Richmond superintendent wants to change perceptions of city schools

Richmond School Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon says each of the challenges facing her school district is an opportunity for success.

"We're not totally pleased with everything we've done," she said.

In an interview yesterday with members of the Richmond Times-Dispatch's news and editorial staffs, Brandon focused on big issues facing the schools, including the perception that urban woes mean inferior opportunities for students.

Brandon said the school system is embarking on a marketing plan to try to sell itself to parents, both those in the city and those thinking about moving here. She said the school system will push its success stories -- particularly the expansion of specialty programs, ranging from early remediation efforts for students at risk of failure to more choices for gifted students -- while addressing its failures.

The school system enrolls only two-thirds of the school-age children in Richmond, which means it has the lowest percentage of youths attending its schools of any district in central Virginia. Hanover and Henrico counties enroll 82 percent of their school-age population, and Chesterfield County enrolls 91 percent, according to Virginia Department of Education figures.

Brandon said she would like to see the city enroll 35,000 to 50,000 students in the future. Richmond now has a little less than 24,000 students -- about half what it had in 1970 -- and a dropout rate among the worst statewide.

She also focused on improving the school system's fiscal management and its relationship with the city administration of Mayor Dwight C. Jones. She cited the graduation rate of about 65 percent, fiscal management and public perception among key problem areas.

On the business side, she cited a systematic overhaul that is placing a greater emphasis on improved strategic planning. A big part of that is changing the way the system plans from three-year outlooks to fiveto seven-year plans. Part of the change, too, is a better working relationship with the city.

"I'm not sure we were at the table when a lot of the city-level plans were done," she said.

She said she meets regularly with Jones, a marked contrast from the near past, when Superintendent Deborah Jewell-Sherman -- whom Brandon replaced on an interim basis in August before being named permanent chief in January -- and Mayor L. Douglas Wilder always seemed to be at odds.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .