Henrico Virtual Academy makes 'tremendous progress' in first year

Like thousands of Henrico parents, Heather Massey signed up her child for Henrico Virtual Academy last year because of concerns about COVID-19. Keeping her daughter safe during the pandemic has been of paramount importance, so she signed up right away.

But it’s not just about COVID-19 any more. Her daughter, she said, is “absolutely thriving” in HVA, the school division’s first online school which opened in the fall.

The family would choose HVA again even if COVID-19 wasn’t a factor, Massey said.

The 10th grader has improved her grades (they were already excellent before, Massey said), and she has the opportunity to participate in fun activities, like library lunch club and helping with the daily announcements – things that she might not have been able to do in person.

HVA revealed many benefits that Massey hadn’t previously for her daughter, who has a physical disability.

“It's turned out to be an absolute huge advantage for our family in so many ways, not only because of the pandemic, but because of other benefits related to accessibility,” Massey said.  “We need extra time for things like getting ready for school, if we're going somewhere for school, so we save a lot of time. Then my daughter can have time for extra studying or doing the announcements and other activities like that.”

HVA students’ attendance rates are better than the rest of the school division on average with about 97% of HVA students are attending daily.

The chronic absenteeism rate, which is defined by the VDOE as missing 10% or more of the school year,  is 7.6% for HVA students. For HCPS as a whole, the estimated chronic absenteeism rate is 19% this year, according to a division spokeswoman.

Last year's chronic absenteeism rate for HCPS was 10%, according to the VDOE. It was also about 10% in the 2018-2019 school year, before the pandemic.

Studies show that chronic absence can result in students having difficulty learning to read by the third grade, achieving in middle school and graduating from high school.

The K-12 school serves 1,356 students, making it Henrico County Public Schools’ largest program. The students come from each district, but most live in the Varina and Fairfield districts. The school serves a majority of Black students, who account for 63% of the student population. The rest are 15% white, 10% Asian, 7% Hispanic and 5% multiple races, according to enrollment counts from September sent to the Virginia Department of Education.

There were 1,413 students enrolled at the start of the school year, but about 60 students returned to in-person learning at their zoned schools.

Initially, about 1,700 students signed up for HVA during the registration window last May. Shortly after, COVID-19 cases were on the decline and some of those families opted out. But in August, the waitlist shot up after HCPS had announced that masks would be optional for the coming school year. Even after the Henrico School Board reversed that policy, thousands more students were added to the waitlist amid fears of the spread of the delta variant, especially among children who were too young to be vaccinated at that time.

Ultimately, several thousand students were rejected from the program because HCPS officials were unable to meet a sudden increased demand for the program.

Since the HVA opened about eight months ago,  tremendous progress has been made in forming the largest program in the school division, said HVA Principal Garry Marshall, who formerly served as an Elko Middle School assistant principal.

"Our students and teachers have gotten into a rhythm with routines, systems, culture, and academics," Marshall said. "As a result of our students being virtual last year, they came to us with the technology skills to navigate Schoology and Microsoft Teams, so we have experienced limited technology issues. For most of our students, virtual learning has been a great fit and has met their family’s needs."

The main challenge, Marshall said, is the applicant pool of staff members, which is smaller than he’d hoped. Nationwide, the teacher shortage has been exasperated by the pandemic.

But HVA teacher Ellen Bohon, who has been teaching for 30 years, said she’s never enjoyed her job as much as she does this year.

“I work harder than I ever have, but it is because I am excited about teaching again,” Bohon said. “It feels like a fresh start.”

There haven’t been any behavior problems, which makes teaching fun and takes the stress factor out, she said.

“My focus is on teaching and not on class management,” Bohon said. “It is how school should be so all students have a better opportunity to learn.”

Although HVA is fully online, and that typically hinders social connectedness, the school community has worked to incorporate ways to engage the community.

A PTSA was formed and has a group of dedicated parents who facilitate events. Staff members  nominate students of the week, and weekly newsletters give recognition to students and staff.

Students are able to participate in other HCPS activities, like the spelling bee, which HVA third grader Sawyer Lepurage participated in after winning the HVA spelling bee.

His mother, Danielle, said the family will most likely continue with HVA next year.

"The teachers do very well with engaging them so they are paying attention to the courses, and they make it fun so it's not that they're just kind of sitting there and listening to the teacher talk all the time,” Lepurage said.  "I can definitely say that there is a difference in the ones that they picked... These teachers are of a different breed because they can connect to the kids virtually a lot easier and can keep their attention a lot better."

Another upside is that Sawyer is able to meet people from all over Henrico County through his classes, his mother said.

HVA officials are in the process of planning for the 2022-2023 school year and meeting with the faculty, staff, and families to discuss what went well and what adjustments might be incorporated for next school year.

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.