Mayor Stoney, Governor McAuliffe announce Vision To Learn to Provide Free Eye Exams and Free Glasses to Students in Richmond Public Schools

 

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and are proud to announce an initiative to provide thousands of Richmond public school students with free vision care, through a collaboration between nonprofits Vision To Learn and Conexus. The effort, which began October 26^th at Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School, will provide free vision screenings to over 20,000 students, and eye exams and glasses to over 7,000 students in Richmond.

“If you can’t see, you can’t read. And if you can’t read, you can’t succeed,” said Mayor Stoney. “Richmond is grateful for this partnership and proud to be the first Virginia community in which every child, K-12, will be provided the glasses they need to achieve inside and outside of the classroom.”

Over 7,000 kids in Richmond go to school every day without the glasses they need to see the board, read a book or participate in the classroom. Conexus will provide vision screenings to every child in Richmond Public Schools. Vision To Learn will provide each child who did not pass the initial screening with an eye exam, and if needed then, glasses.

“We’re delighted to provide kids in Richmond the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life,” said Vision To Learn Founder and Chairman, Austin Beutner. “Vision To Learn serves kids in more than 200 cities from Baltimore to Hawaii. We look forward to working with Governor McAuliffe, Mayor Stoney, Richmond Public Schools, and Conexus to help kids in Richmond.”

“As a longtime provider of vision screenings to students in Richmond, Conexus knows that thousands of RPS students need an eye exam and glasses. This partnership will help those students get the help they need,” said Conexus Chairman of the Board Mrs. Roxane Gilmore.

The initiative is supported with funding by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Robins Foundation, and Richmond Community Foundation.

“Launching this program in Richmond is the first step toward ensuring that our students have all of the tools they need to succeed in the classroom,” said Governor McAuliffe, who signed legislation this year codifying routine and high-quality eye exams in public schools in Virginia. “Across the Commonwealth, an estimated 100,000 students lack eyeglasses. That’s why the work of organizations like Conexus and Vision to Learn is so critical. Through efforts like these, we can help thousands more students obtain the skills needed to thrive in the new Virginia economy.”

Students with untreated vision problems often struggle at school, and are less likely to achieve reading proficiency by third grade, putting them at greater risk of dropping out.

“Students who need glasses and don’t have them, are at a learning disadvantage,” said RPS Interim Superintendent Thomas Kranz. “Eyeglasses distributed today and throughout this program are one of the most important tools in creating a better educational experience for our students.”

The centerpiece of Thursday’s launch event was students receiving and trying on their glasses for the first time. Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary is the first school to be served by this effort; over the past month, all 389 students were screened and 32% were found to have a potential vision problem. 104 students received eye exams, and 97 were prescribed glasses.

 

 

Mayor Levar Stoney One of Four Mayors Selected as 2018 Class of Daniel Rose Land Use Fellows

The National League of Cities (NLC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) today announced mayors from four cities, Richmond, VA, Columbus, OH, Salt Lake City, UT and Tucson, AZ have been selected as the 2018 class of Daniel Rose Land Use Fellows by the Rose Center for Public Leadership.

Mayor Levar Stoney will join mayors Andrew Ginther, Jackie Biskupski and Jonathan Rothschild in leading teams from their respective cities. The mayoral teams will receive technical assistance on local land use challenges from NLC, ULI and their peers from the other fellowship cities. 



The four city teams will convene next week for a retreat at ULI's Fall Meeting in Los Angeles.

“Land use decisions are critical to the overall success of city economic and community development," said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC). “We are thrilled to extend the expertise of the Rose Center for Public Leadership Land Use Fellowship to the cities of Columbus, Richmond, Salt Lake City and Tucson, and we look forward to seeing the opportunities and outcomes that these partnerships provide.”

The Rose Center's mission is to encourage and support excellence in land use decision making by public officials. Established at ULI in 2008 with a $5 million gift by ULI Foundation Governor Daniel Rose, the Rose family and ULI in 2014 formed a strategic partnership with NLC to bring its robust expertise in local government leadership to bear on the Rose Center's programs. 



