Henrico's Spanish immersion program sees big gains; Varina High recognized for helping first-gen, low-income students
Happy Eid to all those who celebrate!
Henrico Schools’ first ever Spanish immersion program has witnessed academic and attendance success for its Kindergarten-2nd grade cohort, and HCPS plans to keep expanding the program each year.
Varina High School was recognized as a “School of Excellence" by ACT for helping first-generation and low-income students gain access to higher education. Gov. Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have allowed localities to impose a 1% sales tax to fund school construction projects.
97% less likely to be absent
Students in the English-Spanish immersion program at Elizabeth Holladay Elementary are 97% less likely to be chronically absent than their peers, according to Henrico Schools officials.
HCPS established its first dual language immersion program, which serves a group of kindergarten through second-grade students at Holladay, in August 2021. Classes are taught in both English and Spanish every day, and the K-2 cohort is evenly split between native English speakers and native Spanish speakers.
The “two-way, 50-50” program model helps English-speaking students learn Spanish and Spanish-speaking students learn English simultaneously, according to HCPS Director of Secondary Teaching and Learning Taylor Snow.
Varina named 'School of Excellence'
For five years, American College Testing has been presenting its annual “School of Excellence” awards to recognize high schools that support student success in college and beyond. This year, Varina High School was one of only 27 schools in the nation to earn the honor.
The awards are part of ACT’s American College Application Campaign, a national effort to increase the number of first-generation college students and students from low-income families pursuing a college degree or other higher education credential. The ACT School of Excellence program honors schools that demonstrate a strong commitment to student success and serve as “exemplary models” for their state’s college application campaign.
School construction bill vetoed
Local governments will have to find other ways of funding school construction and modernization costs after Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation on Monday that would have allowed them to impose a 1% sales tax for such projects.
Under the bill, local governments could only impose the 1% sales tax if voters approved the tax in a referendum.
While Youngkin said school construction is a “worthy cause,” Virginia has taken significant measures to address school construction costs, he added, and citizens should not be paying additional taxes — especially $1.5 billion annually that would be generated from the 1% sales tax.
Photos of the week
Who all saw the solar eclipse this week?! Many Henrico students did:
Elementary schoolers at Three Chopt Elementary (photo creds to @threechoptelementary)
Science classes at Tuckahoe Middle (photo creds to @tmspatriots)
And Earth Science students at Hungary Creek Middle (photo creds to @hungarycreekmshcps)
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