The Richmond Waldorf School holds its May Faire celebration tomorrow, Saturday May 10, from 10-2. Open to the public, this event is brings members of the larger Richmond community to RWS to celebrate. Children decorate wreaths with fresh spring flowers, dance around the Maypole, and sing songs of Spring. Children’s activities, stories, and delicious treats are available for the whole family.

The Richmond Waldorf School is tucked in behind Westover Baptist Church, at 1000 Westover Hills Blvd

From the DPW:

All lanes of Canal Street between 7th Street and 9th Street and all lanes of 8th Street between Franklin Street and Cary Street will be closed from 6 a.m. to Noon on Saturday, May 10. These closures will be needed for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The southbound lanes of the Manchester Bridge will also be closed for the race from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The northbound lanes of the bridge will not be closed.

Motorists are encouraged to avoid these areas during the closure times or to be prepared for traffic delays associated with detours. The 14th Street Bridge and the Lee Bridge are alternatives for motorists who need to go south of the James River during the closure.

Thanks to the I Have A Dream Foundation, 15 George Wythe seniors have earned college credit during high school and will be able to continue their education at university and/or the military. These students are also acting as mentors for younger children at Broad Rock Elementary, where students receive academic support, cultural activities and individual attention through their elementary, middle and high school years, plus tuition assistance for higher learning.

Southampton Elementary has been recognized as a 2008 Title I Distinguished School. Title I schools typically draw 40% or more of its students from low-income families, and as such, receive direct federal funding for instruction. Recipients of this award have maintained full state accreditation two consecutive years, met No Child Left Behind benchmarks in reading and math, and scored above the 60th percentile in both subjects.

Ross at RVANews (among other places) came through big and summed up last night’s meeting nicely. Between that and the constant updates from Gray & other folks here, it was a pretty impressive reporting effort, especially when compared to other articles that didn’t say too much we didn’t already know.

The next milestone comes May 15, 5PM, in a public meeting between the PHI folks & the school board. Let’s hope that someone affiliated w/ RPS actually reads the proposal thoroughly by then.

Gray brought this up comments to another post, but I thought it warranted a more prominent mention. The school board discussion on the Patrick Henry charter school initiative is scheduled for the 4:30 portion of today’s meeting, with a closed meeting to follow. It’s likely too late to do anything about it, but contacting your board rep today might be therapeutic, if not exactly productive.

…and by most accounts, the South of the James Market was quite the success.

I’ve received some questions about this site and occasional editorializing, and its relationship with RPS and the PH School Initiative. So I’ll take a potentially long-winded moment to clarify things below the fold.
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Just in case you forgot, or missed it the first time around, the South of the James Market kicks off tomorrow morning, 8am, at Shelter 2 in Forest Hill Park (circa New Kent & 42nd). I’ll be the guy trying to figure out how to carry 4 armloads of produce home on his bike.

The Patrick Henry Charter School is open to any Richmond City elementary student and the upcoming School Board vote, likely to occur on 5/5/08, will impact every child and district within the city limits. They’re asking for your help. See their mailing for all the details: PDF here, Word doc here.

Not surprisingly, their take isn’t exactly enthusiastic. While the article doesn’t out-and-out accuse the PH Initiative of promoting school segregation, it certainly floats the suggestion. REA President Wade Ellegood (who, you might recall, is on the committee to recruit a new RPS Superintendent), is particularly opposed:

I think they are making a major mistake by allowing this charter school even though it has not met the criteria of the state…Outside of that 90 percent of what’s in their application does not meet state standards and it does not make any sense for us to invest in something that doesn’t meet state standards.

Richmond City Parent Teacher Association President Tichi Pickney Eppes is only slightly less disagreeable towards the concept, stating that “all of our elementary schools are accredited. So if that is the case we don’t necessarily need another chartered elementary school. The kids are doing fine it would appear in their current environment.”

If you’ll pardon the editorializing again….Does Mr. Ellegood include the 7 or 8 current RPS schools that didn’t meet Adequate Yearly Progress in his comments about not investing “in something that doesn’t meet state standards?” And does Ms. Eppes really believe that all of “the kids are doing fine…in their current environment?”

Finally, the article mentions “traditional charter schools that are operating currently in RPS.” Would someone be so kind as to inform me which RPS schools are charter schools? Because the state Dept. Of Education seems to think there are only 3 (with a 4th due in August) public charter schools in Virginia, and none are in the Richmond area.

Style profiles the newly-remodeled Thai’s Mama in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center.

A new month brings a new round of computer classes at the Westover Hills Library. Full flyer below…
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With the news that 4th District rep George Braxton wouldn’t be returning to the School Board after his current term is up, we wondered who would be best for the 4th District. The first candidate has stepped up in the form of local blogger Bert Berlin. We’re hoping to catch up with Bert for a brief Q&A regarding his candidacy (and if you have any burning questions, shoot ‘em our way).

This begs the question: will Bert run unopposed, or will other hats be thrown into the ring?

A woman’s body was found inside a home at 102 W. 33rd St late Sunday afternoon. Police are treating the incident as a homicide.