RICHMOND, Va. -- Funding for the construction of Richmond’s George Wythe High School continues to be held up.
However, that isn’t stopping the district from making some progress on the revamp.
Richmond Public School leaders are asking for the community's feedback to expand the type of curriculum and programs taught. On Tuesday night, they held their second meeting of a series hosting series to reimagine George Wythe’s curriculum.
“So often families, teachers, students often feel invisible. We want to make sure we create space where what we make, makes them feel visible,” Shadae Harris, the RPS Chief Engagement Officer, said.
The district had community members brainstorm on two specialty programs proposed by the board. They said the board is considering a STEM or Arts academy for Wythe. They gave a proposed list of classes like poetry, musicianship, engineering and tech programming.
“I think having a stem academy at George wythe will bring a population of people wanting to come here,” said one person.
Others brainstormed adding classes like step teams, journalism, photography, entrepreneurship, coding, robotics and more. Many people, including a student, spoke about the desire for the board to combine both STEM and the arts for the academy.
“There are a lot of students indecisive on what they want to do,” she said.
Despite the timetable for construction, the school community certainly doesn’t want to waste time.
“We want to make sure those that feel the most impacted are heard,” said Harris.
The city council voted Monday night to hold off on releasing the funding to rebuild the school. This stalled vote came after continued back and forth between the council and the school board.
