I think we need a complete overhaul of the education system, to start with we need to recognize teachers are Masters-level professionals and treat and pay them accordingly. I've heard stories of teachers having to take continuing education classes where they received such amazing lessons as 'students who are interested in the material will want to learn it more'. We need to decide what the purpose of school is - job training, citizenship training, or daycare - and then design the system to support that goal. We also need to recognize as citizens that a lot of factors go into a student's success beyond just the teacher and school. If we aren't building up and supporting our neighborhoods then nothing we do in the schools is going to turn them around.

This one's a bit more out of left field, but hey you asked, and if I was schools dictator then I'd end private schools and homeschooling too. Everyone goes to public schools. Everyone has skin in the game to make them good. Right now the most wealthy and politically-empowered Richmonders tend to send their children to private schools. Not only are they not incentivized to make Richmond schools better, it's easy from that perspective to see taxes going towards education as being a pure loss and advocate for reduced education spending.