First grader’s art shows natural talent

By Holly Rodriguez

Ava Johnson, a first-grader at Miles J. Jones Elementary School, has won an award for the school division in the VCU Metro Arts show. Her work also has been part of an exhibit at Artworks Gallery on Southside.

This Saturday, one of her art pieces will be on display at the Richmond Public Schools Fine Arts Festival at Huguenot High School.

“I love going to art class,” Ava said in an Instagram video recorded by RPS. “I feel happy and excited when I make art. I make pictures for other people.”

Vanessa DeYoung, the K-5 art teacher for Miles J. Jones, said she recognized Ava’s talent when she was a kindergartner last year. “She had a natural ability for designing things, and her color palette was advanced for a kindergartener,” Mrs. De Young said. “We’ve been building upon that.”

Instead of using just one color, for example, Ava mixes colors to create new ones and does layering, which is an advanced technique for her age. And while her first-grade peers may struggle with scale and size, Ava utilizes the entire space she is given to produce her art.

While helping students recover from learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a focus of K-12 public and private schools nationwide, Mrs. DeYoung said she has recognized another type of loss in students that is not as readily addressed in lesson plans.

“For a lot of the kids, since COVID, their imaginations have not been as nurtured,” she said. But with a mother who is a writer and illustrator, and a brother in the fourth grade at her school who will also have his artwork shown at the RPS Fine Arts Festival on Saturday, Ava comes from a creative family.

“Ava still has that sparkle, curiosity and wonder, and that’s another reason why she thrives in art class,” Mrs. DeYoung said.

Mrs. DeYoung said students need the arts because the curricula developed by those teachers reinforces the skills they need to use in academics.

“These kids needs hands-on with the arts — including music, visual arts and drama,” she said. “They are gaining confidence, using problem solving, developing fine motor skills, researching and writing in art class.”

Ava has indicated that she would like to do something artrelated in her career when she grows up. Mrs. DeYoung said her goal for her classes is not to make every student a future artist, but to nurture their creativity — something they will need no matter their career path.

“My room is a space that is a working art studio, a place they claim as their own,” Mrs. DeYoung said. “To come in and be with their peers and creating is magical.”

Clarification

Forestbrooke Apartments in South Side has been the subject of a series of complaints from residents about violations of the building code, Dr. Kevin Vonck, city director of Planning and Development Review, now acknowledges.

Dr. Vonck was quoted by the Free Press as stating that no complaints had been received against the complex since 2018 in an article regarding a proposed apartment inspection program published in the Dec. 29-31, 2022, edition.

He has acknowledged to the Free Press and previously to Virginia Organizing, which is assisting Forestbrooke residents, that he provided inaccurate information.

“We thought Richmond had a win” was a common refrain during a recent City Council meeting, as community and faith leaders called on council members to address ongoing issues with housing in Richmond and follow through on commitments made to address it.

More than 150 members of Richmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Communities attended a Feb. 27 City Council meeting to persuade council members to distribute funds for mobile home repairs and provide answers about an ordinance focused on affordable housing.

“Affordable housing is in crisis, and the people in this building have the power to do something about it,” said Don Coleman, pastor at East End Fellowship and RISC’s co-president. “We thought Richmond had a win, but we’re afraid that what Richmond has are two broken promises.”

According to the Partnership for Housing Affordability, a nonprofit organization that increases awareness about affordable housing issues:

• The current average cost of a home in Richmond is more than $300,000;

• Rents have risen in Richmond’s most affordable locations;

• In North Side and South Richmond, where rents normally have been hundreds less, prices are rising nearly almost twice as fast as other parts of the city;

• Overall, at the end of 2022, average rental costs ranged from $1,045 in North Side to $1,611 in the West End. City Council had previously amended a housing ordinance in 2021 to send a dedicated stream of funding from a special reserve annually to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. However, RISC members said the ordinance was not being followed, with an estimated $2.4 million slated to be transferred to the fund.

City officials also had allocated $300,000 for mobile home repairs as part of its budget for the 2023 fiscal year, but the money has not been distributed months after that budget went into effect. A call to Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s office about the funding was not returned by Free Press deadline.

The public petition was the latest development for RISC’s efforts surrounding the state of housing in the city; last fall they also petitioned City Council to take action. “The best time to fund affordable housing was 15 years ago” said Marty Wegbreit, a RISC member and appointee in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund’s supervisory board. “The next best time is today.”

In response, 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell sought to make clear that the council does not have the power and autonomy to act on its own in the matter. She cited the council’s responsibilities as elected officials, and the need for answers from the city administration as critical considerations before decisions could be made.

“It’s a process you have to go through,” said Ms. Trammell, who spoke about the texts and calls she received from constituents to take action.

“All that money is in a trust fund. We do not write those checks.

“I just want to make sure that we’re not crucified for something that we didn’t do,” Ms. Trammell continued. “I think there needs to be another discussion and (to) bring the truth to the table.”

Council President Michael J. Jones, 9th District, stressed the need for a comprehensive plan for the allocated funds, and requested that the City administration produce a report about its approach to mobile home repair and other housing matters.

Mr. Jones tasked City Council’s Chief of Staff LaTesha S. Holmes and Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders to present their findings to City Council and the Land Use Administration.

RISC members were unconvinced by this choice, pointing to how long the fund has been part of city law without studies or reports to determine how it is best used.

“The ordinance has been on the books since 2008,” said the Rev. Ralph Hodge, pastor at Second Baptist Church South Richmond. “Now you need a study?”

RISC leaders plan to schedule meetings with council members Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th District, and Andreas D. Addison, 1st District, to discuss housing and funding. More meetings, and appeals with city officials also are planned.