Stakeholders share concerns, praise at school system's small-group town hall meeting

Henrico parents and teachers gathered at Quioccasin Middle School on Wednesday evening to attend a type of meeting that Henrico County Public Schools never had held before.

For the first time, school board members used a small-group format to facilitate a town hall style meeting, during which groups of parents, teachers, and school officials had discussions in circles (led by facilitators) about a variety of topics.

Facilitators used the “notice, like, wonder” method – trimmed to only “like” and “wonder” because of time constraints. This method is often used in classes and has been used in previous school board meetings. Wednesday night, this method involved group members sharing one thing they like about HCPS, as well as one thing they wonder – a concern they have, or an idea about how something could be done differently.

Former school psychologist L. Frances Brown brought up a concern about students’ mental and behavioral health after the pandemic, wondering how schools will address the impact that COVID-19 has had.

“They have been away from other people, away from being challenged intellectually and from just having a routine,” said Brown, whose two children graduated from Godwin High School. “They’ve been out of practice for so long.”

The school system, Brown said, should be trying to identify students who are most affected by the pandemic, including those who have lost family members to COVID-19, and make sure they’re not falling behind.

“It’s a challenge, but I think it does depend on the school system to locate those kids,” Brown said.

Kate Garitz, a parent of two Freeman High School students, said that she is concerned about the amount of technology students are using for school.

“My children tell me cheating is rampant,” she said.

Garitz said that some students open another browser window while taking tests online, allowing them to look up answers. She also expressed general concern about the amount of screen time younger students have.

“They need to be familiar with the technology,” Garitz said, “but it’s definitely a balance issue. We need it, but how much do we need it?”

Other issues commonly brought up by parents were lack of teacher retention along with a perceived “lack of respect” for teachers, and peer-on-peer violence in schools.

Though Henrico School Board members Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District) and Mickey Ogburn (Three Chopt District) hosted the town hall, other school board members were present as well to talk to attendees. Shea and Ogburn were the main presenters, along with superintendent Amy Cashwell.

One of the things Ogburn heard from many parents was a desire for communication from HCPS to be clearer.

“They need to know what’s going on in the schools, but they also need to know what’s going on with the school system,” Ogburn said.

One of the parents at the meeting, Taneil Moore, suggested that the school district could do more to make these types of meetings accessible by providing sign-language and Spanish interpreters.

“We want more people to feel welcome,” Moore said.

Moore, who has a child in middle school, is part of the Charlottesville-based non-profit Virginia Organizing, which seeks to get more people involved in politics in their local communities. She said that she appreciated that the town hall meeting was held in this new format.

Ogburn also said that many parents, when asked to say something they liked about HCPS, praised the teachers.

“Often we only share the bad, or complain,” Ogburn said. “Sometimes parents only talk to teachers when there’s a problem, so to take time to share the good, that’s so important for people to hear.”

Attendees also praised the wide variety of course offerings in the school system – particularly the ACE centers.

School Board members Kristi Kinsella (Brookland District) and Roscoe Cooper (Fairfield District) plan to lead another town hall meeting in this style on behalf of the school system Feb. 2 at Holladay Elementary School. Alicia Atkins, the school board representative for Varina, hosted a town hall meeting earlier this year.

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Anya Sczerzenie 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. Sign up here for her free weekly education newsletter.