Virginia’s First Lady visits Henrico High to speak about mental health needs

Ray Reynolds was in seventh grade when schools abruptly shuttered. What was supposed to be two weeks at home ended up being two years at home. She didn’t walk back into a school until last month when she started as a freshman at Henrico High School.

Getting thrown into a world of isolation took a toll on students’ mental health.

Virginia’s First Lady Pam Northam visited Henrico High School on Friday morning to speak with students about mental wellness, and listen to ideas about how schools can better support students’ mental health. The group of Henrico High School students candidly discussed their experiences like having to get a job when a parent lost their income and the stress of helping younger siblings navigate online school.

“It takes such courage to speak your truth,” Northam said. “It’s been a difficult time but you give us such hope.”

One resounding theme is that students are relieved to be back in brick-and-mortar schools.

“I definitely did take for granted how every day I had the opportunity to wake up and go to school, and talk,” Reynolds said. “Even though I didn't enjoy exactly how this school system worked back then, I still felt like it was an opportunity for me to be able to have a life and not have to stay at home and just be surrounded by screens constantly.”

Students expressed the desire for an initiative similar to “Wellness Wednesdays,” which last year were days of abbreviated virtual learning or independent study in which students could take much of the day for themselves.

It’s a suggestion that Henrico Superintendent Amy Cashwell hears often.

“We were really intentional about planning (Wellness Wednesdays) that way, to reduce the stigma around mental health and wellness,” Cashwell said. “If we call it out on this day and create the space, hopefully, students will start to normalize the idea of wellness in the schoolhouse, and it worked. So that's a great thing. They're still talking about how powerful it was for them on a number of fronts.”

Because of state laws, there’s a certain number of instructional hours that must occur each school year, and therefore Wellness Wednesdays as they were last academic year are not legally possible.

But, Cashwell said that the division leadership team is thinking of ways to create an intentional focus on students’ mental health including conversations and time to decompress.

“Maybe it’s a little more freedom in the way they schedule their academic activities and to-do lists,” Cashwell said.

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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.