 27, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
After lengthy negotiations over the weekend and Monday secured concessions on schools funding in exchange for key votes, Richmond's City Council approved Mayor Dwight C. Jones' economic development package that will build a nearly $9 million training camp facility for the Washington Redskins and allow two major hospital expansions.
A list of "enhancements" to the deal, the fruit of hours of talks with council members who opposed the deal in its original form, were compiled into a...

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Richmond mayor’s task force discusses initiating contact with new School Board Author: ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond’s newly elected School Board should have a gentler introduction to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ school-reform style than the current board, but it shouldn’t expect the pleasantries to lead to a windfall of cash.
The mayor’s volunteer school finance reform task force spent nearly an hour Tuesday debating the best way to initiate contact with the School Board, which will feature seven newcomers among its nine members in January.
But City Council President Kathy Graziano, an...

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Council passes resolution on Redskins deal Author: ROBERT ZULLO | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: November 12, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Over vocal opposition from West End residents, Richmond’s City Council tonight approved a broad resolution endorsing Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ proposed deal with Bon Secours Richmond Health System to build a nearly $9 million training camp for the Washington Redskins.
The proposed agreement with Bon Secours, announced last month, provides $6.4 million in sponsorship for the camp in exchange for a long-term, low-cost lease on the former Westhampton School property at Libbie and Patterson...

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Jones: Progress, but also missteps Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: October 14, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
No one could accuse Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones of a lack of vision.
In the last year of his first term, the Baptist minister and former state delegate has laid out ambitious plans to dramatically transform the city's public-housing complexes, bring the Washington Redskins' summer training camp down Interstate 95 to a new home in the city and make the James River more accessible to residents, among other programs.
Those initiatives join the ongoing construction of a $134 million...

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Residents ask Richmond City Council to give schools more funds Author: ROBERT ZULLO Richmond Times-Dispatch
Date: April 11, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Residents beseeched the Richmond City Council to meet the school system's request for an additional $23.8 million during a public hearing Tuesday night on the city budget.
A small but passionate procession of school employees, parents and other residents lined up to ask council members to "fully fund" Richmond Public Schools in the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The hearing came less than eight hours after a consulting group recommended steps, including staffing cuts and...

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UPDATE: Mayor to finance new baseball stadium with debt savings Author: Times-Dispatch Staff Times-Dispatch
Date: March 2, 2012
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND, Va.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said today he will use interest rate savings from paying off old debts as debt service for the city's share of a new $50 million baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Jones said the city is using money repaid from an old loan to the Richmond Metropolitan Authority to pay off $26.1 million in debt at an average interest rate of 5 percent and allow the issuance of $36 million in debt at a lower rate, around 3 percent. The...

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Richmond picks builder for two schools Author: Will Jones
Date: September 15, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond's plans for two new elementary schools on South Side are back on track with a company that initially did not vie for the work.
Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced this week the selection of MB Contractors of Roanoke to build a new Broad Rock Elementary School and a new Oak Grove Elementary School for a combined $39.2 million. The 650-student schools are scheduled to open in January 2013 - four months later than planned - and they will be the city's first new public school buildings...

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Mayor Jones: Mistakes made in Richmond jail-planning process Author: Will Jones
Date: September 12, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
RICHMOND
Acknowledging mistakes in its jail-planning process, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones' administration revealed Monday that it will seek relief from state design requirements for the facility.
"There have been some mistakes but, in a project of this size, it's not unnecessarily unnatural," Jones said in an interview, in which he insisted that the city's procurement process had not been compromised.
Citing new and ongoing concerns about the process, the City Council...

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Hurricane briefs for Wednesday, Aug. 31 Author: Times-Dispatch Staff
Date: August 31, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond
Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Tuesday announced a free shuttle service to transport residents who are without power to operating grocery stores. The GRTC City Supermarket Shuttle will be free to the riders today.
"We want residents to have some ability to get the goods and products that they need that will keep in this environment while power is being restored," the mayor said in a statement.
Buses will board passengers at specific locations and transport them to nearby...

