As Henrico schools reopen, a sense of getting back to 'normal' returns

Between classes at Douglas S. Freeman High School, students flooding the hallways clutched printed schedules as they tried to find their next classroom. Some asked Principal John Marshall and other staff members for help, while others asked friends.

On Monday, Henrico County Public Schools students returned to classrooms for the first day of the school year, which started a week earlier than previous years.

In addition to the calendar change, Marshall and Henrico School Board Chairwoman Marcie Shea said this year feels different because it’s the first “normal” school year since the outbreak of COVID-19. Henrico schools are mask-optional, and few students at Freeman donned masks on the first day.

Ahead of the school year, the division was focused on filling teacher vacancies, which were down to 175 open positions at the end of summer break. Some positions are filled by substitute teachers and others are filled by staff members in non-teaching positions who hold teaching certificates.

Central office staffers usually help out during transition periods in schools at the beginning of the year, Cox said. This year, some are starting the year in the classroom – including Superintendent Amy Cashwell. At Freeman, there is one substitute teacher covering a Spanish class, and Marshall also is teaching a class.

The division also is experiencing a shortage of bus drivers, Cox said. There are about 65 vacancies, and officials are hoping to fill at least of them to reach pre-pandemic levels. HCPS Director of Pupil Transportation Jim Ellis is driving a bus again this year, Cox said.

At the beginning of the school year, the division is focused on getting students into routines, Cox said. Another focus is building relationships, which the division hopes to accomplish through its Reach to Teach initiative, Shea said.

“We want to, especially this first year of school, make sure we reach all of our students with a meaningful relationship in their classrooms, in the school building, and use that as the foundation as we go into the rest of the year,” Shea said.

Freeman Band Director Rob Blankenship, who is an alum of the school himself, said he makes sure to speak with new students and sometimes asks seniors to reach out to them. The school also has a “big siblings” program, where juniors and seniors are assigned freshman homerooms to connect with younger students and help them adjust to high school.

“[Relationship building] is important any year, but especially important when you have students who, you know, their learning has been disrupted to some extent for two years,” Cox said.

In classes, some teachers jumped into the course material and the first night’s homework. Rob Peck, who runs the school’s center for leadership, government, and global economics, spoke to his students about the assigned reading and how their discussion about Pluto and the planets would connect with later discussions about American democracy.

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This is a breaking news story and will updated.