蜜桃影视

On a sunny Saturday in mid-April, new Richmond Public Schools superintendent Jason Kamras gathered downtown along the banks of the James River with members of the school board. He鈥檇聽 to visiting the Richmond Slave Trail in his first 100 days, and now, with his wife and two sons, he stood on the historic site.

At the urging of two local clergyman 鈥� one white, one black 鈥� Kamras and board members formed a line, put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, and walked for a quarter-mile. It was intended to evoke the way enslaved Africans had to walk on that very spot more than 150 years ago.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to put in words how disturbing that was and how emotional it was for everybody,鈥� said Kamras, who returned to the trail over the summer to kick off training with the district鈥檚 principals. 鈥淓veryone was very, very struck by that experience, and I think it has stayed with us as we think about the work that we need to do. It鈥檚 about undoing the legacy of that injustice.鈥�

This is about more than symbolism for Kamras, the white leader of the majority-black district in the former capital of the Confederacy. After a high-profile and sometimes contentious tenure under Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson in Washington, D.C., Kamras has set off as a superintendent for the first time, promising to address racial injustice at its roots and overhaul the city鈥檚 underperforming schools.

After getting his start as an administrator from Rhee, who once said that “cooperation, collaboration, and consensus-building are way overrated,” Kamras is now committed to 鈥渢ransparent and inclusive leadership鈥� and has taken 迟辞听. on his efforts to build a 鈥渂eloved community.鈥� He鈥檚 still focused on equity and breaking long-standing achievement gaps, but he鈥檚 aiming to get there by forging relationships.

Of course, it will take more than just conversations, even difficult ones, to improve Richmond鈥檚 schools. One-quarter of its students are chronically absent. The graduation rate is the . Nearly half of the 44 district schools lack accreditation, and聽.

Given the nagging problems, Kimberly Gray, a former school board member and current city councilor, wants Kamras to focus on what she considers to be more substantive issues.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a little ironic to have a white superintendent come in and say some of these things,鈥� said Gray, who is biracial. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 delicate ground and it easily can backfire. I鈥檇 be very cautious about the politicking and the rhetoric, and focus on real change.鈥�

For his part, Kamras says his views have 鈥渕atured over time.鈥�

鈥淚 squarely stand in the third way,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淚 absolutely believe in accountability and high expectations, and 鈥� I also believe that institutionalized racism and generational poverty deeply influence kids鈥� lives and schools, and so we have to tackle those things as well.鈥�

From D.C., with baggage

Kamras, 44, grew up nearly 3,000 miles from Richmond, in Sacramento, California, where his mother served as a public school teacher. After graduating from Princeton, he signed up in 1996 for Teach For America, landing in D.C. at John Philip Sousa Middle School. By even his critics鈥� accounts, he was a 鈥渢errific teacher鈥� and in 2005 was recognized as National Teacher of the Year.

Two years later, Kamras joined Rhee鈥檚 transition team. He went on to help her create IMPACT, the district鈥檚 deeply controversial teacher evaluation system. Thomas Toch, who runs FutureED at Georgetown University,聽 that IMPACT was 鈥渢he most comprehensive teacher measurement system ever implemented in public education.鈥� It was high risk (poor reviews could lead to termination) and high reward (strong reviews could result in $25,000 raises). 鈥淲e want to make great teachers rich,鈥� Kamras聽. It was introduced simultaneously at all schools and elicited sharp reactions, though聽 it boosted student achievement.

Mark Simon, a former teacher who was president of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Education Association, a teachers union, for 18 years, lived in D.C. when Kamras was a DCPS official, and his daughter attended District schools. He engaged Kamras on IMPACT and calls him 鈥渁 good guy.鈥� But he strongly disagreed with the approach he and Rhee took on evaluation.

鈥淭hey tried to pretend that poverty made no difference and that all students were equal, and if we could just get teachers to teach all students in the same way, the achievement gap would be eliminated,鈥� said Simon, now a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute. 鈥淭hat was the Michelle Rhee鈥揔aya Henderson鈥揓ason Kamras philosophy. That was wrong. It sounds like Jason is taking a little bit of the opposite approach now, and that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�

Race in Richmond

In his current position, Kamras does not shy away from talking about race, an issue that continues to loom large in Richmond. In addition to walking the Slave Trail, Kamras asked school board members 迟辞听 at a meeting and Martin Luther King鈥檚 鈥淟etter From Birmingham Jail鈥� at a retreat. In June, he led the effort 迟辞听 after a Confederate general to Barack Obama Elementary School.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 particularly important for me as a white leader in a school system serving largely students of color that I go out of my way to talk about issues of race,鈥� Kamras said. 鈥淟ots of folks in this city have been fighting for racial equity for decades 鈥� and sadly, for things to break through, it鈥檚 helpful when white leaders stand up and echo what leaders of color have been saying.鈥�

Kamras does some of his talking on Twitter. He鈥檚 about as active a user as the Tweeter in Chief, and he tweets early (sometimes at 5:22 a.m.) and often (to mark his 50th day in the job, he tweeted out 50 pictures between 6:32 and 6:58 a.m.).

But Kamras also presses the flesh. In his first 100 days, he did a dozen 鈥淟iving Room Chats鈥� on Friday nights in families鈥� homes. He also launched advisory councils with students, teachers, principals, and parents. In his first seven months on the job, he held more than 170 community meetings 鈥� on average, 24 meetings a month 鈥� to gather feedback for the聽 he released in September.

Even though the mayor doesn鈥檛 oversee the schools, Kamras has closely allied himself with Mayor Levar Stoney. They meet regularly with the school board chair and city administrator, and Kamras is the first superintendent in recent memory to attend the mayor鈥檚 cabinet meetings.