“I am honored to be selected as a fellow for this incredible initiative, now in its ninth year,” said Mayor Stoney. “Richmond’s fellowship team will bring new opportunity to a critical and targeted development initiative in our city.”

Included are City Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille, Jane Ferrara, chief operating officer of the Department of Economic & Community Development and Robert Steidel, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Operations. The project manager is Ellyn Parker, public art coordinator at the Department of Planning & Development Review.

To assist the fellowship city teams, the Rose Center has assembled eight urban development and design leaders from around the nation who will serve as their faculty advisers over the course of the fellowship year.





Richmond’s advisers will be Andre Brumfield, who leads Gensler’s planning and urban design practice from its Chicago office; and Colleen Carey, president of the Twin Cities-based Cornerstone Group, which seeks to transform communities through socially responsible development projects.





Past fellowship teams have successfully led changes in their cities after receiving technical assistance and strategic advice on topics such as revitalizing aging commercial areas to attract new businesses and jobs; how new investment in older neighborhoods can more equitably benefit existing residents; the role of transit and transportation infrastructure in city building; and developing new community engagement models in transitioning neighborhoods.

“The Rose Center’s fellowship program has a consistent track record of mayoral teams effectively working together to help solve the land use challenges of our nation’s leading metropolitan areas,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips. “Cities are the heart of our country’s economy, serving as hubs for human capital and innovation. We are excited to partner with NLC and the new class of Rose fellows to highlight creative approaches and solutions that other communities can replicate to become more health, prosperous, and sustainable.”

To view the full NLC/ULI release, click here.

Mayor Stoney, Sprint and Richmond Public Schools Announce Free Device and Wireless Service Program

Today at George Wythe High School, Mayor Levar M. Stoney joined Sprint Regional President Brian Hedlund, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Interim Superintendent Thomas Kranz and RPS School Board Chair Dawn Page to announce RPS participation in the first year of the Sprint and the Sprint Foundation’s 1Million Project. The program will provide participating RPS high school students will receive free devices with free wireless service.

“Through the 1Million Project, we will begin to bridge the technology divide that puts our kids at a disadvantage when they go home to do their school work and don’t have access to the online resources they need,” said Mayor Stoney. “If we want our children to succeed, if we want them to compete and build a brighter future, we need to give them the tools to do so, and we must connect them to opportunity.”


Nationwide, about 70 percent of high school teachers assign homework to be completed online, yet more than 5 million families with kids do not have internet access at home. Sprint created the 1Million Project to help close the Homework Gap by providing 1 million free devices to high school students over the next 5 years.


“Having access to technology can be the bridge to academic success for many high school students,” said Brian Hedlund, Sprint President for the D.C., Maryland and Virginia Region. “Our goal with the 1Million Project is to help close the homework gap that exists for some of our youth in Richmond. These devices and internet service will provide academic opportunities that extend well beyond their classroom doors.”


Richmond Public Schools is one of 118 school districts (over 180,000 students in 1,300 schools) participating across the country. Sprint will be giving 1,050 RPS students a free wireless internet capable device and wireless service while in high school for up to 4 years. 



"Richmond Public Schools is pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Sprint on this initiative to increase our efforts in providing equitable educational opportunities for our students," said Interim Superintendent Thomas Kranz. "We appreciate the support of the mayor and the City of Richmond in helping us to level the 'learning field' and eliminate the homework gap by ensuring that our students who do not have internet access at home receive these devices as an additional learning resource. This collaborative partnership will positively impact the academic success of our students." 



"On behalf of the school board, I would like to thank our school administration for their hard work in coordinating this effort as well as Mayor Stoney for his continuous support of Richmond Public Schools," said School Board Chair Dawn Page. "It takes all of us -- our city leadership, our school board, our school administration and partners like Sprint all working together to make a real difference in the lives of our students."


For more information on the Sprint 1Million Project, contact Roni Singleton, Eronia.Singleton@sprint.com or call 703-929-3655.

For information regarding RPS student participation, contact Kenita Bowers, kbowers@rvaschools.net or call 804-780-7100.