RPS News Details

Richmond, Va. — (August 21, 2024) Richmond Public School leaders gathered today at Thomas Jefferson High School (4100 W. Grace St.) to celebrate the Division’s state-leading growth on the 2023-24 Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. RPS students made incredible progress, gaining three percentage points in Reading (47% to 50%) three points in Math (44% to 47%), four points in History/Social Studies (39% to 43%); and a massive ten points in Science (35% to 45%) and Writing (39% to 49%).

RPS additionally had five schools gain accreditation as a result of their efforts in the 2023-24 school year: Bellevue Elementary, Overby-Sheppard Elementary School, GH Reid Elementary School, Dogwood Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School. Dogwood is the second middle school to receive accreditation, and TeeJay is the second comprehensive high school to do so. Overall, 24 RPS schools are now accredited — the most schools the Division has ever had accredited.

Thomas Jefferson Principal Crystal Potee provided the welcome, noting that the school’s achievement was due to the efforts of her team, which worked diligently throughout the year to ensure that students were on track, supported, and cared-for. As a result of their efforts, TeeJay saw a twenty-four percent increase in their Science scores, and an eighteen-percent increase in their History/Social Studies scores. “When I first heard the news, I had every emotion,” she noted. “This simply would not be possible without the team that we have.”

First District School Board Representative Elizabeth Doerr opened her remarks by sharing that when she took office, only one school in her district was accredited; now, it’s all three. “It’s been wonderful to work with school teams on these goals, and to see their work memorialized with this historic accreditation,” she said.

Although Richmond’s overall scores still lag behind the state average, the Division is outpacing the state average, as well as surrounding divisions, in terms of its growth. The gains were particularly prominent in elementary school: RPS fifth graders gained six points in Reading and eight in Math, for instance, against a state average of 1-percent growth in both subject areas.

“It’s a beautiful day in Richmond. RPS students are on the rise, and this is the proof,” said Superintendent Jason Karmas. He credited the Division’s success to its investments in building great principals — “any progress a school makes starts with the school leader” — and in evidence-based instructional practices, Wellness and mental-health supports, and family relationships. He expects the results to continue to improve, noting that the Division’s early-literacy data — collected on the K-2 PALS assessment — is now better than it was pre-pandemic.

He did note that many of these investments were made possible due to pandemic-recovery funding from state and federal governments, and moving forward, “We’ll fight like hell in the General Assembly,” to get what RPS students need. “Education in a high-poverty district is expensive, and it’s an investment.”

State Del. Betsy Carr closed out the remarks. A graduate of Thomas Jefferson herself, she thanked school and City leaders for their hard work. “It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate today,” she noted. The hard work is truly paying off!