By Ronald E. Carrington

Superintendent Jason Kamras finished his first full week as the new head of Richmond Public Schools fielding a round of tough questions from about 50 teachers, staff and administrators at Broad Rock Elementary School.

The 44-year-old former Washington public schools administrator and National Teacher of the Year was calm, cool and collected as he answered questions about the lack of bilingual staff in RPS schools and offices, the overwhelming needs of students and the lack of consistency at the top.

“The system’s superintendent revolving door has caused chaos, confusion, a lack of vision and deteriorating facilities,” a veteran teacher with 24 years of experience told him. “With all that, the students are not going anywhere.”

Since 2002, RPS has had five superintendents. Mr. Kamras, who was sworn in on Feb. 1, is the sixth. He was tapped unanimously by the Richmond School Board to lead a district that faces major issues, including poor student performance, low school accreditation rates — only 19 of the city’s 44 schools are fully accredited — and a major city debate on how to fund long-overdue repair or replacement of dilapidated school buildings.

Standing before the group in the early morning meeting at the South Side elementary school before the first bell last Friday, Mr. Kamras responded that he is committed to staying through the term of his contract — it runs through June 30, 2021 —and that he didn’t understand why people bounce around from one urban school district to another.

He said he loves Richmond, and that his two children will be enrolled in RPS after finishing the current school year in Washington.

The group applauded.

By the time Mr. Kamras finished answering all the questions, he clearly had gained the confidence of those in the room.

“It was so powerful this morning when you, Mr. Kamras, talked about social justice and how every child deserves an education,” a teacher told him. “I saw you connecting with the children. Now I’m thinking we’ve got the right one.

“I saw all the hoopla and celebration with the last” superintendent, the educator continued. “But you are the one and you have my vote.”

On the need for bilingual help, Mr. Kamras said, “Servicing the bilingual community will be a priority for RPS. The system does not have enough staff or the right ratio on the English as a second language teachers,” he said.

Through an interpreter, parents complained at a Feb. 5 School Board meeting that more bilingual teachers and support staff are needed. They said they have a difficult time communicating not only with teachers and counselors, but support staff in dealing with everyday school matters, including transportation issues.

It also has become an issue at Broad Rock, where roughly 35 percent of the students are Latino and nearly 2 percent are Asian.

The RPS Welcome Center designed to support the district’s non-English speaking families also is understaffed, Mr. Kamras and a teacher said.

“We have to figure out how to fix that,” Mr. Kamras said.

This was Mr. Kamras’ ninth visit to a school during his first week in office. Last week, he released an ambitious 100-day plan that includes visits all 44 schools as part of his overall effort to engage with the parents, students and the community.

He encouraged the group at Broad Rock Elementary to likewise be engaged.

“Go visit your parents. Sit in their living rooms and talk to them as human beings and get to know them,” he suggested. “Listen to them to see what is going on in their lives …

“This is how we develop empathy or understanding of one another.”

He assured the staff that it will be a collective effort that will include a lot of honest conversations about race. He said such conversations help develop a true societal understanding that will help RPS move forward.

He said the schools’ administrative staff working in City Hall is there to help.

“There are a lot of hard-working people Downtown,” he said. “Let me be very clear on my perspective on this: Everyone in that building Downtown exists to help you do your best. Everything else is just noise.”

He ended the meeting pledging to tell the truth and handling the tough decisions.

“I will never lie to you,” he told the group. “I will tell you things that you may not want to hear. Part of leadership is making tough choices, and when I do, I will tell you why I did.”

He left the meeting to go with Broad Rock Principal Teya Green to the front hall, where he welcomed students streaming into the building that morning with high-fives, handshakes, fist bumps and hugs.

One first-grader who met Mr. Kamras the day before when he and Mayor Levar M. Stoney met at the school remembered him and ran up with a huge smile and a hug.

“The kids are just amazing,” Mr. Kamras said. “I think I’ll come back every day just for the smile and hug.”