Henrico Schools scales up community visits in big push for engagement

Staff members from Henrico Schools’ Family and Community Engagement team are visiting 12 housing communities this summer to tackle a rising problem for many school systems post-pandemic: school absences.

While HCPS staffers have conducted similar community visits in past summers, they wanted to broaden their reach to all parts of the county this year with an expansive “summer tour” that includes other community organizations as well, according to HCPS family and community specialist Leslie Velez.

“We’ve coordinated internally to expand our reach to other communities so that we can basically broaden the support just across the district,” Velez said. “Instead of just focusing on one area, we really wanted to be intentional about scaling the tour. So we’re on the East End, we’re in the central area [of Henrico] and also out west.”

Officials made sure to strategically choose which spots to visit, including both housing and apartment complexes as well as hotels, to hit areas “where absences may be a concern,” Velez said.

During the 2022-2023 school year, 16.3% of HCPS students were “chronically absent,” missing 10% or more of the school year. Black and Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities made up the highest percentages of students who were chronically absent.

“We take a look at our district data, and there are different metrics that we take a look at to determine which areas we want to focus on,” Velez said. “One of the big areas that we can focus on here lately has been attendance and engagement in our schools.”

Certain schools also struggled more with absences than others; Fair Oaks Elementary, Glen Lea Elementary, Highland Springs Elementary, and John Rolfe Middle all saw about one-third of their students chronically absent in 2022-2023.

But even just a few visits into a community can make a difference, Velez said, as staff members connect more with families and bridge the gap between schools and the communities they serve.

“We want to remain that connection throughout the summer and be a resource,” Velez said. “And families are then likely to reach out to us more and more likely to be excited about school because they know that they have people in their school community that are on their side.”

At each tour stop, HCPS staffers make sure to set up games, free food and drinks, lively music, activities, and other outdoor fun to bring out the neighborhood kids, who in turn will bring out their parents.

“It’s really about being able to draw the crowds so we can build those relationships,” Velez said. “I feel like if we let people know that we’re here to have fun with them and engage with them, I think that folks are more inclined to come out and talk with us.”

Several other community organizations have joined the tour stops to offer different resources for families, ranging from financial assistance to nutritional education. At HCPS’s visit to New Bridge Village, Henrico CONNECT (a youth mentorship program) and Henrico 4-H (a youth development education program launched by Virginia Cooperative Extension) both set up booths to engage with kids and their families.

Volunteers from the Virginia Department of Health also helped families schedule immunizations, and representatives from Nia Inc of Greater Richmond, an HIV and AIDS awareness nonprofit, gave out free condoms and HIV self test kits.

Kimberly Edmonds, a family and consumer sciences agent with Henrico 4-H, said that along with several food assistance programs for families receiving Food Stamp benefits, the organization also offers an “Eat Smart, Move More” nutritional education program targeted to kids. At the HCPS tour stop, Edmonds helped kids play a “prize drop” game related to the different food categories of a healthy diet.

“Overall, our ultimate goal is to help individuals make better choices,” Edmonds said. “We try to bring information around healthy eating and how to make the best use of your resources, focusing on nutrition education as well as food insecurity.”

Other resources were geared towards older youth and their parents. Lindsay Bryant, a program coordinator for Nia Inc, said that many teenagers came up to grab free condoms and talk to her about sexual health, and some parents grabbed condoms and flyers for their children. While sexual diseases such as HIV, and sex itself, still are often taboo topics, Bryant said that talking to communities about healthy sexual practices is an important first step for disease prevention.

“There’s still a stigma, that’s why I talk about it,” Bryant said. “Whenever you talk about it, that helps cut down on the stigma. Just even if they listen, they still get something.”

Many families are unaware of the resources that are available to them, Velez said. HCPS staffers hope that the summer tour will help connect more families with different organizations and partners and encourage them to use HCPS as a resource.

“A lot of people don’t know about the resources, they’re just not aware,” Velez said. “So we’re basically coming out to meet families where they are, to share the resources that we have. And one of our goals is to engage and partner with other entities in the community so that we can just lift this type of work together.”

HCPS staff members will make six more visits this month as a part of the summer tour at the Springfield Apartments, Candlewood Suites, Forest Meadows, Motel 6, Delmont Village, and Express Airport Inn.

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.