Henrico School Board considers adding 'self-defense' clause to disciplinary code; suspect arrested in connection to shooting that killed Varina High teen
This week, the Henrico School Board went over proposed changes to the Code of Student Conduct, including adding a ‘self-defense’ clause and lowering penalties for student athletes who violate the Student Activities Contract.
A suspect was arrested in connection with the April 10 fatal shooting of a 16-year-old Henrico teen from Varina High School that occurred in the Whitcomb neighborhood of Richmond.
Henrico elementary schoolers with disabilities participated in a day of races and games put on by Special Olympics VA with the help of hundreds of Freeman High volunteers.
Changes to Code of Student Conduct
Henrico School Board members will review a number of proposed changes to the Henrico Schools Code of Student Conduct at an April 18 meeting, including one that would clarify when a student’s actions would be considered self-defense.
The proposed change would add a clause allowing students to claim self defense as long as they were “without fault in provoking or bringing on the fight or incident, have reasonably feared, under the circumstances as they existed at the time, that there was an imminent risk of physical harm, and have used no more force than was reasonably necessary to prevent the threatened.”
Another clause would be added under the “Assault/Fighting/Threats” section to instruct administrators that whether a student acted in self-defense “shall be considered if asserted by the student in determining administrative responses.”
Varina High teen shot, suspect arrested
Richmond police have announced an arrest in connection to a deadly shooting that happened in the Whitcomb neighborhood on April 10.
Police in Richmond tell CBS 6 that Ke'mon Pryor, a 20 year-old from Richmond, has been arrested and charged with robbery and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are also pending for Pryor.
On April 10 at 5:38 p.m. Richmond police say they were called to the 2100 block of Deforrest Street for reports of a person shot. "Officers arrived and located a juvenile male down on a sidewalk suffering from an apparent gunshot wound," officers wrote in a release.
Fun for students of all abilities
On a sunny, hot Monday, 800 Henrico elementary schoolers flocked to Douglas S. Freeman High School for the annual “Little Feet Meet” hosted by Special Olympics Virginia.
The athletes – students with intellectual disabilities – were joined by their designated “buddies,” students without disabilities who were there to support them and to participate in a day of games, races, and prizes. A group of 400 high school volunteers from Freeman also came out to operate the different “stations,” which included an obstacle course, a 50-meter buddy race, a soccer shot game, and more.
Students as young as pre-kindergarten to as old as fifth grade were brought to the event on April 15 by their exceptional education teachers and teacher aides.
Community leaders visit Freeman High
The world of leadership and management has changed a lot over the past few decades, and many think it has changed for the better.
At an “Emerging Leaders” event on Mar. 20 for Douglas S. Freeman High School students, community and business leaders from the Richmond-Henrico area emphasized how leadership has become more about listening and embracing different perspectives, with bosses taking a step back from the “my way or the highway” approach.
Freeman students Christian Washington and Sara Vera-Sota, both “Equity Ambassadors” who help promote diversity and inclusion around the school, interviewed the panel of five leaders, who spoke to about 100 students.
Photos of the week
Graduating seniors visited their old elementary and middle schools — congrats to the class of 2024!!
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