RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond School board met Tuesday night for an emergency meeting to debate how to address the two-thirds of students who failed multiple SOL tests.
Despite the focus on poor SOL test scores, another big topic at Tuesday's meeting surrounded rumors that RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras could be fired.
On Monday morning, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoneyaddressed these rumors on Twitter, voicing that he was against the rumored firing.
The board did not publicly address these rumors during the open session of the meeting, and several parents during public comment showed their support for Kamras.
Instead, the board members debated the best way to address the failed SOL tests.
"Our kids are not okay, our kids have lived through a global pandemic," one speaker at the meeting said.
How to move forward from the unsatisfactory test scores is at top of mind for all parents, teachers and Richmond school board members. This comes after officials weighed the impacts of what students went through over the last two years and how they performed on the state-issued testing.
"These results locally and statewide are concerning but given the pandemic, they are not altogether unexpected. Virtual learning, record student staff absences due, unprecedented social-emotional trauma, homelessness, employment loss," Kamras said.
Just around a third of Richmond students passed the SOL in each subject in the 2021-2022 school year.
In comparison to the 2020-2021 school year, 59% of students in Richmond passed history, 55% passed writing and 46% passed the science SOL. Student scores statewide in writing also dropped from a 69% pass rate to 65%.
RPS Vice Chair Kenya Gibson, seconded by Jonathan Young, wanted to introduce a motion to take action immediately.
They mentioned implementing a newly built curriculum by the end of the 2023 school year to meet the unique needs of RPS students. They also wanted teachers to not be punished for veering away from this year's current curriculum.
"We're going to chart a new path for Richmond Public Schools, a new course that will dissolve decision-making to accommodate teachers to provide for the first time in the history of the city," Young.
"Change is difficult. Change is hard. There are plenty of folks that would like to see things stay the same and I am not one of them," Gibson said.
Several board members expressed concerns about not knowing this was something that was going to be brought up.
"The City of Richmond did not elect private group chats or emails, PACs or anything else. They elected nine board members. So when recommendations are going down, they should go down to everyone so we can be on the same page," one board member said.
Board Chairwoman Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed then weighed in.
"It is not my responsibility to ask school board members to call other school board members. Even though I say share and talk with your colleagues. It's up to adults to self-check," Harris-Muhammed said.
"I have grave concerns about this motion on procedural grounds and sustentative grounds. This is a violation of our board norms to not vote on items not on the agenda," Kamras said.
The motion failed after all members weighed in and then the board moved to a closed session.
