Roseville Community Charter School Honored
Roseville Community Charter School was honored to welcome as a special guest, Dr. Christopher Irving, NJ Department of Education Assistant Commissioner! As a longtime New Jersey educator with a track record of demonstrating his dedication to ensuring all children have access to a quality education, Dr. Irving was enthusiastically well-received by the RCCS community!
He arrived early, ready to see the scholars in action as they began their day of learning; and while walking the halls and visiting several of the classrooms, Dr. Irving presented as excited to see scholars engaged and actively learning while teachers were busy directing the classroom activities. He also expressed pleasure in noticing each classroom was named after a college or university, with quite a few named after a New Jersey school of higher learning, as well as notable HBCUs. As Dr. Irving entered one of the first-grade classes named Kean University, he noticed on the Promethean board it read, “Welcome Dr. Irving!” and the scholars eagerly greeted him with these same words.
The scholars within Ms. Cheng’s Kean University first-grade class let Dr. Irving know that he was their guest reader for the day and presented him with the “Reading Chair of Honor” to be seated in. One of the scholars even presented him with a letter that he wrote on his own when he learned that Dr. Irving would be their guest reader for the day. After reading to the first-grade class, Dr. Irving visited the upper floor where the third and fourth grade classes were located. He was impressed to learn that the third and fourth grade was departmentalized to allow the teachers to become experts in each subject area to provide rigorous, high-quality instruction in each area of study.
After having the opportunity to watch Mr. Lebon’s third-grade ELA class (Lehman College), Dr. Irving provided the scholars with positive feedback for how responsive and insightful they were. After reading a book to the class of 3rd grade scholars, he spoke with them and answered many of their questions. Most notable was his positive message of encouragement delivered to the scholars. Upon leaving the school, Dr. Irving commented “I enjoy hearing children actively learning and enjoying school; and this is what I heard as I walked around this school today.”
Dr. Dionne Ledford, RCCS Executive Director & Superintendent said about the visit from Dr. Irving, “It was an honor and an absolute pleasure to have Dr. Irving visit our school today. As a former teacher and school administrator, Dr. Irving knows what it takes to effect positive change within a school on behalf of children and learning. This is why he was so well-received by all, and we look forward to his return for our 5th annual “Kings Who Read ~ Dr. MLK Literacy Event” in January!”
