NNPS Chief Of Staff Named To Leadership Role In Virginia

Press release from Newport News Public Schools:

February 11, 2021

NNPS Chief of Staff named to leadership role in Virginia

Newly formed Virginia LEARNS workgroup to guide school reopening and recovery

Posted: February 11, 2021

Rashard J. Wright, Chief of Staff for Newport News Public Schools, will help lead statewide efforts to reopen Virginia's public schools.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane tapped Wright to serve as a leader for the newly formed Virginia LEARNS (Leading, Engaging, Assessing, Recovering, Nurturing and Succeeding) workgroup which is tasked to develop recommendations and identify resources and best practices related to equity, curricula - particularly in literacy and mathematics - remediation and intervention strategies, assessments, data analysis, and technology to support instruction.

The workgroup is also responsible for creating and identifying resources
and best practices to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the
mental health and social-emotional well-being of students, families and
school employees.

Wright's work with identifying and deploying equitable practices in public
schools will support the Virginia LEARNS workgroup with its reopening
guidance.

"I am looking forward to collaborating with the Virginia LEARNS workgroup
to ensure that students across Virginia successfully return to in-person
instruction," said Wright. "I am honored to serve with such distinguished
and committed educators."

Lane announced that Charlottesville Superintendent Rosa Atkins will serve
as chair of the Virginia LEARNS workgroup. Wright will accompany Smyth
County Superintendent Dennis Carter, Franklin County Superintendent Bernice
Cobbs, and Chesapeake Superintendent Jared Cotton in serving in a
leadership capacity within the workgroup. Twenty-three individuals from
across the state are also named to the workgroup.

In September 2020, Wright was also selected to serve as the chairman of the
African American Superintendent's Advisory Council (AASAC). The AASAC is
charged with advising, informing, and providing professional insight on
policy development and accountability for public education in Virginia. The
council plays a unique role in bringing African American educational
leaders, and the needs of African American students to the forefront of
state decisions to advance racial equity in Virginia's public schools.

This press release was produced by Newport News Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.