Richmond is at the center of a debate about year-round school

Catch up fast: During the pandemic, RPS went remote for 18 months — longer than any other school district in the state.

• During that time, students lost the equivalent of two full years of math skills and 1.5 of reading, per ProPublica.
• As a corrective measure, superintendent Jason Kamras proposed transitioning the district to a year-round calendar — a proposal rejected by the school board amid opposition from the local teachers union.

What they're saying: School Board Member Stephanie Rizzi, who opposed changing the academic calendar, told ProPublica she viewed learning loss as "a subjective term."

• Representatives of the teachers union lamented the loss of personal flexibility that remote instruction had briefly given teachers and expressed skepticism that adding instructional time would amount to more than doubling down on a failed model.

The other side: In a tweet Wednesday, Mayor Stoney accused the school board and teachers union of choosing "to sit idly by and maintain the status quo."

Go deeper via ProPublica