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From this day forward
A brain tumor and cancer were no match for Kent A.P. Smith and Karla Booker’s wedding joy. Their love, 40 years in the making, would not be stopped by his diagnosis of a brain tumor and stage 4 lung cancer just four weeks earlier.
Superintendent proposes 35.3 percent budget increase for RPS
Superintendent Jason Kamras is proposing a 35.3 percent operating budget increase to meet the district’s anticipated expenses for the 2023- 2024 school year.
Absenteeism at RPS is down 1.8 percent, but remains high
Chronic absenteeism among school-aged children who miss 10 percent of days or more due to excused and unexcused absences continues to plague school systems, including Richmond Public Schools, throughout the country.
'Gentle giant’
A. Donald McEachin, hailed as trailblazing figure in Virginia politics, dies
A few weeks before Rep. A. (Aston) Donald McEachin’s Nov. 8 successful bid to maintain his seat in U.S. Congress, he contacted Rev. Ralph Hodge, senior pastor at Richmond’s Second Baptist Church-Southside.
BLCK Street sessions inspire entrepreneurs
A common thread throughout the inaugural BLCK Street Conference earlier this week was encouragement and advice on everything from organizing finances to mentoring.
RPS data suggests student improvement despite SOL scores
Richmond Public Schools student Standard of Learning (SOL) scores are among the lowest in the state of Virginia this year.
Va. Executive Mansion open to public again
After being closed for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Executive Mansion, located in Capitol Square in Downtown, will reopen to the public Sept. 2.
Conflict of interest sparks tense discussion for RPS School Board
The Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center arose as a topic of discussion during the Richmond School Board meeting Monday night.
VCU names new School of Medicine dean
Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine will have a new dean as of April 15.
RPS makes history in collective bargaining negotiations
Richmond Public Schools recently negotiated agreements with four collective bargaining “units” that will result in increased salaries, compensation and benefits for those employees. The RPS school board was the first in the state to pass a collective bargaining resolution last December since the Virginia Supreme Court banned such agreements for public sector employees 45 years ago.
Architects for future George Wythe High gather comments, ideas from public
The idea of a new George Wythe High School is beginning to take shape, but a rendering shared with an audience of about 60 in the school’s auditorium Tuesday night is only a starting point said RRMM Architect’s president and CEO Duane Harver.
City School Board, NAACP raise concerns about RPS budget proposal
Superintendent Jason Kamras’ budget presentation during a School Board meeting last month launched the school division’s budget talks for the 2023-2024 school year, while also raising questions about budget allocations for RPS students.
No new curriculum for RPS
Initial task force calls for changes in implementation
Richmond Public Schools does not need a new curriculum — rather, teachers want autonomy in how to customize existing curricula for their classrooms, according to a 15-member task force.
City’s Legendary Ingramettes earn NEA award
The Legendary Ingramettes, a gospel group that has performed more than 60 years, has received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. They are the first group from Richmond to earn the distinction, and one of 10 recipients in 2022 who will receive a $25,000 monetary award, according to the NEA. The NEA started the award in 1982 to recognize “recipients’artistic excellence and support their continuing contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage.” The world-famous group performed at the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington and in 2019, trav- eled to Bulgaria and Serbia to perform. Maggie Ingram started the group to sup- port herself and her five children when her husband abandoned them — she played music and her children sang. She drove the family from Florida to Richmond in 1961, arriving on Christmas Eve. Once in Richmond, she started work- ing for civil rights icon Oliver Hill Sr. and later owned a child care business. Maggie Ingram and The Ingramettes debuted in Richmond at the Hood Temple AME Zion Church. Ms. Ingram died in 2015. Today, Rev. Almeta Ingram-Miller, Maggie Ingram’s daughter, is the only original member of the group, but the singers are related to one another. “Take A Look In The Book” is the group’s first album without the family matriarch and was recorded in Richmond over three days. Rev. Ingram-Miller now leads the group. Produced by Jon Lohman, the recordings are part of the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities and include traditional spirituals and “new Appalachian sources like Ola Belle Reed and Bill Withers.” The group will perform a virtual concert Sept. 22. Information about the upcoming performance and the group can be found on their website: https://legendaryingramettes.com/.
Richmond Community High School graduate receives national scholarship
Morghan Williams, a Richmond Community High School graduate who is a first-year student at North Carolina A&T, is one of 25 students in the United States to be awarded $10,000 through the Sallie Mae Fund’s Bridging the Dream Scholarships for High School Seniors.
Title IX evolves with the times
On June 23, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 turned 50 years old.
Armstrong/Walker football rivalry celebrated in new Black History Museum exhibit
A legacy created from a 40- year football rivalry between Armstrong and Maggie Walker high schools, the only two schools for Black students for decades, will be remembered this month at the 2nd Annual Armstrong Walker Football Classic Legacy Project Celebration. The first event is an exhibit at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, featuring memorabilia collected and on display from alumni, staff and Richmonders who attended both schools.
RPS superintendent’s chief of staff resigns
Michelle Hudacsko, chief of staff for Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, has resigned.
George Wythe considers colors and history for new school
About two dozen people attended the third community meeting on a recent rainy Tuesday night at George Wythe High School to hear about three color palette considerations for the interior of the building and suggestions for displaying memorabilia.
RPS program receives $20,000 grant
Young Kings in Action, an enrichment program for sixth- through eighth-grade boys at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Ujima Legacy Fund.
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