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Michael Paul Williams: With redistricting, Richmond drawing new race issue Author: Michael Paul Williams
Date: July 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
An African-American member of the Richmond School Board would be redistricted into oblivion as part of an effort to preserve the black voting strength in a neighboring ward.
Under a draft redistricting plan, the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Kimberly Gray, the 2nd District representative on the School Board, would be absorbed into the majority-black 3rd District.
That's the same 3rd District that since 2004 has been represented by a white councilman and white School Board members. In...

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Redistricting plan moves School Board member Author: Will Jones
Date: July 20, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
The Richmond City Council is ready to seek public comment on a redistricting plan that would move School Board member Kimberly B. Gray out of her 2nd District and would not spread the city's large public-housing communities across more districts.
Protecting incumbents wasn't among the council's adopted criteria for redistricting, but the prospect of moving the western part of Jackson Ward and subsequently Gray into the 3rd District is expected to generate controversy.
"Everyone is...

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Jones gets final report on Richmond redistricting Author: Will Jones
Date: July 7, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is welcoming but not yet endorsing three options for redistricting, including one that would overhaul the city's electoral map and reduce the number of voter districts from nine to as few as five.
On Wednesday, Jones accepted a final report from a committee appointed to make recommendations for redistricting in light of the city's 22 percent poverty rate and the concentrations of poor residents in the East End and South Side.
The City Council, which is...

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RMA payout comes with a catch Author: Will Jones
Date: June 29, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond will have to wait another decade or longer to take ownership of the expressway system if it collects $60.3 million to settle a long-standing debt with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.
Because the city provided early financial support, portions of the toll-road system within the city limits are scheduled to revert to city ownership when the RMA's primary public debt of about $122 million is paid off.
That's now scheduled to occur in 2022, but the date would be pushed...

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Two School Board members would shift districts under redistricting plans Author: Will Jones
Date: June 25, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Two members of the Richmond School Board would be drawn out of their districts under a pair of redistricting options that are being finalized by a committee appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
School Board member Kimberly B. Gray would be shifted in both scenarios from the 2nd District to the 3rd, while Maurice Henderson would be moved in one of the plans from the 5th to the 2nd.
Committee members emphasized in a meeting Friday that they had not considered the residency of City...

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Ideas for $60.3 million windfall abound Author: Will Jones
Date: June 24, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Three members of the Richmond City Council credited Mayor Dwight C. Jones for negotiating a $60.3 million windfall for the city but made it clear that the council would have to sign off on any use of the money.
"The mayor deserves a lot of credit and congratulations for pulling this coup," Councilman E. Martin Jewell said Thursday. "But we are the governing body ... and it seems to me that we should have some ideas as well as the mayor for how those dollars should be spent."
Or used...

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Panel ponders reducing districts in Richmond Author: Will Jones
Date: June 19, 2011
Publication: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Richmond should consider reducing its number of voter districts from the current nine to seven or five as a way to help tackle the poverty that plagues the city, according to an unfinished report of a commission appointed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
One longer-term option being suggested would involve changing the city charter and redrawing from scratch the voter districts, which grew out of a 1970 annexation fight that created Richmond's ward system.
The draft report says the purpose...

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you have a child with a disability, your child is entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This page has articles, law, cases, books, and other resources about FAPE.

You should also review information about these topics: IEPs, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE),Extended School Year (ESY), Evaluations, Tests, and Retention & Social Promotion.

Who is Responsible for Providing FAPE?

Should I Allow the School Retain My Child?

Advice to a parent's frequently asked questions about retention - generally, it is not a good idea.

To Promote or Retain? Summary of research on retention which shows that retention is not an appropriate intervention for children who have academic delays.

Homebound Services: Two Hours a Week = FAPE? The IEP controls the services, regardless of where they are delivered - at home or in the public school.

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Articles about FAPE

From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide

Introduction	Getting Started - Chapter 1
Reviews	SMART IEPs - Chapter 12
Skim Book	Complete Table of Contents

Legal Definition of FAPE

Books about Special Education Law, NCLB & Advocacy

The Shame of Our City

Pages

Monday, January 6, 2014

All Over But the Shouting …

Editorial: Irving ISD incumbents will represent all students

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/looking-at-wake-county-superintendent-finalist-dana-bedden

Looking at Wake County superintendent finalist Dana Bedden

http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/tag/dana-bedden/

Irving ISD superintendent, trustee silent after peace deal ends their 3-year battle

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