Dreams4RPS Priority 4
Deep Partnership with Families and Community
RPS will only be successful and improve learning outcomes for students through deep partnerships with families and the community. RPS has to acknowledge the many reasons why some families and educators can remain separate from each other; and put meaningful and trusting relationships with our families and communities at the center. Our goal is to continue to be active members of the community to foster growth across the district.
Community Hubs are designed to provide families with ongoing support and connection to community resources to meet their needs. Each hub is staffed with several Family Liaisons who serve as neighborhood experts that bridge the gap between schools and RPS families. They work together with families to help improve attendance, share important information, and provide engagement opportunities that promote student success.
Mentorship
Action 4.4
Launch a City-wide program to offer mentorship opportunities to RPS young men of color, leveraging partnerships with the faith, business, non-profit, and civil rights communities.
Mentorship is key to providing students the opportunity to build meaningful and trusting relationships, develop leadership skills, and feel empowered through social justice work. Through our Brothers United Mentoring Program and partnership with Girls for a Change, the ultimate program goals include increasing academic achievement, reducing punitive discipline, and improving parent engagement in schools.
Richmond History
Action 4.7
Partner with local historical organizations as well as Richmond residents of all background to develop a set of student and staff learning experiences, including a credit-bearing high school course on the unvarnished history of Richmond.
REAL Richmond
In 2020, RPS launched a new high school course called “REAL Richmond,” which will explores the authentic and mostly untold history of our city, often told through the lens of our most marginalized citizens.
Monumental Conversations
This fall, RPS partnered with Novaby Designs, and local museums to create a new mobile app, “Monumental Conversations.” This app gives the user an augmented reality tour of Monument Avenue and surrounding area, and provides educational context for the dismantled statues as symbols of the “lost cause” and Jim Crow era narratives.