Kim Bridges Richmond Public Schools 1st District School Board Representative, has an update for citizens of Richmond’s 1st District and parents:

Yes, it’s a new school year, and some of us are very happy about it.

Today was the first day back for teachers and I was privileged to sit in on the opening morning activities at our 1st District schools. At Hill, TJ, and Munford, the staff meetings were informative and energizing as teachers did everything from setting personal goals for the year to reviewing a detailed PowerPoint that broke down every SOL score by class, subject, and teacher. At the meetings, the principals discussed the importance of increasing rigor and making subjects relevant to the children to better prepare them for careers and lifelong learning. They highlighted the “soft skills” that make adults marketable and ways that they could teach–as early as elementary school–those skills along with academics.

Of course I knew going into today’s meetings that our teachers have can-do, team-oriented attitudes about educating our children, but this morning was a great reminder of these attributes and the level of professionalism these staff members have. I wish everyone in the “outside” world could see the strong service- and results-oriented approach of our schools’ staffs. And even though any of today’s presentations could have taken place in the corporate world, these meetings also involved cheering and encouragement for the success of every teacher because they know that it takes working together to reach each student who will walk through the doors next week.

Of course, students and parents are also part of the picture. Last week, TJ began welcoming students with activities for new students and seniors. This Thursday, Hill will treat new students & 6th graders to its annual ice cream social (where I enjoy being one of the speediest scoopers.) This Friday at 2:30 p.m., Munford parents and children can meet the teacher and visit the classroom for a sneak preview of day one.

It’s an exciting time of year. I’ll send another update soon with the chock-full-of-events-first month that will bring opportunities for involvement at the school level and for the whole system.

What’s going on with the Alternative Program?

If today’s article in the RTD left you with questions, I wanted to shed some additional light on the Capital City Program (CCP) and the board’s oversight of the program and contract. First, you should know what the program was brought in to do. Second, I wanted to share some key factors not discussed in today’s story but which are critical to evaluating the program’s efficiency and effectiveness. Among these are the fixed costs of staffing and the rolling admission structure that relies on having seats available to fill throughout the school year. Third, please know that building funds come to RPS from the city, and the school district has not received funding for a new CCP building.

What are the expected outcomes of CCP? Are the goals being met?

When the school district contracted to have CCP it wanted to improve 1) both middle and high school safety and classroom environment and 2) the individual student performance and long-term outcomes of students who face challenges of disruptive behavior, low academic performance, low attendance, and/or grade-repetition.

In 2009, when the School Board looked at CCP program results, the Board saw that in the first four years of the program, RPS disciplinary incidents of fighting dropped by 71% and disorderly conduct by 58%. In the most recent school year, nuisance infractions for the district have dropped by more than 15% over the previous year. Our system-wide approach to discipline now includes proactive training of staff members on anti-bullying, positive reinforcement, and other de-escalation approaches that have also contributed to the decline in negative behaviors.
So, fewer disciplinary violations (and fewer referrals to CCP) is good news. But are we paying too much for those who are there?

You can’t answer that question by looking only at per pupil costs. Whether a classroom at CCP–or any other school–has 15 students or 20 students, we pay the same salary and benefits for the teacher who leads the class. To say that we are paying for empty seats when a class has a lower pupil teacher ratio doesn’t account for this significant fixed cost, which is typically in the 80% range of total operational costs.

In addition, we’ve got to consider the nature of the CCP program. Students get assigned to CCP throughout the year. For example, a student who commits a disciplinary violation in March joins the program in the spring and completes a full year (180 days) before being eligible for reassignment the following spring. Having spaces available to assign students throughout the year is a critical feature of this program. In fact, if we filled all the seats in September, the program would not serve its intended purpose. Over the past 4 years the average program capacity has been 76% in September, which rises to 88% in January and 91% by June.

For alternative education programs which serve some of our most challenged students, the School Board has to assess factors beyond per pupil costs. We must also look at goals, student and district needs, and program results, as well as fixed, variable, and comparative costs for the services provided. Then we can determine whether we can get the same (or better) results for some of our most challenged students at a lower cost than we’re currently paying. You can join us at the Board’s September 7 work session at 4:00 for our next update on this program and other disciplinary alternatives we’re using to make our schools safer and to provide our students with opportunities to succeed.

Happy New (School) Year,

Kim Bridges, 1st District School Board representative

The West End Assembly of God (WEAG) Mothers of Young Children (MOYC)  clothing and toy sale is September 25th.   The Kidtopia children’s consignment sale is October 8-10.  Both sales feature items from many different consignors with a variety of prices, sizes and styles.  The MOYC sale includes maternity clothes and children’s clothing  sizes up to teen, but does not sell furniture or cribs. Also, they sell books, VHS tapes, Halloween costumes and many more items.  The Kidtopia sale is only for children up to size 7, and will sell cribs.

Both sales will over thousands of pieces of new and gently used baby and children’s clothing, toys and equipment at bargain prices.

