Educators: Virginia Randolph

Episode Summary

Virginia Randolph was an influential African American educator born in Richmond, Virginia in the 1870s. She began teaching at a young age and was devoted to improving education for Black students in the rural South. Randolph taught at the Mountain Road School, a one-room schoolhouse, for 15 years. There, she implemented hands-on learning like gardening, cooking, and weaving to provide vocational training. Randolph fundraised to improve the school's grounds and started the first Arbor Day in Virginia by planting trees. In 1908, Randolph became the first Jeanes supervising industrial teacher, advising other schools on vocational programs. Her methods were distributed throughout the South as the Henrico Plan. Over her nearly 60 year career, Randolph expanded her one-room school from 14 to 400 students. She never married or had biological children, but fostered over 50 children. Randolph is remembered for her innovative teaching techniques emphasizing learning by doing. She improved school conditions for African American students and expanded educational opportunities in the rural South. Her legacy continues through the Virginia Randolph Education Center, where she is buried.

Episode Show Notes

Virginia Randolph (1874-1958) was a pioneering educator, community health advocate, organizational leader, and humanitarian. Her career in education spanned nearly sixty years. Her work is widely associated with vocational education. For those of you tuning in for the first time, welcome! Here’s the deal: Every weekday, we highlight the stories of iconic women in history you may not know about, but definitely should. We’re talking about women from around the world and throughout history. Each month is themed. This month we’re going back to school, highlighting educators and intellectuals.

Episode Transcript

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Now with T-Mobile's best Go 5G plans, upgrade when you want, every year or every two, you decide. Visit T-Mobile.com to take charge of your upgrades. SPEAKER_07: Get two-year financing on Go 5G Plus and Next. One-year upgrade on Go 5G Next requires financing new qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six plus months with 50% paid off. Upgrade ends financing in any promo credits. See T-Mobile.com. SPEAKER_00: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. All month, we're going back to school, talking about women who changed the world of education. Today's educator was raised during the Reconstruction era. She was devoted to her students and her community and was a pioneering vocational teacher. Let's meet Virginia Randolph. There's some uncertainty as to Virginia Randolph's exact birth date. Some say she was born on June 8th, 1874. Others say May 1870 is closer to the truth. Regardless, we do know that she was born in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Sarah Elizabeth, was a domestic worker, and her father, Edward Nelson, was a bricklayer. They were both formerly enslaved. Virginia was one of four children. Virginia's father died soon after Virginia's youngest sister was born. Her mother was left to raise the family. She taught them how to knit, crochet, and clean. When Virginia was six, she started school at Baker School in Richmond. It was one of the first public schools in the city and the first built for black students. Initially, Virginia struggled to learn the alphabet, but it didn't take her long to learn how to read, and she would go on to become an education authority by the time she was 16 years old. She first started teaching in Goochland County right after she graduated in 1890. A few years later, she returned to Henrico County. There, she taught at the Mountain Road School, a one-room schoolhouse, where she would teach for the subsequent 15 years. Of that school, she said, the first day I enrolled 14 pupils. The school was old and the grounds were nothing but a red clay hill. So Virginia went to work trying to improve these circumstances. She was clever and met each challenge head on. First up, leveling the schoolyard with gravel. A woman who lived across the street happened to have a gravel pit and offered it up for free if Virginia would pay for the labor. Virginia didn't have money herself, so she organized a fundraiser with a willing workers' club and school improvement leagues. She recruited students around the county to help. From there, she seeded the lawn and even planted 12 sycamore trees as part of the first Arbor Day in Virginia. These trees became the first National Historic Trees of Virginia, and they remain today, except for the tree named after Judas, which had to be cut down to make room for a building addition. This was Virginia's innovative contribution, learning by doing. She taught students to garden, cook, and weave. She believed in the importance of learning these manual arts in addition to academics. And after visiting her students at home, she also implemented a hygiene education program. People started to take notice of Virginia's success. In 1907, a Quaker philanthropist named Anna Jeans pledged $1 million towards bettering rural schools in the South for Black Americans. In 1908, Virginia became the first Jeans supervising industrial teacher in the South. This meant that she went from school to school throughout the county, assisting teachers in setting up similar clubs and curricula. After her first year of working, a summary report of her methods became known as the Henrico Plan and was distributed throughout the South. Virginia's educational career lasted nearly 60 years. She retired in 1949 after serving as the supervisor of black schools in Henrico County. In that time, her one-room school had grown from 14 students to 400. Virginia never married or had biological children. She officially adopted one child, Carrie B. Sample. Over the course of her lifetime, she also took in more than 50 foster children. Some were referred to her by the justice system. Some she took in when she herself saw their parents couldn't care for them. Others were students traveling to attend her school. On March 16th, 1958, Virginia Randolph died of cardiovascular disease. She was buried at the Virginia Randolph Education Center. All month, we're talking about women who changed the world of education. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Wamanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at encyclopediawamanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow. This month of Encyclopedia Wamanica is proudly supported by UNC Greensboro. Founded as a women's college in 1891, UNC Greensboro presents She Can, We Can, Beyond the Women's Suffrage Centennial. 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