RPS News Details

I would love to shout out Ms. London, the school counselor at William Fox Elementary School, for coordinating an amazing Black History Month event. Our students, families, and community are so lucky to have you.

I would like to commend Bellevue Elementary School's PE teacher, Coach Silas Carter, for his outstanding job teaching the family life education class to our students. Coach Carter skillfully presented the sensitive subject matter in an informative, relatable, and engaging way. The Bellevue staff truly appreciates his dedication and the positive impact he has on our students!  

Thank you to Karla Roca and Lillian Ramirez Catano, who quickly translated a flyer into Spanish to send home to families. They were incredibly responsive to the request, and their help is much appreciated!

Huge shout-out to all of the teachers piloting Canvas at JB Fisher and Mary Munford, who — in addition to supporting families during the remote days — also used their time to get courses published, build modules, and attend Tech Flex training! The work you are putting in will make such a big difference, ensuring our students have the skills they need as they continue their academic and career goals!

Many thanks and kudos to school counselor Danielle Coles, Communities in Schools site coordinator Cathy Hite, and school social worker Rebecca Wood at Overby-Sheppard Elementary for their quick action to provide 40 students with donations of blankets, socks, hats, and gloves on Tuesday before the latest round of winter weather hit (courtesy of generous donors on Donors Choose). This team led with love and rallied together to quickly provide students with these winter weather care packages!

I would like to offer a shout-out to my son’s 2nd-grade teacher, Ms. Wyche, at G.H. Reid Elementary. She provided a wealth of resources for her class during the snow closures last week. She even created YouTube videos to help parents understand the concept so that we could better assist our students with the “new math.”

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our amazing ETI, Arianna Trickey, for making herself widely available during our recent remote learning days to support teachers with Canvas. As a teacher with no Canvas experience and limited tech skills, I felt very overwhelmed by setting up my classroom and courses, but Mrs. Trickey was so patient. Thanks for everything you do for us every day at Fisher ES. We appreciate you!  

Ms. London deserves a huge shout out for organizing an amazing “Taste of Soul” event to celebrate Black History Month at Fox Elementary! She recruited amazing performers — including talented Fox students and representatives from local sororities and fraternities, offered a yummy taste of Mama J’s, and poured her heart and soul into creating a welcome celebration for all!

Shout-out to the LIEP team at River City Middle School! Thank you for working together as an organized and efficient team to get all of your multilingual learners to complete the WIDA test quickly. Your hard work and dedication to our students is so greatly appreciated!

Shout-out to Betty Stephens, who works out of Central Office. She came into my building today to ensure I received my doctor's requested ADA accommodations. I am so satisfied with her tireless effort to get me what I needed to continue helping our scholars. She is one in a million! Kudos, Mrs. Stephens.  

I'd like to thank Ms. Massenburg, principal at Richmond Community High School, for her tireless energy, flexibility, and patience during the high school application process!  She goes above and beyond to ensure every student has a chance to interview! We appreciate you, Ms. Massenburg!

I'd like to thank Tiana Addai-Mensah, preschool librarian, for organizing the Virginia Association of School Librarians Spring Regional Conference! She did an amazing job; not only was it a day full of learning, but she also fed us well!  Thank you, Tiana, for all your hard work; it did not go unnoticed!

Shout-out to Mrs. McAden and Ms. Powers and their impact on 2nd graders at LHJ. My scholar, in particular, has experienced unprecedented growth in his academics, specifically in literacy. His joy for reading has exploded with their guidance, and it is blatantly apparent these amazing teachers give their all every day in every way. Our family is so grateful!

Quick shout-out to Ms. Caples. While my scholar is not in her class, she sometimes transitions to her classroom for extra help, and it is never the highlight of her day! Her example is one I know my children look up to. Ms. Caples's students are all students at LHJ, and the inclusivity of her love is seen, appreciated, and applauded!

Congratulations to Keidy Lizama at JL Francis for being the New Teacher of the Year! You would never know she was a first-year teacher! If you have seen her, you know!

Shout-out to Ms. Kaitlin Ruckman, the LIEP teacher and testing coordinator for THRIVE and Aspire, for leading the most engaging SOL training session I've sat through in my 10 years of teaching! Thank you for making one of our most stressful and dreaded tasks as teachers more enjoyable.

Shout-out to Mrs. McAden, 2nd-grade teacher at Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary, who does an excellent job of ensuring that all of her students feel included, welcomed, and recognized for their unique personalities and gifts. Mrs. McAden, you are greatly appreciated and a treasure to our school community!

Thank you to Dr. Drye and the Obama Elementary family for their welcoming environment. Dr. Drye and her team showed me kindness and exemplified the collaborative spirit in RPS. A huge shout-out to all of the librarians in RPS for making their engaging learning spaces. We are so grateful to have a team of literacy experts who go above and beyond to create meaningful lessons. The Mighty Oaks at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts have enjoyed celebrating Black History Month! The students conducted research on scientists and artists, created shoebox showcases, and held a parade of their work. The students also learned the meaning and importance of the colors red, yellow, green, and black. From this lesson, they created inspirational bracelets as a reminder that we all have to “Be the Dream.” We are proud of you!

Shout-out to the amazing staff and students at Cardinal Elementary School. The African American history presentations were terrific. We learned so much going down the hallways. It was great to see the effort and the knowledge the students gained. Amazing job everyone!

I'd like to shout out our amazing community partners, the Richmond Flying Squirrels! T. C. Boushall Middle School signed up for the "Go Nuts for Reading" program, and Nutzy came by to promote reading, talk about the importance of being a good friend, and even took time out of his busy schedule to take pictures and sign autographs! I'd also like to thank Coach Morgan and Ms. McZeal, health and physical education teachers, for all of their support in making the magic happen! Last but certainly not least, a huge shout-out to I'shanye Shropshire, a 6th-grade scholar at T. C. Boushall Middle School, for helping Nutzy read his story! She did an amazing job, and we are super proud of her!