25 in '25: Angela Jordan wears all hats serving high school students

Jherlymax "Max" Jones was among the incoming freshmen students moving into the dorms at Virginia Union University in July. On an early Friday morning, he walked into the admissions building, filled out paperwork, took a photo for his school ID and listened to presentations on what to expect living at the school. 

Following beside him the entire time was Angela Jordan, who he occasionally turned to, asking her what he should write down in certain fields on the forms he filled out, like his home address. School administrators referred to her as his mom, but she wasn’t. 

“She honestly feels like my third mom,” he later said. “I don’t have a second. I just wanted to skip to number three.”

Jordan, who was helping Jones move into VUU, has been referred to as different roles, like a guidance counselor or an assistant principal. That day, she was Max’s mom. 

Angela Jordan actually works at Richmond High School for the Arts as the site coordinator for Communities in Schools of Richmond, a nonprofit that supports students to overcome barriers to learning. Her job there is to ensure that students graduate high school no matter what. For Jordan, this means a lot of things. It means checking students’ grades to track progress, being the middle man between teachers and students’ parents and making sure that students aren’t missing school. 

“What the kid says and what’s actually happening is not always the same,” she said. “So sometimes it takes another person to come in and really figure things out to help get to where they need to be.”

It also means going above and beyond to provide whatever students are in need of by connecting with local organizations, churches and people who are quick to respond to her callouts for donations on Facebook. It can vary from supplies necessary for class, to a meal for the night, diapers for a student’s child, or an outfit for prom. 

“I’ve established relationships and friendships with a lot of these people. So when I say I need something, they’re like, we got you,” she said.

Jordan has always worked in education, first starting as a teacher at The Faison School for Autism, a private school, before joining Richmond Public Schools and teaching at Thomas C. Boushall Middle School.

School community members recognize Jordan as a staple of RHSA, as she’s worked in the building, formerly known as George Wythe High School, for the past nine years. 

School Principal Kevin Olds described Jordan as an “unsung hero.” He noted her impact extends beyond students to staff, and she does more than what’s often required of her. 

“She’s not the type of person that does anything for kudos or accolades, but she’s always everywhere doing something that impacts kids in a positive way,” he said. “She is truly a part of the fabric of this building.”

Jordan works with a caseload of at least 50 students, many of whom are vulnerable and experience a variety of difficulties at home. She shared multiple stories of students that have walked in and out of her office that have left a lasting impression on her. 

“Every year, there’s a student that hits you differently,” she said. 

She remembers one student, who she preferred not to name for privacy reasons, who she described as compassionate and loving. The student frequently stopped by her office to check in on her, and often told her not to break up fights in the school to protect herself. 

They were keen on graduating, telling Jordan that they “didn’t want to be a statistic,” and made a lot of progress in school. But at one point, the student stopped attending classes towards the end of the school year. 

“‘Ms. Jordan, I’m in fear for my life,’” Jordan recalled the student saying. “My heart sank.”

The student still had the goal of graduating, and Jordan worked with school staff to make that happen. The student took summer classes to make up for the missed time and finally was able to graduate. Jordan showed photos of her with the student in their graduation cap and gown, saying that she promised them a celebratory dinner. 

Unfortunately, the student was killed a few months later. 

“I just cried and just started bawling,” Jordan said of when she found out. “I was just like, oh my God, I didn’t take [them] out to eat, I was supposed to do these things. … For a long time, I was like, did I not do enough?”

Jordan admitted that the job comes with immense responsibility and difficulties, noting that she’s trying to work on taking better care of herself as a mom of two children of her own. Students have often sought her help after hours and long after graduation, and she often responds to the urge to help, expressing that she deeply loves what she does. 

“I hate to say it, but it’s not just a job,” she said. “There’s a reason why I’m still here.”

'Light at the end of the tunnel'

Max Jones purchased a bus ticket from North Carolina and came to Richmond to escape problems from his home. While attending school, he was homeless, independently supporting himself while living out of his car. He reached out to the superintendent’s office asking for help, which landed him on Jordan’s caseload list of 50 students last year. 

One of the first things she helped him with was finding temporary housing at a local hotel before temporarily moving him into the New Life Deliverance Tabernacle, a church located in Southside. 

“He was doing a great job on his own, but sometimes it becomes so overwhelming,” she said. “Even as adults, we become overwhelmed. We all need a village. And I just became a part of that village for him and other kids.”

Jordan recognized how much help Jones needed, seeing through his attempts to reassure her that everything with him was okay during times that was not the case. 

“She was just by my side the whole time,” he said. “She was making sure I ate, she was … making sure I had a place to sleep, getting showers and still able to come to school.”

He was a frequenter of her office, utilizing the shower and laundry machines there. 

Jordan said Jones was convinced that he wouldn’t go to college, saying that all he’s ever done and known is work. He eventually changed his mind two months before graduation, prompting her to act and swiftly connect him to administrators at Virginia Union University. He graduated from RHSA with a 3.7 GPA and plans to study business and mass communications at VUU, receiving scholarships that covered the majority of his tuition. He said he also received full-ride scholarships to schools like Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, Claflin University in South Carolina and The Ohio State University, but wanted to stay in Richmond. 

At one point, Jordan said he texted her saying that he “didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.” 

“She kept me level-headed when I was in dark places,” he said. “She kept me pushing, and every time I listened to her, it showed results.”

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org