Our Story: Richmond Virtual Academy

This is us

“The School Board has adopted this policy to ensure equitable and fair educational opportunities for all students by allocating resources fairly and equitably, providing diverse learning opportunities and demonstrating the commitment of equity and fairness across the school division.”

8–1.8-Equity Policy for Student Achievement

This is a story about equity. Richmond Virtual Academy (or RVA) is the Home of the RVA Owls, but we are so much more. RVA is a school that has supported students who have come alive in the virtual setting. As we look ahead, we are here today to share our story in hopes that our division will commit to ensuring we are able to provide equitable access to any student who thrives in the virtual learning setting.

Here is our story.

In the Beginning

In April 2021, a team of RPS staff members were assembled to develop the foundation for a school program that could support the needs of students and families who elected to remain virtual for the 2021–2022 school year. In June 2021, there was a call for RPS teachers to apply to transfer to work at the Richmond Virtual Academy. Some staff members elected to participate while other staff members were placed in this program to support health related accommodations. Staff members selected to be transferred or applied for a position to RVA were reassured that in the event that the position was no longer needed due to changes in enrollment, staff members would be reabsorbed into RPS and be placed into a position that closely matches their role in the RVA program.

Becoming

In August 2021, the RVA program began the school year serving 2000 RPS virtual learners with just 72 FTEs assigned to the program. RVA staff members worked tirelessly to ensure that all learners were in receipt of the materials and supplies needed for continued learning and prepared to be successful. Pre-K- 5 students began to learn from RPS teachers using the RPS Curriculum, while secondary students began to learn from the Virtual Virginia Curriculum and learning management system. As with any new program, RVA experienced many challenges and persevered to ensure that every scholar received the best support while enrolled in the program.

As a result of the hard work and dedication of the RVA Team, the school proudly boasts and has maintained a 91% attendance rate throughout this school year and a chronic absenteeism rate of just 11%. Out of 26 elementary schools, RVA scholars are currently ranked number 7 in meeting middle of the year goals for early literacy. RVA scholars are continuously growing in reading and in math as identified by iReady assessments. And according to RVA internal parental feedback surveys shared with families in December 2021, more than 95% of RVA families wish to remain enrolled in the program.

Preliminary Plans

By the end of January 2022, RVA families had not received any district communication about the plans for the 2022–2023 school year. RVA families were beginning to reach out to teachers and the RVA admin team with questions regarding whether or not the program would continue and if they could be added to the program for the coming year. On February 2, 2022, the School Board met to discuss the budget for the 2022–23 school year. A School Board member spoke and brought up the fact that RVA was not included in the operational budget and expressed that it shouldn’t be cut. At that time, the only position for RVA in the budget draft was that of the Richmond Virtual Academy Principal. On February 4, 2022, the Superintendent informed RVA staff that RVA Reimagined included the following: a select population of students, reduction of FTEs from 72 to 10 and eliminating the Encore Team, with the exception of Counseling. In turn, staff would be RIF’d if the proposal was approved by the School Board at the meeting held the following week.

The Superintendent then shared that members of the RVA team would be invited to collaborate and engage in program planning for the next school year, yet they were never provided with dates or specifics regarding the planning. On February 10th, RVA staff members were RIF’d via email from the Talent Team. RVA staff received an invitation to participate in an internal Transfer Fair on February 16th, which was scheduled at the same time that a follow up special meeting was called by the School Board. This communication regarding the RIF and transfer fair were sent to staff prior to the School Board meeting and without approval of the RIF. Nevertheless, teachers were encouraged to attend and told that priority consideration would be given to RVA staff members who were RIF’d. With this reassurance, some RVA teachers signed up and attended the Transfer Fair.

