Category Archives: schools

Open High Students March For Climate

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The Times Dispatch has a nice article on Open High students’ participation in today’s international youth march for climate awareness.

Here’s an excerpt:

About 100 Open students – roughly half of the school’s population – left their studies in the Oregon Hill neighborhood at 9:30 a.m. and marched down Belvidere, Franklin and Broad streets to demand the city and school system take action to stop the effects of climate change.

“This is our future,” said senior Ian McCoy. “The generations before us screwed up our environment and now we have to suffer.”

McCoy helped organize the Richmond protest, one of an estimated 2,000 across the world on Friday. Global students drew inspiration from Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish activist who has held demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament since last year. Thunberg was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

What I really appreciated was that the article included specific demands from Richmond students to their school administration and City government:

1. Have the city and Richmond School Board recognize the need “to include steps to mitigate climate change with the long term and short term goals.”
2. Use green building standards in school renovations and construction.
3. Have the school district stop using Styrofoam and other non-recyclable, one-time-use plastics in school lunches.
4. Reduce energy usage and improve energy efficiency in schools.
They made those requests known in a meeting Friday with Richmond Public Schools Chief of Staff Michelle Hudacsko and Mayor Levar Stoney’s Senior Policy Advisor for Youth Initiatives, Eva Colen.

Bring on the solar schools!

Corner of Pine and China St., Grace Arents School, 1911

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For this ‘Throwback Thursday” history post, here’s a great 1911 photo of the corner of S. Pine and China streets. It shows the Grace Arents School, named after the activist, philanthropist and niece of Lewis Ginter who funded its construction. The school building is now used for award-winning Open High School. In fact in 2011, there was a centennial celebration.

Notice the streetcar tracks, which were visible until at least early 1960’s. Many of the tracks still exist today, lying under the modern streets.

This photo was posted in the Visual and Vintage Virginia FaceBook group.

Red For Ed March On Monday, Starting In Monroe Park

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From event page:

It comes down to this: our state government made a promise to us in the Constitution to provide free, high-quality schools for all children in Virginia. As teachers, we know that an equitable and high quality public education system is the cornerstone of the type of society we all want to live in.

The time is now. January 28 parents, teachers, students and community members will march on the capitol to tell our General Assembly to #FundOurSchools. We need you to join us. #RedForEd #Red4Ed

RSVP here: https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/march-rally-details

From Richmond Police Department:

Also:

Ed. note: this neighborhood is very familiar with these issues:

https://www.oregonhill.net/2018/07/01/broken-promises-richmonds-leaders-dont-want-to-put-schools-first/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2014/04/28/and-they-march/

A Positive Step For School Modernization

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Local media are reporting about the announced school funding plan from Mayor Stoney that should satisfy the 2017 School Modernization Referendum. The WRIC report includes these highlights of the plan:

Successfully provides $800 million of school capital investment over 20 years;
Does not rely on any real estate tax increase;
Includes $150 million of school capital investment funding based on the recently enacted 1.5% meals tax that is dedicated to Schools;
Allows for full compliance with all of the city’s existing Debt Policy Guidelines;
Provides significant capital funding for general non-school projects over the same 20-year time frame;
Relies on 2% growth in the city’s debt service budget commencing in FY 2024, a rate that is below that of historic inflation and is a fraction of the city’s recent growth in taxable real estate assessed valuation.

Paul Goldman, who was the author of the Put Schools First campaign and subsequent referendum (as well as the new one!) had this say:

Media/Stoney/Council/Democrats/Chamber finally understand the citizen led 2017 School Modernization Referendum. The Referendum effort had and has only one public spirited goal: Getting long denied RVA children out of decrepit, intolerable, immoral buildings conditions and into clean, modern, worthy facilities necessary to teach a true 21st century education. I knew – as did Richmond Crusade for Voters and Sierra Club – that City Hall, City Council, editorial writers, columnists, and Chamber of Commerce would not do it without putting the proverbial political gun to their heads. And if in the end City Hall, Council, editorialists, columnists, Chamber, et al join together to do the right thing, I will be cheering the loudest for them and give them all the credit.

So, wishing good fellowship for the holidays. We shall see more of the details of the Mayor’s plan when he presents it to City Council on January 14th. Let’s hope it includes lots of vision on including historic preservation, green building, and solar for our ailing school system.

Important Message To VCU’s Board Of Visitors

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From message:

Dear VCU Rector Hall,

In good faith the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has engaged in the VCU master planning process. We have repeatedly and respectfully made the request for written commitments that: 1). VCU will not encroach further south of W. Cary Street into the Oregon Hill Historic District, and 2). VCU will respect Oregon Hill by limiting the height of any buildings across Cary Street from the Oregon Hill Historic District to 3 or 4 stories.

Unfortunately, at this point VCU has not agreed to this reasonable request. We note VCU has made similar written commitments to the Fan and Carver neighborhoods. We do not understand why VCU is unwilling to offer a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with your adjacent neighbors to the south at the same time that VCU does have a MOU with the nation of Cuba. You are probably aware of the long history of encroachment into Oregon Hill by VCU.

We, therefore, respectfully ask that the VCU Board of Visitors agree to the reasonable request for these two written commitments so that the “Town/Gown” relationship between Oregon Hill and VCU can continue to prosper with mutual good will.

Sincerely,

Todd Woodson, President
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association

VCU Siren Testing On Wednesday

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From VCU Police:

VCU SIREN TESTING / WEDNESDAY DEC 5: Virginia Commonwealth University will be activating its upgraded siren system on Wed., Dec. 5 at noon as part of its monthly siren testing in 2018. This includes sirens installed on the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses and a new siren at VCU Police headquarters, located at 224 East Broad Street.
The addition of a siren at VCUPD headquarters means VCU students, faculty and staff in facilities downtown, along with residents and businesses, will hear the signal more clearly than when the sirens were only located on VCU’s campuses. In a real emergency, the sirens are activated in conjunction with VCU’s other alerting technologies, including text messages. In a real emergency, updates are posted on alert.vcu.edu.

VCU students, faculty and staff can manage their VCU Alert texting and email preferences in the myVCU portal, under the “Manage Emergency Alerts” tab. Community members can sign up for VCU Alerts to receive text messages and/or emails at: https://alert.vcu.edu/signup/index.php.

Planning Commission Presentation

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Laurel Street neighbor, Charles Pool, on behalf of the Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council, made a presentation to the City of Richmond Planning Commission at their meeting this afternoon. Above are slides from his presentation. They support and reiterate previous statements from Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council and the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association.

The Commission was considering both VCU’s master plan and an important ordinance, #2018-276, from Councilperson Agelasto that would require better public notification of rulings by the Zoning Administrator.