In a news conference held yesterday, the Charlottesville School Board announced the selection of Rosa Atkins as the new superintendent of schools.
According to Charlottesville School Board Chair Julie Gronlund, Atkins currently holds the position of assistant superintendent of schools in Caroline County School District, located just north of Richmond. Atkins will begin working in Charlottesville July 1, Gronlund said.
Gronlund expressed her support for the decision.
"She rose to the top of an outstanding pool of applicants because of her work with diverse student populations and because of her personal qualities," Gronlund said. "She's a great fit for our division."
One concern facing the new superintendent is the disparity in performance among students of diverse racial backgrounds, Gronlund said.
School board member Ned Michie agreed this was a major issue.
"Like other schools across the country, we have an achievement gap between African-American and white students," Michie said. "This is both a racial and economic gap, and these two gaps overlap significantly. We anticipate that with [Atkins's] leadership we will increase the achievement of all students."
According to Michie, Charlottesville schools often take advantage of the resources the University has to offer, including volunteer tutoring programs and the Education School.
However, Gronlund saw room for improvement in cooperation with the University.
"We don't combine financial or intellectual resources as often as we can," Gronlund said. "There's all kinds of efforts we can improve on."
Florence Davis, a third-year College student and Program Director of Madison House Boosters, said volunteering in schools is a great way to learn about the Charlottesville area.
"It allows you to step out of the U.Va. bubble and give back to the community," Davis said.
According to Davis, students volunteering in the Boosters program work with an entire classroom of students in a variety of subjects. Volunteers provide students with positive role models, Davis said.
Karl Blunden, a second-year College student and a director of the Madison House Tutoring program, said volunteering with children from the community is a good way to help people.
"Most students come from socio-economically challenged families," Blunden said. "Tutoring helps them see that academics are important and that someone is there who cares about them and their progress."
Michie said helping students improve academically remains a top goal of the school board.
"We anticipate that with [Atkins's] leadership, we'll increase the achievement level of all students," Michie said.
M. Rick Turner, head of the Charlottesville-Albemarle NAACP, said he was "guardedly optimistic" about the new superintendent.
"This is a difficult place for a black woman who wants to make changes," Turner said. "The city wants someone who's going to be nice and satisfy elite, white citizens."
If the School Board is going to make quality changes, he added, they need to assess the administration and the teachers.
"I'm hopeful," Turner said.
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