Richmond Public Schools

NEWS RELEASE
Dr. Dana T. Bedden, Superintendent
Kenita Bowers, Director of Communications & Media Relations
Public Information Office: 804-780-7100
publicinfo@richmond.k12.va.us

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2016

Three Richmond City schools to participate in Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities’
annual summer training retreat

RICHMOND, Va. – For the fourth consecutive year, teams of educators from Richmond Public Schools (RPS) will participate in the Richmond Educational Equity Initiative (REEI). Representatives from Redd Elementary, Boushall Middle and George Wythe High schools will represent RPS at this year’s event.

The four-day summer retreat was created by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) to provide a forum for sharing strategies on how to support the development of inclusive learning communities.

Throughout the four-day program, which will be held July 21-24 at Sweet Briar College, RPS educators will participate in interactive workshops and small discussion groups focused on eliminating racial, cultural and socioeconomic disparities. Along with this training and leadership development, additional support will be provided to the participating schools throughout the 2016-2017 school year in the form of professional development, coaching, school and classroom observations and customized programming.

The REEI program is a multi-year partnership with RPS designed to complement VCIC’s ongoing work with the district’s middle and high schools. In previous years, VCIC has supported equity initiatives at Fox Elementary, Greene Elementary, Elkhardt-Thompson Middle, Lucille Brown Middle and Huguenot High schools. Funded by The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia, REEI focuses on reducing achievement gaps through inclusive curriculum, classroom management, family outreach and community engagement.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at (804) 780-7100.

###