Henrico minority, low-income and disabled students underrepresented in several academic metrics

Black, Hispanic, English-learner and economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities are underrepresented in Henrico County Public Schools’ advanced course enrollment, gifted identification and the four-year graduation rate indexes in varying levels, school system data from the past two school years shows.

Black students, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities also are overrepresented in out of school suspensions and chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the school year), according to the same data, which Director of HCPS Assessment, Research and Evaluation Tiffany Hinton presented to the School Board during a work session Aug. 27.

The school system tracks those five equity measures in an effort to address potential inequities among students.

In response to the suspensions data, the division established division and school-level teams to help student-support employees implement leveled systems of intervention and disciplinary responses. Those responses, Hinton said, include:

• establishing behavioral expectations and supporting students to meet them;
• establishing procedures to manage classrooms;
• restorative practices;
• and behavior support plans.

Hispanic and English-learner students were the most underrepresented in the four-year graduation rate, while the other subgroups all had indices in the 0.9 range (a 1 is considered a perfect score on the equity index used by school officials).

The division has taken steps to address that inequity, such as sending information home in families’ native languages, surveying English learners who repeated the ninth grade to better understand their barriers, offering small group counseling with an interpreter present, providing English-learner-directed study with an instructional assistance, and mentoring with direct support for seniors, Hinton said.

To address disparities in advanced course enrollment, an administrator from each high school works with the director of high school education to educate families, Hinton said. Steps include hosting information sessions for families and students, using interests and measures outside of grades and test scores to identify candidates, working with feeder schools to identify students in underrepresented groups, and using PSAT testing, which the board expanded to offer all ninth and 10th grade students this past year.

The gifted department is working with the Equity, Diversity and Opportunity office to complete an equity audit of gifted student identification and is working with schools to provide staff training on identifying gifted characteristics in students in the underrepresented groups, Hinton said.

The division is addressing chronic absenteeism by communicating with parents the importance of daily attendance, ensuring parents have access to community partners that can address root causes of absenteeism, and establishing school support teams that can track and identify chronically absent students early.