A Holiday Message from School Superintendent Dr. Yvonne W. Brandon
As we enjoy the upcoming holidays, it is my fervent wish that each of you receives and returns the seasonal bounty of blessings and good tidings that make these days truly special. It is also during this time that I am reminded of my own good fortune to serve as Superintendent of Richmond City Public Schools. Indeed, my lifelong career as a public school educator has afforded me vast, varied and richly rewarding opportunities to teach and to learn from young people.
Of course, I believe the faces of our children best express the true meaning of this holiday season. They radiate a sense of unbridled enthusiasm, untainted hope and unabashed joy for life and the opportunities that await them.
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Dr. Yvonne Brandon
Superintendent |
Indeed, no matter their circumstance or position in life, all children deserve to feel nurtured, accepted, valued, safe and loved.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote:
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,
That is known as the children’s hour.
This holiday season, my hope is that every child will have at least one caring adult who understands and shares the joy that comes when family and friends celebrate this time of year as “the children’s hour.”
To the students, parents, teachers, staff and friends of Richmond Public Schools, please have a safe and joyous holiday season.
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Fall 2009
It is with great pleasure and steadfast confidence that I welcome parents, students, staff and community partners to the 2009-2010 school year. As we close out the first decade of the 21st century, Richmond Public Schools stands ready and prepared to fulfill its calling as one of the nation’s premiere urban school districts.
This year we will continue our thrust to make each of our classrooms a true learning oasis for children, one that motivates every young person to reach his or her absolute maximum potential. At the elementary school level, we will expand our foreign language immersion program and continue our Core Knowledge Academies. For middle school parents, we have launched the Franklin Military Middle Leadership Academy for sixth-graders. And of course, Richmond Community High School – with its relocation to the former Chandler Middle School building – now has additional space and resources.
Last school year, Richmond Public Schools piloted Career Cruising, an online career exploration and portfolio tool that helps students identify specific career interests and then establish goals. The program served more than 3,000 students at Martin Luther King Middle, Thompson Middle, Elkhardt Middle, Boushall Middle, Henderson Middle, Armstrong High, John Marshall High and Huguenot High schools. This year, Career Cruising will be offered at Franklin Military Academy and at Brown Middle, Albert Hill Middle, Binford Middle, George Wythe High and Thomas Jefferson High schools.
Also this year, the district will launch the Governor’s Career and Technical Academy for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at the Richmond Technical Center. The curriculum will focus on two career pathways: engineering and technology and therapeutic services, with an emphasis on sports medicine. A partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University will allow students to shadow VCU athletic trainees and also take part in VCU School of Engineering activities. In addition to VCU, the academy’s other partners include Virginia State University, Virginia Union University and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Without question, our recent past has been one of success, evidenced by rising test scores, more fully accredited schools and more rigorous academic requirements. Just last year, several Richmond City schools earned national acclaim: Richmond Community and Open High ranked among America’s best high schools by U.S. News and World Report; Fairfield Court Elementary named a National Title I Distinguished School; and J.E.B. Stuart Elementary honored with a 2009 Governor’s Award for Excellence. Yes, our steady, at times spectacular, improvement has been the result of talented teachers, dedicated students, involved parents and committed community partners. In short, our campaign to make Richmond Public Schools the best and only choice for parents and students has truly been a “we” activity and a shared responsibility.
As Superintendent, I willingly and enthusiastically assume my responsibility as this city’s chief of education. It’s a challenge I welcome, a role I enjoy, a calling that I answer without hesitation. As this school year begins, I want every citizen, parent, teacher, student and community partner to share my belief that Richmond Public Schools is truly the choice for academic excellence, student achievement and fiscal accountability
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A Word from Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Brandon
June 2009
Achievement. Action. Accountability. These words are the foundation for all that we do in Richmond Public Schools. These three A’s shape our classroom instruction, ensure rigorous academics and target fiscal integrity.
Of course, student achievement is the district’s top priority. Today, we expect far more from our schools than simply meeting the accreditation standards. In Richmond, earning accreditation is the minimum expectation. That’s why we have targeted increased academic rigor as a goal, evidenced by the more than 200 percent increase in the number of students enrolled AP and/or dual enrollment courses.
To achieve any goal requires action. In Richmond, we simply do not have time to waste. So, we have aggressively pursued implementing and/or expanding programs that we know are effective. For example, next school year we will launch a third Performance Learning Center (PLC) site and continue our Twilight Academy program at every comprehensive high school – both designed to assist students recover academic credits toward graduation and reduce the dropout rate. We also plan to expand our AP and dual enrollment opportunities and provide parents and students with more instructional choices and class offerings.
We are all accountable for the students served by Richmond Public Schools. Parents and students should always hold the district’s administrators, teachers and staff to the highest possible standards. In return, parents and the community must actively support teachers and administrators in delivering a world-class instructional program to every student. Together, our expectations for student achievement, for character development, and for 21st century workplace and career success must continue to rise and to be met.
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Board Appoints Dr. Brandon as Superintendent (February 2009)
Remove the word “interim” from her title. Dr. Yvonne Brandon is now Superintendent of Richmond Public Schools as School Board members - on a unanimous vote - selected the 30-year veteran to head the city school district. The appointment took place at a special Jan. 27 meeting of the Board.“ Dr. Brandon’s unique qualifications and experience in urban public education rose to the top of a very impressive list of candidates,” noted School Board Chair Chandra Smith.
Through multiple interviews and a lengthy screening process, both the Board members and the volunteers of our 14-member search committee realized that she had a unique combination of skills and capabilities that RPS needs to transform our school system.”
Dr. Brandon, who started in Richmond Public Schools in 1977, has worked as a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, principal, director of instruction, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent. A graduate of Randolph-Macon College, she earned her master’s degree at Virginia State University and her doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. She has also been a fellow at the College of William and Mary Leadership Institute, the Darden School of Business Administration/Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy.
“It is my vision that five years from now Richmond Public Schools will be the crown jewel of this community, the magnet that draws people to this city,” Dr. Brandon said at the time of her appointment. “I have spent more than half of my life as a member of the Richmond Public Schools family - and I do mean family. That is why the pledge and promise that I make to the students, parents and staff of Richmond Public Schools are not mere words but are, in fact, inherent beliefs and convictions that I hold dear and will work every day to bring to fruition.”
View a video of Dr. Brandon's Appointment (.mp4, 57 MB)
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School Board Selects New Superintendent to Lead Richmond Public Schools
Richmond - The Richmond Public School Board has appointed a veteran education administrator as its new superintendent.
Dr. Yvonne Brandon was elected by a unanimous vote today to take the helm of the city’s 24,000 pupil school district. Brandon was selected after a rigorous and competitive recruitment process yielded 20 highly qualified candidates from around the nation.
Read the press release (PDF)
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Dr. Yvonne W. Brandon Remarks Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I am deeply honored by the Board’s appointment of me as the Superintendent of Richmond Public Schools.
Also, I am deeply humbled by not only the Board’s confidence and faith in my vision for this wonderful school system, but by that of the parents, students and citizens of Richmond who have sent me words of encouragement since I became Acting Superintendent in August of last year. I thank you.
Read the rest of Dr. Brandon's remarks (PDF) |
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