The Virginia Department of education has announced that 5 of the 8 neighborhoods schools (62%) made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) towards the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) objectives during 2009-2010. Both Armstrong HS and MLK MS missed the target for the 2nd year, and were joined this year by the Franklin Military Academy. Statewide, 60% of schools made AYP, while 28 of 47 (59%) Richmond schools open last year made the mark.

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From the East End Transformation Public Pin-up and Youth Charrette today at the Family Resource Center: a list of retail that teenagers would like to see, and maps marking in green and red the safe and unsafe places.

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The Mayor Dwight C. Jones Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Policy Community Forum has been announced for Saturday, May 22 from 10AM-noon at MLK Middle School on Mosby Street:

Mayor Jones’ Community forum is for citizens to share their experiences with health care delivery in Richmond; identify health-related issues affecting our community; and, learning about how the Mayor is developing an action plan to solve problems and help citizens through the Mayor Dwight C. Jones Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Policy.

Building a Better Richmond was recently launched to share information on the school building process, including the rebirth of MLK Middle School:

Ground-breaking and site utilities work is presently scheduled to begin October 2011 with the completion of construction scheduled for June 2013. Students are slated to occupy the space on the first day of school in August 2013. Demolition of the existing building and final site activities will be complete around the end of that same year.

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A message from Don Coleman, 7th District School Board Member, on the Building a Better Richmond Martin Luther King (MLK) Middle School Project Community Input Meeting set for Thursday, April 29th, from 6-8PM at MLK Middle School:

The purpose of this meeting is to provide a Building A Better Richmond status update and to drill down and get specific neighborhood-based feedback on how the rennovated or newly constructed school site can best be designed for community use beyond the traditional school day. This meeting is where everyone in the community can have input! We need to hear from all citizens.

From the Mayor’s most recent Building a Better Richmond:

Plans for Martin Luther King (MLK) Middle School and Huguenot High School are currently in the conceptual stages, as architects and engineers are researching design options for both facilities. A final decision will be made on whether MLK Middle School will be completely rebuilt or undergo extensive renovations. [...] A community meeting to share the status of the MLK Middle School project and collect input from the community is being scheduled for late April.

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Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille will host a 7th District Community meeting at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School on Saturday morning from 10AM-noon, prior to the Heritage Awards Program.

Councilwomen Newbille and Robertson invite all to attend the two-day 7th Annual Black History Month Extravaganza on Sat.Feb.27 and Sun.Feb.28. Includes Community Awards Program and Dinner dinner, and a program on “The History and Creation of the Black Church,” followed by a question-and-answer session and audience discussion.

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The RTD has a small article about a small gas leak at MLK Middle School this morning:

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School [...] was evacuated briefly this morning after a natural gas odor was reported inside the building.

No injuries were reported.

The School Board meeting at 4:30PM on Monday includes the only opportunity for public input on the shift in priorities that has likely knocked any work on MLK Middle School out of Phase 1 in favor of a southside elementary school (agenda PDF). The Board will vote on this at the end of their 6PM meeting (agenda PDF).

At a 3-hour meeting today, the School Board tentatively decided to pursue redevelopment for Huguenot High School, Broad Rock Elementary School, Oak Grove Elementary School, and George Mason Elementary School as Phase 1 of overhauling the city’s aging stock of school buildings. M.L.King Middle School, on the original list for redevelopment, was shelved in favor of the 3rd elementary school. Opportunity for public comment and an official vote will take place at the next School Board meeting on November 16.

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The on&off plan to build/rebuild city schools has gone through a number of permutations over the past 5 years. George Mason Elementary and Martin Luther King Middle School were usually mentioned as being near the top of any list, but perhaps not any longer. Mayor Jones presented a plan at last night’s school board meeting that emphasizes rebuilding Huguenot High School; the article in the RTD does not mention any other specific schools:

Jones’ administration has made $150 million available for school construction during the next five years. In addition to the high school, the city identified two elementary schools and one middle school to be constructed by 2014; construction would start on the first elementary school by December 2010.

Edward Antaion Baker faces 30 years on a drug conviction after being arrested last February “near a convenience store at Fairmount Avenue and Mosby Street”:

The defendant, Edward Antaion Baker, 28, was arrested Feb. 25 near a convenience store at Fairmount Avenue and Mosby Street in the city’s East End. In testimony yesterday, a police officer described the parking lot area as the worst open-air drug market in the First Precinct, Baskervill said. It’s across the street from Martin Luther King Middle School.

Six of the eight East End schools met this years AYP benchmarks. All of the neighborhood elementary schools and Franklin Military Academy met the adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards of No Child Left Behind, while MLK Middle School and Armstrong HS did not. 71% of schools statewide and 78% across the city met their targets for the year.

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As as-yet-unidentified 36-year-old man is in critical condition at MCV after being shot in the chest just before 6PM on the 1000 block of Mosby Street. Police hypothosize it was a retaliation shooting, but do not have much more to say at this point.

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