May 19, 2008
board votes YES to Patrick Henry Initiative
23 Comments »The Richmond School Board met this evening at 6PM to consider a host of what looked to be rather typical items and also to receive and vote upon a recomendation from the Charter School Review Committee (SR07-08-72)(agenda). Dispatched to the back corner of a room adjacent to where the schoolboard meeting was taking place, part of the overflow crowd, the obvious draw was the Patrick Henry Initiative vote.
After discussion of unrelated issues, an hour of public comment, and interminable discussion amongst themselves, the Richmond School Board voted to approve the application of the Patrick Henry Initiative to open a charter school in the former Patrick Henry Elementary school building.
Voting in favor of the application were Dawson, Bridges, Carr, West, and Braxton. Voting against were Smith and Wilson. Wolf abstained.
From the back room, we could hear but not see the meeting. I caught glimpses of a few of the board members, and the seated and standing-room crowd was heavy with RPS administration and many many PHCSI supporters (with stickers!).
The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence. Two George Wyth students were then recognized as Comcast Scholarship recipients. Principals from all of the secondary schools were awarded certificates to give to their students that had received perfect SOL scores. Huguenot HS, Henderson MS, and Stuart ES were lauded for their recognition by the National Council for Urban School Transformation. Students from many schools were recognized for their participation in Law Day and the Oliver Hill essay contest.
The meeting then opened up to public comment, all of which concerned the Patrick Henry Initiative. Originally set for 30 minutes, the window for comments was opened to an hour. The comments are summarized below, unless actually quoted. Names may very well be mangled.
Wade Elligood (president of the REA): “We are not opposed to the public charter school.” The school needs to meet state standards. There are concerns about exceptional education, transportaion, enrollment, and funding. “If the school can do the job, then let them do it”.
Warren Kennedy: Charter schools were a bad idea 10 years ago. It is an off-shoot of the voucher system, itself a product of extreme conservatism, and first introduced in the years after Brown vs. Board of Education. People that want private schools should have private schools and not use public money.
Khalfina: The NAACP is adamantly opposed to the granting of a charter for the Patrick Henry Initiative. The board has been approached by people from every community in the city asking for neighborhood schools and inovative curriculum, and have been turned away. He basically called the PHI a white supremacist conspiracy, and implied that the board members were involved and “dirty”. There is a conflict of interest with some members of the board.
Melvin Law (former schoolboard representative): The Richmond Branch of the NAACP voted this week to oppose charter schools. It is unfair to open the school for a group of students that, had they been enrolled at the original Patrick Henry, might have prevented it from closing in the first place.
name? (woman 1): From the Patrick Henry Initiative. “I can assure you, from the bottom of my soul, that our intentions come from a place of unity and love for ourr children and your children.” We believe in unity, creativity, diversity, work ethic. We have worked diligently to ensure that the application meets state standards. The school is not for a special group of children, it for children from all over the city.
name? (man 2): The application is sound and has been well-researched. This is grassroots and from the ground up. I am a liberal and take offense at the attempted linking between the PHI and vouchers.
Rosemary Barnes: Early exposure to environmental curricula can have a life-long impact on children. PHI will be open to all students and will promote diversity. I like that the students will wear uniforms. Don’t be afraid to embrace change and innovation.
Dr.Brown: I have been teaching for decades. My children attend RPS. We have worked staedily to improve the application. Students with all abilities, with all learning styles, from all over Richmond will receive a good education. PHI is not segregationist. The planning committee is diverse, as will be the school. We have a proposal for a transportation plan, and we can work together on any other issues. If you vote against this, you are voting for the satus quo. If you vote in favor of this, you are voting in favor of partnering with Richmond’s communitees and parents.
name? (man 3): I am opposed to the PHI. A lot of people have students in private schools, but now that they find that they can get some money… “might’ve well stand on the corner and get robbed”. I spoke to Patrick Henry in a dream last night… The board should not vote on this, they should let it wait for the next board after the November election. “There are some bears running around out there.”
