Roanoke City Public Schools announced Friday the passing of former Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop.

ROANOKE, Va. Verletta White starts as the Roanoke City school superintendent July 1 and she plans to meet many people in her first week on the job. As weve reported, White comes to Roanoke from Baltimore, Maryland, where she worked in the public school system there in a variety of roles. She has planned meet and greets at a number of schools. They will be held outside and youre asked to practice social distance, and face coverings are strongly encouraged. White is replacing Dr. Rita Bishop, who was the superintendent for 13 years.

ROANOKE, Va. – Similar to every other school division within Virginia, Roanoke City Public Schools are developing a plan for the upcoming school year. For Roanoke schools, those decision will be made by the Transition and Restoration Task Force. As of now, the only certainly for Roanoke City schools is that August 18 will be the start of the school year. By the end of next week, Roanoke City schools plan to announce a schedule of planned communications so people will know when and how information related to reopening schools will be distributed. We realize the stress and impact these decisions will have on you and your family,” wrote Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop, along with task force members, in a letter sent to parents and the Roanoke City Public Schools community.

ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Public Schools has found its next leader. On Tuesday evening, the school board announced that Verletta White would be the school district’s next superintendent. “My husband, my family and I we watched, we listened, we visited, and we got to know what Roanoke City is all about. And I can tell the heart of this city is where my heart wants to be," White said. White comes to Roanoke from Baltimore, Maryland, where she worked in the public school system there in a variety of roles.

ROANOKE, Va. - Leaders at the federal, state and local levels joined forces Thursday to announce the formation of a new effort to curb violent crime in Roanoke. LIVE: Local, state and federal officials are announcing a new effort to reduce violent crime and gang-related activity in Roanoke. "Combining the unique skills, talents, and capabilities of the participating agencies and resources will enable us to better address the wide variety of significant drug and violent crime threats facing Roanoke-area communities. "Creating this initiative, combining these collective resources, will be a significant factor in addressing violent crime; but law enforcement can't do it alone. is part of the Western District of Virginia's Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative to reduce gun and other violent crime in Roanoke and Danville.

ROANOKE, Va. - The Roanoke City school bus situation is getting better, but school leaders admit they're not all the way there yet. This after six weeks into school and some parents are still feeling pain from buses being late or not showing up at all. School board members got an update on the problems at their work session Tuesday night. Deputy Superintendent Dan Lyons gave an update to the school board on the improvement plan based on his conversations with Durham that morning. The school division pointed to other schools across the country facing this same kind of issue, saying it's not unique to Roanoke City.

ROANOKE, Va. - Teachers and staff at Roanoke City Public Schools kicked off the new year during a convocation ceremony at the Bergland Center on Monday. This year's keynote speaker was Leeland Melvin, the Lynchburg native and former NASA astronaut and NFL player. School leaders said they're going to continue the trauma-informed approach for learning, focus on math, reading, equity and cultural awareness. Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop said all the teachers and staff are ready for the challenge. And our students are making strides that are being recognized across the country because of the people in this room," Bishop said.