A Message from General Wesley, President

David C. Wesley
Brigadier General, USAF, Retired
President

For all students, parents, faculty, and staff of Randolph-Macon Academy:

This afternoon, the Governor of Virginia closed public and private school campuses for the remainder of the Academic Year. Our staff and faculty have reduced their presence on campus for our own safety and in order to comply with the Governor’s direction; we’re operating from our homes whenever possible, but we’re ready to respond to your questions and support you in any way we can.

The Governor’s order does not apply to the online classes we began last week and it will not prevent our students from completing their studies for their current grade, if they meet each teacher’s requirements for the classes they are taking.

I write simply to reassure you that, in spite of recent events, we remain committed to completing the school year in the most effective way possible. An Academic Year is not actually a pre-set number of hours in the classroom or a number of days the school is in session. In very real ways, it is a measure of the learning each student obtains toward the ultimate goal. For R-MA students, that goal has long been completion of a college degree and success in the life beyond.

That goal has not changed in this most unusual of years. We intend to press forward as we have for the past week, offering our students a full schedule of classes online, delivering Mentoring and Chapel and physical training for our students, so they can continue to grow.

We fully appreciate this is harder for students to accomplish at a distance…just as it is harder for our teachers, mentors, and coaches to deliver, but: WE. WILL. GET. THERE…TOGETHER!

I will have more to say on this in the coming days, but for now: we press on with classes…do your best…every day!

For our seniors: I pledge to you that, to the degree physically possible, we will deliver to you the best graduation ceremony R-MA has ever put on…just as soon as we can!

The Power of Rise did not begin this year…in so many ways, it has been with us since 1892 and, thanks to your efforts, it will endure long after you and I have other responsibilities. For today, it is your duty and mine to dig deep, to deliver our best, and to Rise in every way we can. Let’s get it done!

More soon,

DCW