Art Burton (Richmond Council of PTAs): We have stood for the communities of Norrell and Whitcomb, we have stood for inovative curricula, and uniforms (and more), only to be denied. We stood for Fulton when they wanted an innovative unique cutting-edge Montessori school — denied. Do for the greatest good and not for the few. Give them their school, but we have pressing needs that you (the board) have not met.
Doug Smith Jr: My son attended the old Patrick Henry. It was closed after we were told that the building cost too much to heat, too much to cool, and too much to make disability compliant. This should not be a public school, sell them the building.
Robin Lowry: Woodlands Heights resident in support of the school. I hear a lot of fear and anger about the past. Our group is paying for the sins committed before us. We ask for a neutral ground and the chance.
Charles Howell: Former NY schoolboard member 1965-1967. A charter school will not settle our problems. Why don’t the people that want a new school come in and improve the system? If we’re going to make the city that we want, people have to join in and work on the sytem — not work around the periphery.
Daniel Lawrence: This is a gift staring at you.
Clarence Kinney: I am opposed to the charter school, at least for right now. My community does not know what is going on with the PHI. We should have had public meetings. The time is not right with the election coming up in November. What you are proposing is a good idea – why can’t you do this within the system?
Charlie Schmidt: There is no conflict of interest. Our legal representation is a man who lives in the neighborhood and offered his services. There is a transportation plan, we are working on this.
Gary (last name): I’m not against the school. We need to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to attend. Make sure that the building is ADA compliant.
Rev.Lewis (last name): I am in support of the initiative. This is a time for change where we can bring forth something good. History does not have to repeat itself, a precedent can be set. We, as African-Americans, have a voice here. Don’t look over our shoulders at what was, but look at what can be.
Susan Martin: Vote yes and give the school a chance to succeed. We have expressed throughout the process our desire to partner with RPS. The school is open to the entire city with no open slots for anyone. Our application and budget are on our website.
Ernest Ford: I am in favor of the PHI. It sickens me that people oppose this because of history. Race is not an issue, that area of Semmes is very diverse. Why do we keep playing second to Henrico/Chesterfield?
John Richmond: RPS teacher, former host of WRIR “Richmond Education Today”. There is no greater opportunity than having a park next to school to really allow being able to teach to all kinds of learning styles. The school needs to mirror the make-up of the children of city.
name? (woman 2): This is a well-intentioned community. Hope and change is needed on a local level; show progressive thinking.
Angela Dews: There are issues that have not been addressed. How will the exceptional education students have their needs met? The application does not address this.
Dawn Page: PHI should not happen at the expense at the rest of the system. Let’s change RPS and provide for all students in Richmond Public Schools.
Sheryl Marcus: Westover Hills residents. Families are moving out of the neighborhood because of the schools. I love the city and do not want to leave. I would like a great neighborhood school, but do not see this happening soon. PHI is an opportunity to get a great school going – this will attract residents.
Antoine Green (president – Richmond Crusade for Voters): We have heard arguments on both sides of the issue. Because PHI does not have the suppot of the NAACP, REA — we can not support this. Let this be an opportunity to begin the dialog towards fixing the entire system.
Kirsten Grey – I support this charter, it gives me hope. It will spur innovative programs at other schools.
Jessica Hoffa – with Patrick Henry Initiative. When is the last time that you saw this many people at a schoolboard meeting? I wasn’t here when Patrick Henry was open before;I am here now and very involved.
Charles Willis – We have heard concerns about race, about whether or not certain children will be allowed to attend the school. Has the board considered that the school will be needed as a zoned school? I am not going to say that I am opposed or against.
After the public comment, the Superintendent’s Report first received rcomendations on human resources actions, received an updated on the New Direction (personalized education plans for each student, etiquette training), and then got the recomendation from the Charter School Review Committee.
