VIRGINIA RANDOLPH
Name: Virginia Estelle Randolph
Born: 6 August 1874
Died: 16 March 1958
Virginia Estelle Randolph (August 6, 1874 - March 16, 1958) was an African
American educator in Henrico County, Virginia. During her 57-year career, she
became recognized world-wide as a pioneer educator, humanitarian and leader in
the field of public school education.
Born nine years after the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and
Emancipation for the slaves in her community, Virginia Randolph was the third
child of former slaves Sarah Elizabeth Carter Randolph and Edward Nelson
Randolph. At the age of 16, she graduated from Richmond Normal School (now
Armstrong High School) in Richmond, Virginia.
Miss Randolph began her career as a school teacher. After a short teaching
experience in Goochland County, she secured a teaching position with the Henrico
County School Board. She opened the Mountain Road School in the north central
part of the county in 1892. As a teacher there, Randolph taught her students
woodworking, sewing, cooking, and gardening, as well as academics.
In 1908, Henrico County Superintendent of Schools Jackson T. Davis named her to
become the United State's first "Jeanes Supervising Industrial Teacher."
Anna T. Jeanes, a wealthy Philadelphia Quaker, had set aside $1 million to
establish a fund to maintain and assist rural schools for African Americans in
the South. Among its projects, the Jeanes Foundation provided funds to employ
black "supervisors" dedicated to upgrading vocational training programs for
black students. African-American supervisors of teachers in the rural south
from 1908 to 1968, Jeanes teachers (formally called Jeanes supervising
industrial teachers) worked toward improving the communities of schools.
As the overseer of twenty three elementary schools in Henrico County, Virginia
Randolph developed the first in-service training program for black teachers and
worked on improving the curriculum of the schools. With the freedom to design
her own agenda, she shaped industrial work and community self-help programs to
meet specific needs of schools. She chronicled her progress by becoming the
author of the Henrico Plan which became a reference book for southern schools
receiving assistance from the Jeanes Foundation, which became known as the Negro
Rural School Fund. Randolph's teaching techniques and philosophy were later
adopted in Great Britain's African colonies.
On March 30, 1908, following a proclamation by Virginia Governor Claude A.
Swanson, Miss Randolph founded the first Arbor Day Program in Virginia. She and
her students planted twelve Sycamore trees. Some of the trees remain standing as
living monuments, but over the years, some of the trees were lost to disease. In
1976, the remaining ones were named the first notable trees in Virginia by the
National Park Service.
In 1915, Miss Randolph opened the Virginia Randolph Training School and later
expanded the facility to include dormitories for future teachers. It was later
renamed to Virginia Randolph Education Center.
Miss Randolph was appointed to the Industrial School Board of Colored Children
after the death of another noted Richmonder, Maggie L. Walker. She also served
for many years on the Inter-Racial and Health Board for the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
After a 57-year career with Henrico County Public Schools, Miss Randolph retired
in 1949. A foundation to honor her and award scholarships was formed in 1954.
She died March 16, 1958, at the age of 84.
Name: Virginia Estelle Randolph
Born: 6 August 1874
Died: 16 March 1958
Virginia Estelle Randolph (August 6, 1874 - March 16, 1958) was an African
American educator in Henrico County, Virginia. During her 57-year career, she
became recognized world-wide as a pioneer educator, humanitarian and leader in
the field of public school education.
Born nine years after the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and
Emancipation for the slaves in her community, Virginia Randolph was the third
child of former slaves Sarah Elizabeth Carter Randolph and Edward Nelson
Randolph. At the age of 16, she graduated from Richmond Normal School (now
Armstrong High School) in Richmond, Virginia.
Miss Randolph began her career as a school teacher. After a short teaching
experience in Goochland County, she secured a teaching position with the Henrico
County School Board. She opened the Mountain Road School in the north central
part of the county in 1892. As a teacher there, Randolph taught her students
woodworking, sewing, cooking, and gardening, as well as academics.
In 1908, Henrico County Superintendent of Schools Jackson T. Davis named her to
become the United State's first "Jeanes Supervising Industrial Teacher."
Anna T. Jeanes, a wealthy Philadelphia Quaker, had set aside $1 million to
establish a fund to maintain and assist rural schools for African Americans in
the South. Among its projects, the Jeanes Foundation provided funds to employ
black "supervisors" dedicated to upgrading vocational training programs for
black students. African-American supervisors of teachers in the rural south
from 1908 to 1968, Jeanes teachers (formally called Jeanes supervising
industrial teachers) worked toward improving the communities of schools.
As the overseer of twenty three elementary schools in Henrico County, Virginia
Randolph developed the first in-service training program for black teachers and
worked on improving the curriculum of the schools. With the freedom to design
her own agenda, she shaped industrial work and community self-help programs to
meet specific needs of schools. She chronicled her progress by becoming the
author of the Henrico Plan which became a reference book for southern schools
receiving assistance from the Jeanes Foundation, which became known as the Negro
Rural School Fund. Randolph's teaching techniques and philosophy were later
adopted in Great Britain's African colonies.
On March 30, 1908, following a proclamation by Virginia Governor Claude A.
Swanson, Miss Randolph founded the first Arbor Day Program in Virginia. She and
her students planted twelve Sycamore trees. Some of the trees remain standing as
living monuments, but over the years, some of the trees were lost to disease. In
1976, the remaining ones were named the first notable trees in Virginia by the
National Park Service.
In 1915, Miss Randolph opened the Virginia Randolph Training School and later
expanded the facility to include dormitories for future teachers. It was later
renamed to Virginia Randolph Education Center.
Miss Randolph was appointed to the Industrial School Board of Colored Children
after the death of another noted Richmonder, Maggie L. Walker. She also served
for many years on the Inter-Racial and Health Board for the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
After a 57-year career with Henrico County Public Schools, Miss Randolph retired
in 1949. A foundation to honor her and award scholarships was formed in 1954.
She died March 16, 1958, at the age of 84.