A year after assuming control of the Richmond school system, Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon is ready to create a staff of her own. She has made a choice for chief operating officer, which she will ask the School Board to approve during a special meeting on July 9. The call for applications for chief academic officer closes tomorrow. The new position is part of a switch to a more streamlined administration that will align departments based on instruction or operations.

A couple of familiar faces helped the Richmond school system kick off a new era at Thomas Jefferson High School, and a few hopeful faces did their part at Henderson Middle School yesterday. With former Gov. Linwood Holton and current Mayor—and one-time School Board chairman—Dwight C. Jones waiting at her side, Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon was at Thomas Jefferson to officially launch a marketing campaign geared to helping the system increase enrollment and improve its image. She was at Henderson a few hours later for an open house for a community that in years past has ignored the school.