The committee cited 6 items of concern, including curriculum, enrollment, accontability, budget, facilty and exceptional education issues. With one exception, the committe recommended that the application be denied, saying that the application is still not complete. The board then discussed this for_fucking_ever, finally getting the vote in after 10PM.
Well, “man 2″ is more formally known as “Richard Day,” aka the president of the PHSI, but otherwise your recap is accurate. Including your editorial comment right there at the end :)
I must have just missed the vote…my mom and I left just after ten. Once that SB lawyer piped up, we were sure it was going to either be voted down or end up tabled again. I hope those of you that stuck it out got some good celebrating in!
I really appreciate the listing of public comments. There are people I respect and admire on both sides of this and it’s heart-wrenching.
I understand the desire to move beyond the past with a brave experiment, but this scenario couldn’t be a more transparent appeasement of constituents who continually hold out the threat of white flight (the same self-segregating that has crippled Richmond – not just the schools – since Massive Resistance). How these two sides resisted collaboration and relied on the school board to play arbiter is painfully ironic.
One glaring contradition here seems to be the talking point that the school will be open to all of Richmond’s children and the subtext that it’s really a school for hills and heights residents. Which is it? Haven’t we seen other magnet schools in Richmond fall short of representative diversity?
I’d probably want my kid to go to a school like this (although I’m having trouble swallowing the uniform thing), but this first step isn’t exactly getting off on a good foot.
RVA Foodie, Not everyone who supports the charter is threatening white flight. My kids currently attend an all black school (only 7 whites are enrolled) and I plan on staying if the RPS administration doesn’t close it down and if they can give my youngest the education she needs and deserves(my oldest is moving on to middle school). She is tired of waiting for a challenging curriculum. I support the Charter hoping something good will happen on the east end of town. I’m so sick of the teaching to the every nine week tests. Do you know how many times my oldest has been tested on Jamestown? Too many to count. Just think about how miserable it was to listen to the School Board members debate the same points for hours only to vote the exact same way as they did several hours before…okay, this is what our poor children go through everyday in the regular RPS outside of the elitest, wealthy schools. If I pull my kids from RPS, it hasn’t nothing to do with the racial make up of schools and everything to do with the mind bending teach to the test curriculum.
Oh, congrats PHI!!! I’m so happy for you guys…I’m celebrating and winding down now with a glass of wine.
Charter school is OK’d for Richmond (RTD 5/20/08)
Board Approves Charter School (cbs6 5/19/08)
[...] over to Hill and Heights for the full story, including summaries of comments from the [...]
Foodie –
I believe the charter states dress code OR uniform, that detail has yet to be decided. The intention is to choose
whatever is most economical for parents. It could be as simple as jeans and a white shirt. Having gone through school without being able to afford what my classmates were wearing myself, I appreciate this equalizing effort. Kids today feel this pressure, even at the grade school level.
Great coverage, thanks!
Highest praise goes out to all of the folks involved in the PHI. They worked their tails off and accomplished what many thought impossible.
The public comment section of the meeting solidified my belief that Richmond remains completely divided along racial lines. Distrust and misunderstanding abounds. Hopefully this noble effort at real diversity in education will improve the situation. Hopefully…
That RTD article was uninformative uninformative. Where would we be without the blogs?
Grey: I understand that every PHCI supporter is not threatening to leave the city if they don’t get to run their own school. The intentions of the School Board are what I think has riled up the rhetoric (and I hope to tone mine down here). The Board’s reaction to having their back against the wall is very telling (and it shouldn’t diminish the excitement around PHCI). When predominantly black community groups spearheaded the Build Schools Now! initiative, they were swept aside and attacked for undermining the successes of Open Enrollment at Fox and Mumford. I think PHCI should have joined their call for a capital investment in schools across the board while maintaining their charter. The impression that is conveyed is that the city gov’t begrudgingly heeds calls for improvements, and when they do, it’s strategically diminished in scale and selective along racial lines. I hope this turns out to be a victory for our kids’ education, but it’s been pretty disheartening as those in power used the issue to divide the people.
