RPS student is back in school
Jeremy M. Lazarus | 11/2/2023, 6 p.m.
Dr. Donna Robinson is heaving a sigh of relief.
Her son, 11-year-old Shamar L. Muhammadali, is finally back in school.
He was among 15 disabled students whose class time was halted Sept. 6 when their private school in North Side shut down.
Shamar was among the 10 Richmond Public Schools students assigned to the Metropolitan Day School because RPS could not provide services based on the students’ diagnosed disorders.
The Free Press reported their story in its Oct. 12-14 edition.
RPS officials and School Board members have not responded to requests for comment about the problems the students have faced in returning to class.
According to Dr. Robinson, RPS did not offer any substitute placement for Shamar until mid-October, and has not placed others of this small group despite being required to provide each enrolled disabled student with a free and appropriate public education.
Shamar began attending the John G. Wood School Oct. 23, said Dr. Robinson, who runs a Christian educational operation in Chester.
The Wood School, founded in 1974, is located in Henrico County. It is an arm of the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls.
“He loves it,” Dr. Robinson said.
Until he started classes, she had been taking him to work with her and providing schooling in some of his subjects.
But it wasn’t the same, she said.
“He needed to be in a regular classroom, and that finally has happened.”
