色多多

Bishop served two times as a leader in the city school division, first as an assistant superintendent for instruction in the 1990s, and then returning as superintendent of schools from 2007 to 2020.

She brought an innovative approach to the city schools鈥� lagging performance, launching RCPS+, a summer program to help students stay on track academically over the long break, as well as intense and at times controversial efforts to help students who struggled to pass state standardized testing. She also launched Forest Park Academy to reach high school students at risk of dropping out, and advocated for more school resource officers and other safety measures in city schools.

Bishop, whose career spanned over six decades and went from classroom teacher to top executive, also navigated the difficult early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools closed and graduations went virtual. As she prepared to retire, she worried that students being out of the classroom for a significant amount of time would hurt their learning, which proved to be prescient.

鈥淒r. Bishop鈥檚 work established a foundation of academic excellence that continues to support our students today,鈥� current Superintendent Verletta White said in a statement issued Friday. 鈥淲e are grateful for her vision and service. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and former colleagues at this difficult time.鈥�

色多多 Circuit Judge David Carson, before he became a judge, served as chairman of the city school board that hired Bishop. 鈥淩ita Bishop was a dear friend, and it was a privilege to work with her,鈥� Carson noted Friday. 鈥淭he school system and the city of 色多多 have lost a fierce advocate for children. As superintendent, she woke up every single day with the goal of improving the lives of every child in 色多多 City. Under Rita鈥檚 leadership, the school system achieved unprecedented success. She was selfless and generous, and I will miss her greatly.鈥�

Sherman Lea, the recently retired mayor, served on the school board while Bishop was an assistant superintendent, and on the city council when she was back as the superintendent.

鈥淚 have so much appreciation for Rita 鈥� she did so much for our school system and I think it鈥檚 a great loss for our city and I鈥檓 just so sad about that,鈥� Lea said. 鈥淪he was very innovative in a lot of things, but she cared about this city. She cared about the kids.鈥�

Bishop also helped the city in other ways, Lea recalled, inviting 色多多 Symphony Orchestra music director David Wiley to join the effort to win a seventh All-America City recognition in 2017 by linking teaching students about both reading and music to improving overall educational performance.

Bishop took over a school division with an on-time graduation rate of 59.1% and saw that figure reach 90% by 2018. In the 2023-24 school year it was 87.4%.

Also in 2018, the school division became fully accredited by the state for the first time. When she took over, only eight of the then-28 schools in the division were accredited. Today, 19 of 24 schools in the 13,800-plus school system are accredited and five are accredited with conditions.

鈥淪he was a bold leader and committed to serving our students,鈥� said Eli Jamison, the school board鈥檚 current chair. 鈥淚 was honored to first be appointed to the school board during her tenure, and I witnessed her dedication to equity and innovation. Her impact is still felt in the opportunities our students have today.鈥�

Early in her tenure, she closed an elementary and a middle school as a cost-saving measure during the Great Recession, and worked with the school board on the first significant redrawing of attendance boundaries since they were set in the wake of desegregation of the schools decades before.

Bishop was known as a demanding leader and staff turnover was at times an issue. In a 2017 workplace culture survey of school employees, six in 10 responded it was 鈥渟eldom鈥� or 鈥渁lmost never鈥� true that staff can disagree with leadership without fear of retaliation.

She also faced criticism for her attempt to push student performance in Virginia Standards of Learning testing, back when it was a more significant factor in determining accreditation.

In 2017, The 色多多 reported that Bishop had approved the retesting of all but 19 of the 470 requests to retest elementary and middle school students, most of whom attended schools at risk of missing full accreditation, according to heavily redacted public records released by the division under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

State policy at the time allowed the younger students to retake exams if they had just missed passing and if the local administrators deemed they had 鈥渆xtenuating circumstances鈥� that affected their performance.

At the time, current and former educators told The 色多多 that the central office exerted pressure to retest students. Bishop, however, defended the practice, saying the division鈥檚 teachers did 鈥渁 good and kind job鈥� for students, many of whom had challenging home lives and were affected academically by traumatic situations beyond their control.

Following complaints about the retesting practice in 色多多 and other school divisions, the state tightened its retesting criteria.