Common Sense Mom: Thanks for the clarification about uniforms. I would hate to rule out Patrick Henry cuz Jasper wouldn’t be able to wear his latest outfit (and because his daddy doesn’t want him looking like a private school preppy).
Phil: I hope that people listened to each other last night. The racial division can’t get worse (I hope). There must have been missed opportunities along the way for both sides to unify. It’s not too late.
so uninformative, I had to say it twice (darned cutnpaste)
To address foodie’s comments:
“this scenario couldn’t be a more transparent appeasement of constituents who continually hold out the threat of white flight…How these two sides resisted collaboration and relied on the school board to play arbiter is painfully ironic. ”
Mr. Braxton specifically addressed the white-flight folks in his comments, which I very much appreciated. He evidently received some emails from people (who’ve never set foot in a city school and refuse to even countenance the idea of sending their kids to a “regular” school) threatening to take their toys and go home if the charter wasn’t approved. The gist of his response was “People have been doing that for years – don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” There are certainly people in the community that see the school as a chance to “get away” and not have to invest in the general community. The point is that the board of the PHSI, and certainly all the people I’ve met that are directly involved in pushing/planning the school, do NOT think that way.
Regarding “resisting collaboration,” I couldn’t disagree more with this, at least as it applies to the PHSI folk. It takes two sides to collaborate, and the PHSI has all its application info on the website, every meeting is on the public calendar, and ANYONE who wanted input on this school was welcome to attend.
“One glaring contradition here seems to be the talking point that the school will be open to all of Richmond’s children and the subtext that it’s really a school for hills and heights residents. Which is it?”
I don’t think it’s so much a contradiction as a muddling of past and present goals. The original intent was to reopen PH as a neighborhood school, then as a neighborhood charter school, then it morphed into a city charter once they found out what the rules were. Obviously most of us would still like to send our kids there, since it *is* in the ‘hood. So, it’s both.
[...] Richmond School Board tentatively approved the Patrick Henry Charter School last night. Hills and Heights has a play by play of the meeting. And the Times-Dispatch covers it in today’s paper as well. Voting in favor of the [...]
I spoke to Patrick Henry last night, too — on my way home after that long School Board meeting. As I sat at the stoplight and looked at the school, I told him, “welcome back!”
Great job, PHI folks. Congratulations.
I agree – poor article in the T-D. Mr. Reid has not provided good coverage of the issue at all.
Thanks for covering it here and thanks for all the comments!
I also want to let everyone know the regular 8pm Tuesday meeting will not take place tonight (taking a rest after the long meeting last night), but we’ll start up again next week(May 27)
As an interested parent whose child may be able to attend Patrick Henry, I would like to voice some observations and cocerns I noted from the School Board Meeting.
First, the observed tone of the supporters of PHCI was selfish, pedantic, and disrespectful. With the exception of a few speakers, each supporter’s statement was littered with the words “me”, “my”, “mine” and “I”. In contrast the majortity of opponents to the PHCI used the words “we” and “our” when describing their respective neighborhoods and schools. The message I took from the language of PHCI supporters was, “how dare you question this”. As a casual observer, I think the PCHI should take some notes on public speaking from thier opponents and maybe draft Rev. Lewis of the Berryman Center as your spokesman.
Second, when addressing the School Board; the opponents of PHCI were by and large respectful and cognizant of the their position addressing a government body and began their statements with: “Mr. Chairman”, “Madam Superintendent”, and so on. Conversely, the majority of PHCI supporters started their statements with “Hello”, “Hey Everyone”, or no acknowledgement of the governing body whatsoever. This was observed to be highly disrespectful, elitist and full of hubris. Know where you are and with whom you are speaking.
