So, Richmond City Schools will be searching for a new Superintendent.  I haven’t lived here long enough to judge the outgoing Supt., Dr. Deborah Jewell-Sherman, one way or the other [full disclosure: she's an adjunct faculty member of the Dept. in which I work].  One thing I do know though, having taught in classrooms in a couple of Richmond schools and having spoken to a number of educators who work in the district, the facilities are WAY outdated.  Forget about anything digital, I haven’t even seen a whiteboard (yep, I get to teach in classrooms with green chalkboards and actual chalk…remember that stuff?).  Even more striking, these schools sit in the shadow of Henrico County Public Schools, home of one of the earliest and largest laptop programs in the country.  So, Richmond teachers are working with chalkboards and Henrico teachers are working with students, each and every one of whom has a school-issued laptop.  Digital divide, anyone?

So, there will be lots of politics surrounding the selection of the next Superintendent, as there are in any urban district.  And, there will be lots of opinions.  My opinion?  I would love for them to hire someone who is forward-thinking, progressive and who understands the importance of 21st Century skills.  The counterargument will be that there are SO many problems plaguing the schools in Richmond that technology can’t be a priority.  I say hogwash.  One of my students is a special education teacher in Richmond.  He told me that he sees a nearly complete lack of hope or sense of opportunity in the students in his school.  If that’s the case, what better way to remedy that than to give the students access to unlimited opportunity; or to make the students feel relevant, current and hopeful.  A more traditional candidate for Superintendent might suggest that building new facilities needs to be a priority; a technologically-progressive candidate will suggest that building digital bridges to the world is the way.

Tags: leadership, Richmond, schools, superintendent, technology, urban