At least 23 Henrico schools report broken AC units; 110 teacher vacancies remain in Henrico schools
Happy Friday everyone! I am so excited to have joined the Citizen as the new education reporter just a little over a month ago. I have already met so many amazing people in Henrico – teachers, students, parents, principals, and super passionate members of the community – and I can say that Henrico and Richmond (or as my Charlottesville friend calls it, “SOVA”) is becoming my new home. I cannot wait to meet more of the Henrico community!
This week was a big one for Henrico education news: broken AC units throughout the schools, 110 teacher vacancies reported, five new principals, a big back-to-school kickoff at Fairfield, and more. Also check out our spotlight on two amazing Henrico students – Christian Washington and Judy Ma – and more education news in Virginia.
Sweltering heat, no AC
Air conditioning units were down in at least 23 Henrico schools, with five schools having almost no AC schoolwide, according to a significant number of reports made by school employees this week.
One staff member at Springfield Park Elementary, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the HCPS Central Office should make the issue more of a priority.
“It’s been pretty terrible since last week,” the staffer said. “We were asked not to put it on blast, but it’s very frustrating and it’s hard not to be very grumpy when you’ve been hot all day. It doesn’t seem like the central office is taking us very seriously.”
Vickie Crumpton, an exceptional education instructional assistant at Hermitage High School, said that the building’s air conditioning has been a long-standing problem.
“Our school is 51 years old. The heat and air conditioning are always broken,” she said.
Schools are 97% staffed
Despite more than 100 teacher vacancies, Henrico Schools will have all classrooms covered by a substitute or licensed teacher on the first day of school (Aug. 21), HCPS officials said at an Aug. 10 Henrico School Board meeting.
“First and foremost, I want to let you know that every classroom across the district will be covered beginning on the first day of school,” Henrico Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Cashwell said.
HCPS has reduced vacancies to 110 instructional staff positions, 50 school security officer positions, and 60 bus driver positions as of Aug. 16.
Five new principals
Henrico Schools will welcome five new principals for the 2023-24 school year for two schools in the Fairfield District, two schools in the Varina District, and one school in the Tuckahoe District.
Cherita Sears, who previously worked in Richmond Public Schools, will join Varina High School, and Dr. Tyrus Lyles, who worked in Petersburg City Public Schools, will join Elko Middle School as the new school principals.
Leah Segar, who previously taught at Fairfield Middle School before becoming a principal, will serve at Wilder Middle School, and Michael Powell, previously a principal in Richmond Public Schools, will serve at Laburnum Elementary School.
Danielle Sims, formerly the associate principal at Colonial Trail Elementary, will now serve as the principal of Maybeury Elementary School.
Basketball and community
Families and students from all over Henrico crowded the field grounds of Fairfield Middle School Friday and Saturday to help usher in the coming school year, with lines wrapped around the food and ice cream trucks and people gathered around the many booths that represented each Henrico school. The crowd was in the hundreds.
The HCPS “Back-to-School Kickoff,” held Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, had the same draws as it does every year: food, games, music, and the opportunity to chat with school administrators and even register for school.
But new this year was the “Hoop It Up” basketball tournament. Students of all ages participated in free throw and three-point shooting contests at the school’s basketball courts on Friday and then showed up on Saturday for the tournament, which attracted dozens of teams.
Student spotlight
Christian Washington was trying to find ways to get students at his majority white high school to come to meetings of the school’s Black Student Union. And what’s the best way to incentivize high-schoolers to sit in a classroom during free period? Food.
So when Washington started bringing chips, fruit snacks, and other goodies to the meetings, he was glad to see that more people started coming. But then he noticed that students weren’t just enjoying extra snacks, they were stocking up on food that could be one of their only meals that day.
“I’m like, ‘well, hold up. What am I not looking at?’ Because I didn’t understand that we have food insecurity in Henrico,” Washington said. “People were like, ‘I don’t eat at home’ or ‘the school lunches are my only lunch and it’s not good.’ So I’m like, ‘we got to do something about this.’”
And Washington did do something about it…
Photo of the week
Many thanks to this Henrico family for letting me take their picture at the Henrico Schools Back-to-School Kickoff!
MORE IN HENRICO
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MORE IN VA
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