Advocacy

• On February 7th, many RVA staff members attended the school board meeting. The RVA Principal spoke at the meeting sharing her excitement that the program would continue. She hoped that the program would be able to serve as many families who needed or desired to do so. The RVA principal sent several follow up emails to senior leadership and to the school board urging school leaders to consider transitioning RVA from a program to a school of record. This would eliminate the budget concerns regarding the program and ensure that funding is awarded to the program in the same way it is for all schools of record. This is based on the school’s average daily membership which is enrollment.
• On February 11th, the RVA Principal was directed to inform RVA staff members that they must contact the RPS Engagement Office before engaging with the media about RVA. She was also told to refrain from reaching out to members of senior leadership and the school board directly. The RPS principal followed this directive by directing inquiries to her immediate supervisors prior to contacting anyone in the School Cabinet and School Board as advised.
• On February 14, and at the direction of the Superintendent, the RVA Principal shared a letter that Superintendent Kamras wrote for families saying that RVA would not continue in its current form, but that it would be available to students who qualified for homebound or home-based instruction as well as students with medically fragile caregivers.
• The RVA faculty and staff advocated with letters to the school board and attendance at follow up school board meetings in favor of ensuring that the RVA program could support a larger number of students.
• On February 28th, the School Board approved 30 positions with the intention of sheltering the current RVA program. This was to ensure RVA could continue to serve more students than the original proposed 10 full time employees would be able to serve.

Reimagination

The RVA admin team began seeking district leadership guidance on engaging staff and families in the planning process for the 2022–23 school year. The RPS district leadership created a team to begin the initial stages of planning. They asked the RVA Principal to participate as the only current RVA staff member on the team, despite her request to have additional RVA staff members and stakeholders at the table. The RVA principal presented two proposals to the group that represented ideas that came from the current RVA team…and while ideas about the culture and climate were accepted, ideas about the staffing plan were rejected.

On March 24th, the Executive Academic Director, Chief of Talent, and Director of Secondary Pathways attended the weekly RVA Staff Huddle. RVA Staff Huddles are recorded for staff members who may miss the weekly huddle, and all parties were aware that the meeting they joined was being recorded. They presented the preliminary plan that they were proposing to present to the school board in April. Staff were given an opportunity to ask questions about the plans. The plan presented took the 30 FTEs and expanded the Superintendent’s Reimagine plan which is an alternative school program with no signs of a sheltered RVA. Many staff raised questions and were concerned that the ideas that were shared in the proposals that were sent by the RVA principal did not seem to be included.

The RIF

At the same meeting, on March 24th, the Chief of Talent confirmed that all RVA staff had been RIF’d and would be required to reapply for their jobs alongside the general public. RVA staff voiced many concerns with this process and raised several questions. RVA staff asked if priority consideration would be given to staff because of the RIF and were told that any transfers would need to be “mutually agreeable.” This means that if the hiring committee does not want to have the employee placed with their team, they can prevent the RIF’d staff member from receiving a placement. RVA Staff also asked if seniority would be applied, and the Chief of Talent confirmed that this would not be extended to this team, either.

This was a heavy conversation for the team. All of the staff members remembered hearing the Superintendent confirm that there would be continuity in this program through the continued leadership of the RVA principal and Assistant Principal. Staff members remembered the RIF notice received in February specifically indicating that priority consideration would be given to staff members who were RIF’d. It felt like retaliation for staff members advocating for virtual learners and their families. Instead of receiving support with job placements and being offered transfers, RVA staff members now must reapply and interview for jobs that are not guaranteed as it is presented as an “opportunity to apply” or “request for a transfer.”

This passive language makes it so that when RVA staff members do apply, they are being turned down. One RVA staff member with five years of experience courageously shared that she applied for the same position at an in person school and was turned down. Another bravely spoke out and shared that she had applied to five different teacher vacancies across three different in person schools, and was turned down for all five despite being in her position as a teacher in this division for 17 years and having no unsatisfactory evaluations.

