Henrico's hard-to-staff 'Opportunity Schools' show early some progress; Henrico parents push to extend elementary recess time

Jun 27, 2025

Happy Friday! Make sure you’re staying cool in this major hot weather!

Henrico’s ‘Opportunity Schools’ have shown some improvements in teacher vacancies and student test scores after almost two years of the program. A new Henrico group — Parents for More Play — wants Henrico Schools to make recess 45 minutes at every elementary school.

6 out of 10 schools see fewer vacancies

After almost two years, Henrico’s “Opportunity Schools” are showing progress, with the majority of schools seeing a decrease in teacher vacancies, according to Henrico Schools officials.

HCPS launched its Opportunity Schools initiative in August of 2023, selecting schools with a high number of teacher vacancies to receive extra staff and targeted resources for at least three years. Schools that were chosen also had high numbers of provisionally-licensed teachers and high teacher turnover.

More than 500 Henrico parents and community members are calling on Henrico Schools to extend elementary-schoolers’ 30-minute daily recess by another 15 minutes – a small change that they say will have significant positive impacts.

At the June 12 Henrico School Board meeting, several parents spoke out in favor of establishing a 45-minute recess for all elementary schools countywide starting this upcoming fall. A petition supporting the change also has 524 signatures from community members.

Jaylen Martinez, the son of Ciera Martinez and former VCU basketball player Joey Rodriguez, died unexpectedly on Monday.

Jaylen was a rising star in the AAU basketball community and had led Liberty Middle School to a county championship while averaging 27 points per game. He was set to attend Benedictine this fall.

UPDATE: Henrico teen Jada Tomlin was located and is safe, according to Hanover County Sheriff's officials. The teen had been reported missing after attending a birthday party June 20 in Henrico's West End.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: A Henrico teen is missing after attending a birthday party June 20 in Henrico's West End, and her parents have issued urgent pleas for her safe return.