Today, Dr. Danny Avula, candidate for Mayor in the City of Richmond, released his second policy paper, this one showcasing his plan to invest in Richmond City Schools to ensure every Richmond child has the opportunity to graduate prepared for a well-paying job or for higher education.
Dr. Avula noted, “I want to make sure that every child’s public school experience leads to success, preparing them to succeed at higher education or in a well paying, fulfilling job. With that singular, critical goal in mind, I am making the commitments below. I am committed to doing everything I can as Mayor to ensure that our kids have what they need to thrive, and that no one gets left behind. I expect that Richmonders will hold me accountable and responsible for bringing positive change to our schools.”
The detailed seven point plan can be found at DannyforMayor.com, but the commitments include:
- Prioritize RPS funding in the budget. Supporting our children and our schools is the most significant investment we can make as a community. We must ensure our children are ready to succeed and to lead, which in turn promises a great future for Richmond. For any proposed city investment I will first ask whether that expenditure is more significant, more necessary than putting those funds into RPS. Our children must come first.
- Aggressively advocate at the General Assembly for Richmond Public Schools. We need a fairer system of allocating state resources to localities’ schools. We need significantly higher funding for the Standards of Quality and the At-Risk Add On category to ensure our needs are met. We need our teachers to receive fair and competitive compensation in recognition of their extraordinary work. Richmond needs funding from the recently established School Construction Assistance Program to bring our school infrastructure up to date. I will aggressively advocate for fair and equitable allocation of funds and support from the state throughout my term.
- Collaborate and communicate with the School Board and Superintendent. I will listen and engage in serious and in-depth collaboration and communication with the School Board, the City Council, the Superintendent and with our RPS teachers concerning the needs of our students, working together to create a shared plan to support our students and their families both in and out of schools.
- Invest in early childhood education. I will advocate for enhanced funding for universal pre-k, but also for affordable childcare, family engagement initiatives, programs promoting vital pre-literacy learning, and comprehensive annual health and vision screening for every Richmond child.
- Invest in out-of-school-time and engagement activities. After school programs are powerful and important tools to help our students discover new-found interests and abilities. We need to build on the success of organizations like NextUp RVA and ensure every RPS student has access to affordable or free productive after-school and summer activities, including access to Richmond’s incredible outdoor and cultural resources.
- Invest in strengthening pathways to college and career for all RPS students. I will work to find funding and resources so no RPS student is deprived of higher education, vocational training, an apprenticeship program or technical training because of lack of funding. We must invest in our students’ long term success.
- Invest in transforming our schools into true community hubs. Every school should have clear information about available city programs, including workforce development, Parks & Recreation, health services, and crisis support services. I will invite and collaborate with our corporate and business neighbors to come to the schools and offer programming, create internships, share knowledge about available careers and financially boost neighborhood schools.