West End Assembly of God, Mothers of Young Children Clothing and Toy sale

401 Parham Road , Richmond , VA 23229

Questions:  email weagmoyc (at)yahoo[dot]com

Fall Sale:  Sept 25, 2010  8am – noon, half off sale is typically at 1 pm

Kidtopia
The Shops at Willow Lawn
1601 Willow Lawn Dr Suite 315
Richmond, VA 23230

Preview for Expecting & New Moms, Dads and Grandparents: Fri. Oct. 8,  1 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Public Sale: Fri. Oct. 8.  4p.m.-8p.m. & Sat. Oct. 9  8 a.m.-11 a.m.

Half-Off Sale-
Sat Oct 9th, 2010 1pm-3pm

The Massey Alliance invites the community a fundraiser for the VCU Massey Cancer Center: Massey on the River, Saturday, September 25 from 5-9 p.m. on Rock Bottom Island (off of River Road near River Road Shopping Center).

Tickets include a dinner buffet of home-style favorites, selections from Loveland Distributors and Pepsi and live music from (awesome local yacht rockers) Three Sheets to the Wind. Plus a silent auction.

For more information, call (804) 827-0642.

Advance Tickets (21 and over only): $25

The City of Richmond boasts one of the top urban forests in the country, you can learn more about the thriving trees in our community by participating in Richmond City’s Tree Steward Program.

Who: Richmond residents and other area students and residents interested in learning the proper methods of selecting, planting and maintaining trees.
What: Richmond Tree Stewards Fall 2010 Class
Where: The Round House in Byrd Park and one Saturday class, location TBA
When: Tuesdays from September 7 through November 16 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Saturday November 6 from 9 a.m. – noon (no class session on Tuesday November 2). Professionals in our metro tree care industry will teach the classes.
Background: Class topics include tree identification, tree biology, soil characteristics, planting and care, health and maintenance, and special considerations for the urban forest.

Registration is $75 with a required commitment for 12 hours of community service for students of urban design or horticulture, persons working in Community Development, engineers and planners. Tree Stewards may register for $25 with a required commitment for 12 hours of community service. For all others, registration is $95 with a required commitment for 20 hours of community service.

Participants can register early (by Aug. 31st) or at the door. Call 646-6785 for more information.

Looks like someone was having fun with bubbles this morning at Bon Secours Heart Center at Forest and Glenside. By this afternoon, when I drove by, things looked normal again.

Virginia Department of Education has released  AYP or Adequate Yearly Progress numbers for all Virginia public schools. Overall, 6 out of 10 Virginia schools exceeded or met all No Child Left Behind (NCLB) objectives during 2009-2010 despite new accountability provisions related to high school graduation and the testing of students with disabilities.  Although most of the schools in the Near West End fared pretty well, neither the City of Richmond nor Henrico County Schools passed AYP as a school division.

Both Near West End middle schools in Henrico County failed to make AYP. Richmond’s Albert Hill, however did make AYP.  Tucker HS also failed to make AYP for the first time in the past 3 years. The links after the school name will take you to the Virginia DOE’s PDF of detailed results.

Here is how a few of the Near West End Schools did:

Henrico County:

Freeman High School, made AYP

Tucker High School, did not make AYP

Godwin High School, made AYP

Tuckahoe Middle School, did not make AYP

Byrd Middle School, did not make AYP

Tuckahoe Elementary School, made AYP

Crestview Elementary School, made AYP

Three Chopt Elementary School, made AYP

Pemberton Elementary School, made AYP

Jackson Davis Elementary School, made AYP

Maybeury Elementary School, made AYP

Skipwith Elementary School, made AYP

Richmond City Schools:

Mary Munford Elementary School, made AYP

Albert Hill Middle School, made AYP

Tomorrow is the National Night Out and there are several neighborhood events in the Near West End.  National Night out is a crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). Nearby events include:

Westwood Civic Association at 5401 Marian Street (behind the Westhampton Post Office and Westend Library) from 6-9 p.m.

Monumental Street (4600-4700 blocks) from 7-8 p.m.

Along with the traditional display of outdoor lights and front porch vigils; cities, towns and neighborhoods ‘celebrate’ NNO with a variety of events and activities such as:

• block parties
• cookouts
• visits from local police and sheriff departments
• parades, exhibits
• flashlight walks
• contests
• youth programs

You can also RSVP on Facebook, or share it on Facebook with your friends.

The Virginia Comicon, a one-day comic book convention, will be held on Sunday, August 8 at the Crowne Plaza West at 6531 W. Broad Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission is $6, with $5 admission for members of the convention’s mailing list, and free admission for children under 10, active military personnel, and people in full costume.

Special guests at this event will include Bill Bowman, who hosted late-night horror movies on Channel 8 as “The Bowman Body” in the 1970s.  A crew filming an upcoming documentary about Bowman will also be present.