Stephanie Rizzi for 5th District School Board.
Together Our Children Thrive!
I am the adult survivor of a very tough childhood. School was my refuge…
As a product of public schools, a lifelong educator, and an RPS parent, I know how vitally important a well-funded high-quality public education is to achieving the democratic ideals of our nation. I have no idea where I would be without the benefit of a public education delivered by teachers and support staff who truly cared for me as an individual. School was my safe space, and this is something for which I am forever grateful. It is my strong belief that schools should be “hubs of care” for our communities and should offer high quality education, guidance, and support that all children need to thrive. The School Board should do all it can to ensure that this happens.
As your 5th District School Board representative, I promise to fight for policies that foster teacher empowerment, student development both academic and personal, and needs-based school funding through budgeting that prioritizes the kind of on-the-ground daily work it takes to provide our children with all the best we can offer.
It is my goal to make the case to all city residents — whether they have children or not — that providing all children with a world class public education will reap benefits that are simply too great to count.
Thriving Students
Student academic and personal development should be high on any school board’s priority list. School curriculums need to be student centered and should meet students where they are. There is absolutely no way to achieve this without knowing who they are. This is why I am leery of pre-packaged curriculums that haven’t been carefully vetted by teachers, parents, and students — our three primary stakeholders, and I will fight to ensure all decisions of this nature, including the price tag and any potential conflicts of interest, are made in a climate of transparency. Our children should not be force-fed any curriculum that doesn’t reflect pedagogical best practices and determining whether any curriculum meets that bar is the job of everyone involved — our community cannot not be left out of the discussion. Informational presentations are one thing — soliciting and then considering stakeholder input is another.
I am also interested in advocating for the reimagining of school discipline. Too many of our students are suspended for infractions that could have been either prevented in the first place or adequately dealt with inside the school. We need more counselors than cops. We need to break the school to prison pipeline, and it is only through mediation of the deeper issues students deal with that this can be done — the research shows that suspension has no real value, but neither does sending a disruptive child back to the classroom with no intervention. It is time to get serious about real alternatives that get to the heart of what our students really need. It is also no secret that many parents struggle to afford quality after-care for their children. I was one of them. I intend to address this as your school board representative. We have a need for robust, inclusive, safe after school programs that are accessible to all of our students. All of this will require significant funding. Our budget should absolutely reflect our priorities.
Empowered Teachers
Teachers must be at the center of any discussion regarding what is best for our students. Top heavy administrations with multiple layers of bureaucracy are counterproductive to true teacher empowerment. Teachers have earned their credentials; they have taken courses on curriculum and instruction, classroom management, and course design, and they hone their skills on a daily basis. Teachers spend countless hours with our students in the classroom and beyond every single day, and should be trusted. As my aunt, Joan Bowser, a long-time nurse educator said to me not so long ago, a good teacher is “worth their weight in gold.” As an example, my youngest son who attended John B. Cary Elementary School had the same wonderful teacher (pictured above)from pre-K to second grade. I credit her with motivating him to permanently develop academic curiosity and a love for learning — not for grades, but because they make his life richer and broaden his understanding of so much in this world. I could not have done that alone. It took a phenomenal teacher. So why, I ask, wouldn’t we solicit recommendations from teachers FIRST when considering the appropriate use of technology in the classroom, grade level/course specific curriculum content and pacing, useful professional development that doesn’t feel like a waste of time, or issues with attendance and student retention? They are our experts.
Community Voice
My campaign is supported by community leaders who are already standing up for keeping public education public and accessible to all. Richmond’s public education movement including many members of the grassroots organization Richmond For All has fought successfully to force the School Board to put forward a needs-based budget; it has won democratic reforms to the education compact, and it has organized events to promote an understanding of the very real danger of privatization. Our parents, students, and teachers have shown us that we have power and that our vision for education is not for sale. The fight for this must continue. RPS has amazing teachers and wonderful students. I am a witness to that. But they need our support and our willingness to try new approaches that take our students’ minds and hearts into account before anything else. They need to know that we care about them and want to give them the best tools available, so that they can care for our most precious resource — our kids. We must also protect our right to public education that is free of corporate or private influence or interest.
I hope you will join me in my quest to help give our parents, students, and educators what they need, so that RPS can be the best it can be for each and every one of us.
Together our children thrive!!!!!