Lastly, I was surprised by the dress of those that had signed up to speak in front of the School Board. Again, opponents of PHCI wore ties, business suits, and appropriate dress for a public hearing. Most of the PHCI supporters showed up in what could be called “garden casual”; sundresses the like. When planning to speak and state a position that is this important; you should look the part.
The PHCI application is professional, well-researched, and sends a clear message in its verbiage. If you want to be taken as seriously as you think we should take you; a closer look at the unspoken message you are sending is imperative. I am a supporter of the PHCI, but after attending last night and listening to your language; the accused undertones of elitism, disrespect for diversity and inclusion are still ringing loudly from that School Board Meeting Room podium.
Bert Berlin posted a thoughtful message yesterday about
cooler heads prevailing. I think it still applies and it does some justice by each side.
Mr. Charles:
You make some interesting observations, and I believe some of them are partially accurate. Keep in mind that there were only a few (four or five?) people signed up to speak – the rest were relatively spontaneous, and may not have been as well-prepared as those who came before them, in dress or remarks.
As for those “accused undertones,” it can be extremely difficult to keep one’s composure when one has just had to sit and listen to a well-dressed, “respectful” individual accuse one of being a white supremacist. It’s also not pleasant to hear that your totally well-intentioned effort is seen on the surface as an effort at segregation.
Fortunately for us, there are people like you that have taken the time to read the proposal and understand the underlying intention, despite any shortcomings in the public presentation thereof. I hope you’re able to attend meetings and give input, as we only have our own viewpoints to see from. Yours will be welcomed.
Oh dear – I seem to have made an assumption that D. Charles is of the masculine persuasion. If I’m wrong, then I apologize to Ms. Charles. Or perhaps we could just call you “D.”
D, The “We” coming from some opponents mouth was for bullying and dividing purposes. The “I” in many cases was used in areas of opinion and personal experience and is both honest and correct. Read a little Joan Didion –one of the most brilliant nonfiction writers and thinkers around.
We can’t assume that everyone thinks just like we do. In that previous sentence, an “I” would be more respectful and true.
I was one of the spontaneous speakers and while I was dressed professionally, I did blunder the greeting. I was quite nervous – to the point that I even forgot to say MY name. It was an innocent mistake borne out of jangled nerves only. The School Board members are professionals and I believe they understood.
The School Board does deserve to be addressed respectfully and I was appalled at the way some of the opponents to the charter bullied, accused, even threatened the School Board members. I was personally offended at being accused of white supremacy. Certain oppositional speakers lost alot of credibility because of the overbearing and disrespectful tone they took, thier words were so offensive that it made no difference what they were wearing. Several School Board members stated they did not appreciate or respond to being bullied.
Wow, there is so much sentimentalism and politics wrapped up in our public schools that we bind ourselves with bickering, and bureaucracy.
Those who utter sentiments akin to ,”If you are not part of the solution , you are part of the problem,” forget that there are more solutions than public or private school. In fact, that argument is a false dichotomy.
Just because someone doesn’t want to work within the conventional schooling system, doesn’t mean they don’t care about their fellow citizens or educating our young. It just means they want to try something new, something outside the constraints of the existing institution. It is not necessarily a condemnation of the existing system.
If the folks who love and support the public school love and support it then good for the public schools but that doesn’t mean we all have to love and support them….we may have other ideas that we love and support.
It is interesting to witness this debate and I wish the Patrick Henry charter school well. I’d like to see a return of small neighborhood schools, personally. Ones where the teachers live in the neighborhood and the parents work cooperatively to run the schools rather than only being invited to chaperone and fund raise.
It will be a fine day indeed when the papers report that the school board was discussing innovative educational theories, visiting different countries to observe their approaches and talking to the children and families about best practices in community education rather than the daily reporting of corruption, in-fighting and general mayhem.
stepping off soap box.
Kimmy in Fulton Hill
Kimmy,
I’m in Church Hill. I’d like to meet you. I want an innovative program at Bellevue where my children walk to school.