Henrico Schools has a bullying problem, students and parents say; 70 years of Brown v. Board in Henrico
Hi all!
Last week, the Henrico School Board released the results of the 2024 HCPS survey, which revealed that about half of students, parents, and staff said there was a bullying problem at their school. Several parents have spoken out about verbal and physical bullying at recent school board meetings.
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling that established public school segregation as unconstitutional. Many in Henrico were impacted by the ruling, including one little girl whose story was reported 20 years ago today in the Citizen.
Two-thirds of students report bullying
Bullying is one of the top issues for parents, students and staff in Henrico Schools, according to the results of the HCPS 2024 School Survey conducted in February.
About half of participants reported a verbal, social, physical or cyberbullying problem at their school. In total, 76% of the student population completed the survey along with 88% of school-level staff and 18% of HCPS families. All survey responses were anonymous.
Verbal and social bullying are the most frequent types of bullying according to survey responses. Among the students surveyed, which included third through 12th graders, about two-thirds said that verbal bullying and social bullying were problems at their schools, while a little less than 50% of both families and staff said the same.
For the love of one
Editor’s note: Today is the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that established that public school segregation was unconstitutional. This week also is the 20th anniversary of this article by Citizen Publisher Tom Lappas that tells the previously unknown story of how several Henrico citizens were connected to one of the cases that prompted that decision – and how their efforts helped one little girl continue her education during a turbulent time.
It is 67 miles from Farmville, Va. to a quiet plot of land in Eastern Henrico County. In between, stately pines stand at attention alongside rolling hills of green, and dusty gravel trails lead to nowhere in particular.
The trip along this lonely highway is not a difficult one, nor remarkable. But for a six-year-old girl more than 40 years ago, it was both.
Fate carried her across those 67 miles – or was it hate that pushed her?
Free school meals for summer
Henrico County Public Schools will take part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program, providing free meals at 24 locations to children who need them most during the summer break.
The program will begin at some locations June 3 and will run through Aug. 1 at some locations. It will be available to children ages 18 and younger, accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
The program is funded by the USDA and administered by Henrico County Schools to ensure that children have access to nutritious meals when school is not in session.
A teacher’s legacy of loving books
A beloved teacher at Ruby F. Carver Elementary School is being remembered through the dedication of a new book vending machine at the school.
Beverly Parsley, who taught at the school for 38 years (retiring in 2018), died last year. On May 14, school officials joined her family members and friends to dedicate the new machine in the school’s cafeteria in her memory.’
Parsley was remembered fondly at the dedication.
“Beverly was an extraordinary teacher,” said Patricia Gregory, who taught with Parsley at Carver for many years. “She had a passion for teaching reading and she loved sharing books with the kids — especially books with characters who were full of personality and plots were full of humor.”
Photo of the week
A photo of Ms. Tignor’s bulletin board at Holman Middle School. Students from her Teen Living class wrote their positive affirmations for the day.
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