Centering community voices

Dear reader,

As Henrico County’s only local, independent news source, we work to amplify voices in the Henrico community – especially voices that often aren’t heard enough. And in our education coverage, that means spotlighting the voices of students, teachers, support staff, custodians, substitutes, parents, faith leaders, and community members from all of Henrico’s 75 public schools, as well as private schools and local colleges.

Independent community newsrooms support independent community voices. And without your support, we wouldn’t have been able to highlight all parts of Henrico County – the good, the bad, and most importantly, the truth – through our journalism.

This year, we heard from many voices about education in Henrico:

Teachers and staff

“As an educator for 18 years, I should be able to negotiate my wages.”
– Tee McQuinn, a teacher at Highland Springs Elementary School, on her support for collective bargaining in Henrico Schools.

“We may not have licenses, but we dedicate ourselves to education.”
– Liping He, a custodian at Chamberlayne Elementary School, on concerns about support staff not receiving the same pay raises as licensed teachers.

“You have to take the time to get to know those kids.”
– Liz Broda, a teacher at Henrico High School, on connecting with students who return to the classroom after being incarcerated.

Students

“Oftentimes I feel, ‘Am I safe here?’”
– Kenya Sarai, a senior at Varina High School, on her concerns about mental health challenges and substance abuse at her school.

“In my opinion, the fine arts at J.R. Tucker are dying, and we need to do something about it.”
– Michael Farley, a senior at Tucker High School, on how the pay gap between theater teachers and athletic coaches could cause Tucker to lose its after-school theater program.

“It put me on the right track.” 
– Maurice Sawyers, a Tucker High School graduate, on how joining Tucker’s Spanish immersion program inspired him to go to college.

Parents

“Are we teaching our children to shy away from conversations about difficult or complicated topics?”
– Henrico parent Sara Jamal on the removal of a Deep Run High School teacher who made comments to students about her opinion on the Israel-Hamas war.

“The situation is getting worse each semester.”
– Henrico parent Jen Tucker on student bullying at Pocahontas Middle School.

“I have a lot of my community that works in the schools, as custodians, maintenance, security.”
– Henrico parent Wael Adly on the importance of pay raises for all school staff.

And we want to continue to center more community voices, especially those that haven’t been heard yet, by expanding our coverage. Every individual donation helps us reach more voices, share more stories, and keep Henrico citizens informed about the issues they care about.

Through our partnership with Report for America, you can make a 100% tax deductible contribution to my role covering education in Henrico County (we'll even throw in a free gift if you give $75 or more!). We have received so many generous donations from our readers this year, and we cannot thank you enough for your support.

Sincerely,
Liana Hardy
Henrico Citizen education reporter
Report for America corps member