鈥淗e seems like he never sleeps,鈥� said Ross Catrow, a public transit advocate in Richmond whose son attends public school there. 鈥淗e kind of reminds me of a basketball coach who is always out there with his people working hard, and then he鈥檚 studying film at night.鈥�

Not every part of Kamras鈥檚 first year has been smooth, however. Earlier this month, he unilaterally proposed raising real estate taxes to help fund schools, leading the mayor, most of the city council, and several school board members to distance themselves from him. The Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial board noted its disapproval, 聽And board member Jonathan Young pledged to fight the proposed increase 鈥渨ith every ounce in my body.鈥�

At the beginning of his tenure, Kamras faced controversy when he removed the eight cabinet members he inherited and consolidated the number of senior positions from nine to six. Then he got the board to waive its policy requiring that jobs be posted for at least 10 days. He used the flexibility to , including three he had worked with in Washington, at significantly higher salaries than their predecessors made and far more than most of them previously earned. Though the fewer number of positions would result in an overall cost savings, several board members balked at offering individual salary increases of as much as $37,000. Board member Young called the new salaries聽

Ultimately, the board approved the measure 5-4.

Dawn Page, the board鈥檚 chair, voted in favor of the selections and has publicly backed Kamras鈥檚 agenda.

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying that everything is peaches and cream, because there鈥檚 still a learning curve,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some bumps along the way. We have high expectations, and really, to be honest with you, failure is not an option, because if he fails, the board fails, and our children fail.鈥�

鈥楤athroom blitz鈥�

Since he took over in February, Kamras has faced everything from a cheating scandal that led to the聽 迟辞听 to some schools聽. He urged the city council and school board to align their separate budgets, and they ended up finding聽 for facilities.

鈥淲ho knew we needed to have the teacher of the year, who was a math teacher, to figure out our books?鈥� said Jessee Perry, a Richmond resident who聽.

Often, the advocate making the loudest fuss about the condition of the schools is Kamras. On his seventh day on the job, he tweeted photos of decrepit school bathrooms, asking, 鈥淲ould you send your own flesh and blood to a school that looked like this?鈥�

I took these pictures today in one of our schools. Simple question: Would you send your own flesh and blood to a school that looked like this? If not, why should anyone have to? 鈥淚njustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.鈥�

鈥� Jason Kamras (@JasonKamras)

This summer, he launched a school beautification week, followed by the 鈥淏athroom Blitz,鈥� a two-week sprint with dozens of community partners to repair and refresh as many school bathrooms as possible. Faced with criticism about focusing too much on facilities, Kamras took to Twitter again in August, issuing another provocation: 鈥淲ould our bathrooms look like this if our students were 100% white?鈥�

I鈥檝e been asked a lot recently why we鈥檙e spending so much time and $ on the Bathroom Blitz. This?is why. It鈥檚 about treating children with respect & dignity. And it鈥檚 about undoing decades of racial injustice. Would our bathrooms look like this if our students were 100% white?

鈥� Jason Kamras (@JasonKamras)

In all, he and his team recruited hundreds of people from more than 30 companies and organizations 鈥� from the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice to the Jewish Literacy Coalition 鈥� who pulled weeds, mowed lawns, and cleaned up bathrooms.

Said board member Young: 鈥淗e set out to champion and to celebrate those people and/or school business units that were doing well, but at the same time to be a truth teller and to point out that the emperor has no clothes and to fix all of those things that have been broken for so long.鈥�

The condition of the schools leads many parents with means to send their children to private schools. Whites comprise聽 of Richmond鈥檚 227,000 residents but only聽 of its public school students. Race- and class-based inequities within the system persist.

鈥淲e have been known to have two school systems, a system within a system, and that鈥檚 unacceptable,鈥� said Page, the school board chair.

鈥楩rom good to great鈥�

Ultimately, of course, Kamras鈥檚 tenure will be judged by whether academic outcomes improve. The strategic plan Kamras released in September, , is nothing if not far-reaching. Its 40 proposed actions range from expanding pre-K to creating more integrated schools.

Notably absent is any mention of teacher evaluation. Kamras told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in May that he won鈥檛 seek to replicate D.C.鈥檚 system in his new role, saying that his 鈥渢hinking had evolved.鈥�

鈥淚 think he has grown dramatically and become a much more supple leader than perhaps he had been early on in his administrative work in D.C.,鈥� Toch, of FutureED, told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 to his credit. That鈥檚 what experience and maturity do for you.鈥�

Rhee declined to comment for this article.

Meanwhile, Kamras has work to do to win over teachers. Virginia is a right-to-work state, and Richmond has a 鈥渃ulture that penalized people for whistle-blowing,鈥� said Young. Of a half-dozen teachers contacted for this story, only one responded, and that person was only willing to speak on background, fearing retribution from her supervisors.

But Kamras is proposing to start a one-year training program for new educators and to make teachers in Richmond鈥檚 highest-priority schools the best-paid educators in the state. He鈥檚 also planning to work with city and state officials on incentives like housing credits, tax credits, and tuition reimbursement to help attract and retain top teachers.

鈥淵ou can’t fire and hire your way to greatness,鈥� said Kamras, offering a stark contrast with his former boss, Rhee, who once聽. 鈥淚 truly believe, and most data bears this out, it鈥檚 the middle of the distribution that you really need to focus on and help folks go from good to great.鈥�

Kamras is betting that he can lead all of Richmond鈥檚 schools to dramatically improve in five years 鈥� one conversation at a time. For parents like Catrow who are eager to see progress, the focus on relationships is just fine for now.

鈥淚f he was going to come in and say 鈥楤oom, here鈥檚 this high-level stuff we鈥檙e working on,鈥� that would be putting the cart before the horse,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a lot of trust-building to do first.鈥�

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