Reactions to Richmond Retirement
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Reactions to Richmond Retirement
La Plata, MD - 5/4/2012
By Andy Marquis
Charles County Public Schools' Superintendent James Richmond (left) is presented with a citation from the Maryland General Assembly by Delegate Peter Murphy (D: 28th District) at a Charles County Board of Education meeting in 2011.
Longtime Charles County Public Schools’ Superintendent James Richmond announced Monday night that he would not be seeking a contact renewal, effectively meaning he would retire on June 30, 2012. Local officials reacted to the news this week.
“It's been a long ride,” Richmond said. “47 years. I hate to leave. It's something you spend your whole life doing. I love the system, the kids but it's time for me to turn my attention other places. I think more importantly, focusing on the children, the successes they're having in math, science, biotech, robotics, space challenge, there's a lot of neat things. The reading program, the three year old program in addition to the new schools we have built. I'm not really retiring; I don't know what I'm going to do. If I want to not do anything, I'm not going to for a while but I don't like to use the word 'retiring'. I'm not one of those people (to retire in the Caribbean). I may do something else but I haven't really decided yet.”
“Charles County has been fortunate to have had a visionary superintendent of schools for the past 16 years,” Charles County Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) said. “Mr. Richmond has made sure that students are always in the forefront, and his accomplishments are countless. You can see his work in each and every school through the child who now reads well, or the technology, or at the competitions that show off student work learned through first-class Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. When it comes to providing resources for an excellent education for children, Mr. Richmond never takes no for an answer. When he leaves at the end of the 2013 school year, it will only be after changing the course of thousands of lives. Charles County could never thank Mr. Richmond enough, but then again he never asks for thanks. He only asks for what is best for children.”
““Charles County has been fortunate to have had a visionary superintendent of schools for the past 16 years,” Charles County Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) said. “Mr. Richmond has made sure that students are always in the forefront, and his accomplishments are countless. You can see his work in each and every school through the child who now reads well, or the technology, or at the competitions that show off student work learned through first-class Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. When it comes to providing resources for an excellent education for children, Mr. Richmond never takes no for an answer. When he leaves at the end of the 2013 school year, it will only be after changing the course of thousands of lives. Charles County could never thank Mr. Richmond enough, but then again he never asks for thanks. He only asks for what is best for children.”
“James Richmond, from what I understand was one of the longest serving superintendents in public school system certainly in the state of Maryland and perhaps one of the longest serving throughout the country,” Charles County Commissioner Vice President Reuben Collins (D) said. “I consider James Richmond a visionary. He made a tremendous impact in public schools in Charles County. Working with him directly prior to being a county commission up to my time as a county commissioner, he's always been an advocate for public schools and for Charles County Children. I don't know how you can replace anybody like that.”
Richmond’s retirement will take effect June 30, 2013, giving the school system more than a year to find a successor. However, Richmond has hinted in the past that he would retire soon. While there was no official plan, there was speculation that the late Ronald Cunningham, who served as the deputy superintendent, would take Richmond’s place. Cunningham passed away on December 31, 2011 from complications of a heart attack
Richmond leaves behind a long legacy in Charles County, but is perhaps known most for overseeing the construction and opening of the North Point High School for Science, Technology and Industry which has been hailed by local and state officials as a milestone in Charles County Public Schools history. However, it wasn’t just North Point High School students who benefited from the massive school’s construction. Richmond also implemented technology staff to incorporate wireless internet and broadband technologies system-wide. The following three years would see major technology upgrades in every school. Gone were the 10 year old technologies. He also oversaw the creation of a data warehouse.
Richmond also sought to close the minority achievement gap that has existed in the American public education sector since minorities were granted the right to an education. That earned him a place in the Charles County NAACP Hall of Fame as well as earning him the honor of the Maryland State Department of Education Excellence for Minority Achievement Chair Award and by the National NAACP Education Department. Richmond was also the recipient of the Daisy Bates Educational Advocacy Award and the Maryland Superintendent of the Year Award.
Richmond placed a strong emphasis on reading. Under his tenure, each elementary school added a full-time reading resource teacher and a Reading Recovery teacher. The schools adopted the Summer Reading Academy and other summer enrichment courses. Richmond also worked with the Charles County Health Department and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, realizing that the health and safety of the students was just as important as the education they received.
Richmond spent his entire career in the Charles County Public Schools system. He started in 1966 as a teacher at La Plata High School. In 1969, he transferred to Thomas Stone High School when it opened where he ended up becoming the principal in 1973. He served in that position until 1985, when he moved in to administration as the director of supervision and curriculum. In 1987, he became the director of school administration and later became regional administrator for southern region schools. He was appointed as the interim superintendent 1996 and, in 1997, he was appointed to his first term as the Charles County Public Schools’ superintendent.
As Richmond prepares to move in to the next era of his life, his final vision will not be realized until August 2014 when St. Charles High School opens. St. Charles High School, located near Regency Furniture Stadium, will be the end of the Richmond-era but will bridge the next era for Charles County Public Schools.
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