Once a typical yellow school bus picking up and dropping off Petersburg City Public Schools students has transformed into a family-student resource center on wheels.
The Progress-Index
Black, economically disadvantaged students are less likely to have access to advanced classes like Advanced Placement and more likely to be exposed to poverty, two studies say.
Petersburg High School only offers five AP courses for its students. Surrounding high schools, many of which have smaller economically disadvantaged and Black populations, offer double the amount or more AP classes and advanced coursework.
Almost 90% of students in Petersburg City Public Schools are Black, and another 83.3% are economically disadvantaged.
The disparities in AP courses reflect the segregation found in schools, as told by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Pennsylvania State University. Both schools released two studies peering into the racial and economic disadvantages within Virginia students in AP courses and school overall.
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The Wave, Petersburg City Public School s new family engagement bus, is set to open sometime mid-April.
The Progress-Index
PETERSBURG There’s a new wave coming to Petersburg City Public Schools, and it s riding a bus.
The city’s school system is set to launch The Wave, a family-engagement bus centered around delivering and providing resources and information to students and their families within the city.
“We’re just trying to fill the gaps in many ways,” said Pamela Bell, chief student advancement officer for PCPS.
The bus was a part of the 2020-2021 PCPS Reopening of School plan, and was slated to launch in the fall but was pushed back due to the switch to virtual learning. Now, the $65,000 bus is weeks away from its launch the week of April 19.