Henrico High to host new Center for Cybersecurity in 2026; VHSL will comply with executive order on transgender athletes 'effective immediately'

Feb 14, 2025

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Henrico High School will host a new specialty center for cybersecurity in the fall of 2026 for 50 freshmen students. The Virginia High School League announced that it would comply with Trump’s executive order on transgender student athletes.

New IT-focused specialty center

Henrico Schools is set to open its 16th high school specialty center, the Center for Cybersecurity at Henrico High School, for freshmen in the fall of 2026.

HCPS leaders decided to create the new center after seeing a high demand for information technology programming in the county and high job growth nationwide in the IT sector, said Taylor Snow, HCPS Director of Teaching and Learning

More than 15% of high school students in Henrico are enrolled in a specialty center – a four-year program focused on a specific subject area or industry.

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) announced Monday that it will comply with the Trump executive order that limits participation in girls' sports to students who were assigned female at birth.

The decision is effective immediately, per a release shared by the organization, which oversees athletic competitions between public schools across the Commonwealth. VHSL's previous policy allowed transgender athletes to participate on teams other than the gender identity listed on their birth certificate or school records after meeting a certain set of approvals and conditions.

On this recent weekday morning, middle-schoolers at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School are gearing up for a competition – but not a math tournament or a spelling bee or a science fair. Instead, these sixth- and seventh-graders are preparing for a test of their people skills.

The “Amazing Shake” is a competition for talents that are oftentimes overlooked: being able to hold a conversation with a stranger, look them in the eye, shake their hand and shake off your nerves, and be confident in what you are saying.

Former Highland Springs High School football star Mekhi Becton is now a Super Bowl champion. Becton, 25, is a starting offensive lineman on the Philadelphia Eagles.

"This is the happiest and most emotional I’ve ever been, other than my son being born," Becton told The New York Post. “As a player, this is something you dream about.”