U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr.will travel to Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 2, where he will hold a roundtable discussion and visit a classroom at Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School to highlight the Richmond Teacher Residency program. Following the school visit, he will deliver a guest lecture at the University of Virginia, focusing on early learning and access to quality preschool.
Richmond Teacher Residency (RTR), located in Richmond, Virginia – a partnership between Richmond Public Schools and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education – is a highly selective urban graduate teacher residency program that equips individuals of all ages to make an immediate impact on classrooms in Richmond Public Schools. The mission of the residency program is to cultivate a pipeline of extraordinary teachers who are committed to leveling the playing field and closing the achievement gap for Richmond students.
The U.S. Department of Education recently published regulations to help strengthen teacher preparation by ensuring that new teachers are ready to succeed in the classroom and that every student is taught by a great educator. The regulations aim to bring transparency to the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs, provide programs with ongoing feedback to help them improve continuously, and respond to educators across the country who do not feel ready to enter the classroom after graduation.
At the University of Virginia, King will deliver a guest lecture as part of the Walter N. Ridley Distinguished Speaker Series. Ridley was the first African American to graduate from the University of Virginia, with a doctorate in education from the Curry School of Education. This series has been created to honor his legacy at UVA and his contributions to the field of education. King’s lecture will focus on the importance of providing access to high-quality preschool for all children. The event will be livestreamed here.