RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond School Board will hold an emergency meeting to discuss data released by the state Department of Education showing that test scores in the district have continued to drop.
The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm in the auditorium of John Marshall High School. Board Chair Shonda Harris Muhammed told 8News that the meeting would focus on “the current released data from the Virginia Department of Education.”
That data showed that Richmond’s pass rates have dropped 18% compared to pre-pandemic levels – and while most of the state saw some recovery from COVID lows this year, Richmond’s scores only continued to slide.
Board Member Jonathan Young said the numbers were “disheartening” and “disturbing,” adding in a statement that he believed remote learning was to blame.
The meeting will end in a closed session to discuss personnel matters, but Dr. Harris-Muhammed said they couldn’t say more about it.
“Who and the why of personnel the school board can not disclose,” she wrote.
The meeting is likely to be a reckoning for Richmond Superintendent Jason Kamras, who faced some opposition from members of the board when his contract was brought up for renewal in 2021. His current contract is set to expire in 2025.