RPS Students Are Also RIF’d

It is important to note that when RPS RIFs staff in the Richmond Virtual Academy, it inevitably results in a RIF of student options in Richmond Public Schools. One of the biggest lessons learned this year with the Richmond Virtual Academy program is that when in person teams are responsible for the services of both in person students and virtual students, it creates a strain on our in person schools often leading to students not being provided the best service. When RVA began, case management and exceptional education services were provided by staff in the in-person school buildings, which is the model that the RPS Superintendent is proposing again for virtual learning in the coming school year. Under this model, students did not receive appropriate services, and many middle and high school students were dropped from the Virtual Virginia program due to failure and inactivity in the first quarter. While the whole RVA program lost 56% of its students, exceptional education lost 67% of the students with IEPs. After the dramatic drop in enrollment in November, case management and services of secondary students were removed from the in-person schools and assigned to dedicated case managers with RVA. Since the RVA case managers took over services, RVA has retained 100% of its exceptional education learners! Some students have chosen to return to in- person learning for various reasons, but no students have been removed due to poor performance or inactivity. The lesson learned here is that when RVA is appropriately staffed and can operate independently of in-person schools, the data shows that students are successful. Transitioning RVA to a school of record is easily justified when we examine the current data around student academic achievement and attendance when supported by dedicated RVA teachers and staff members.

It’s Not Over Yet

• Two days after the RVA Staff Huddle on March 24th, the RVA Principal sent an email to the School Board sharing her many concerns about the information received by staff and the treatment of RVA staff members. She also shared her concerns regarding the proposed model for virtual learning and urged the school board to consider transitioning RVA from a program to a school to protect students’ access to virtual learning and to avoid having to unnecessarily use additional federal funding. This letter was shared with RVA staff members and included a link to the recorded staff huddle.
• RVA staff members began to research, make phone calls, and send emails to determine how to keep a program that is serving its students, and the school district that we are a part of, with distinction. RVA staff members began speaking out about their experiences with the RIF process, as well as their concerns about the proposed virtual learning program for the coming school year. As the community began to learn more about what was happening with the RVA program, interest grew in people committed to joining the fight to save RVA.
• The RVA Team held two “Parent Parliament” sessions intended to engage RVA families, share exciting upcoming Spring events, and to provide families with an opportunity to understand the potential future of RVA.
• The RVA Team sent a Spring survey to all families to gather feedback and to gauge interest in the program for the 2022–2023 school year, and more than 95% indicated an interest in remaining in the program.

Joining the Fight

• The Richmond Education Association met with REA members from the RVA Staff to hear our story. After hearing it, they have committed to supporting staff in ensuring that RPS staff members receive fair treatment in the RIF and are provided lateral or comparable jobs in the division should their current placement no longer exist.
• Virginia State University and Virginia Commonwealth University are especially interested in supporting the expansion of the RVA program. They, alongside RVA, have a shared desire to harness the power of virtual learning to provide equity in education which resonates with their collegiate programs. They have expressed interest in partnering with RVA as a school of record by working with us to train RVA staff in best practices for virtual learning. They also wish to provide opportunities for dual enrollment for high school RVA scholars and additional in kind services and donations.
• Our community members heard our story and through their actions, they responded with a resounding “This is not over yet….we are joining this fight.”

Call to Action

The end of the story is yet to be determined. This is why we stand before you today.

In the interest of Equity, the RVA students need champions…stakeholders vested in ensuring that RVA remains an option for any student or family that finds success in virtual learning.

RVA needs to become a school of record. Being a school of record means that resources follow scholars enrolled in the Richmond Virtual Academy because RVA will be the scholar’s school of record. The money allocated for the scholars at their zoned, in-person school should follow the scholars virtually, not remain at the in-person school. The division must stop engaging in double staffing by unnecessarily using federal dollars to fund a program that can be covered by local operating dollars when the program is transitioned to a school of record.

We call on the Board to move to maintain the current organizational structure of RVA and allow enrollment to be based on parent choice as well as follow the protocols in place for staffing our school.

Virtual for all is equity for all. Equity is love in action! We urge the School Board to act now and transition RVA from a program to a school. Our students and families deserve it.

Virtual for all is equity for all.