From the Archives: RPI and the early days of VCU
A look back at Richmond Professional Institute and the early days of Virginia Commonwealth University.
02-15-1968: RPI student Donna Nelson shows dorm at RPI.
04-29-1969 (cutline): VCU students gather outside administration building, waiting talk with officials.
05-06-1970 (cutline): Drama students at Virginia Commonwealth University stages a parody on American life to begin a strike of classes by some students yesterday. The drama students portrayed a husband and wife complaining they were weary of hearing daily casualty reports on the Vietnam War and offered their own "tricky Dick cure-all" for ignoring the tragedy of war--red, white and blue blind folds. Between 500 and 1,000 students atteneded the "strike" rally called to protest the Cambodia situation and the deaths of four Kent State University students in Ohio.
12-11-1967: Fire extensively damaged row house used as women's dorn at 920 W. Franklin Street on the RPI campus.
03-20-1959 (cutline): A classroom 'in the round' at Richmond Professional Institute.
06-02-1965 (cutline): R.P.I. has called for bids on destruction of these buildings on Park Avenue. Music building is at corner of Park and Shafer Street; Other buildings are dormitories.
02-15-1968: Robin Morris inks drawing in art studio.
1968: Students working with adding machines learn skills for careers in commerce.
02-24-1959: RPI book store.
04-25-1968 (cutline): RPI's new high-rise dormitory will be named Rhoads Hall. Dedication ceremonies for 18-story structure willbe held May 14.
The Times-Dispatch article about the Virginia Virtual Academy left out every family who loves the school and families that decided VAVA was the right place for their student. I think it is really important that readers know there are lots of families like mine that picked VAVA because it is the right school for their students.
A 13-year-old sits in front of a screen, answers a series of questions, and minutes later is told what he or she might become. It sounds efficient. It sounds helpful. It is neither.
It is no secret that students desperately need support with reading and literacy skills; however, they are spending less time in the school library than ever before. As someone who has spent such a long time wanting to be part of the middle school library scene, finding out that students were spending less time than ever before in the library, so much so that some students do not even go as a whole group to check out books, broke my heart.
