The Henry County School Board met on June 11 to discuss several topics, including changes to policy revisions. Several of these changes were targeted at improving safety for students during an emergency situation. A major change to the JROTC credit was also put in place to help students considering a potential military career after high school.
Each school now has to include “provisions that seek to maximize the ability for students with mobility impairments to evacuate the school building along with their non-mobility impaired peers,” said director of human resources Christy Landon. Schools are also now required to hold fire drills during school sessions that match the statewide prevention code.
Health classes will now focus on mental health conflict resolution and take a look at hazing.
JROTC classes will now be counted as P.E. classes for those who take them.
“How is that going to affect the program in our high schools? How is this going to affect P.E. programs?” asked board member Ben Gravely.
“There is such a heavy physical education component to the JROTC program that this particular policy will allow the JROTC’s physical training component to count for that P.E. credit,” said Superintendent Dr. Amy Blake-Lewis.
The JROTC program has a component of physical development. “This is for JROTC to serve a dual purpose,” Blake-Lewis said. “I don’t think it will be a detriment to our P.E. program because our enrollment in JROTC is not hundreds of students. This just simply makes it easier for those students who want to pursue military as their potential pathway after high school to be able to earn that P.E. credit through JROTC.”
“You have the health component with P.E. in order to get the full credit,” said Gravely.
Blake-Lewis stated that the JROTC instructors will “pick that piece up as well.” Students who take this path would miss out on driver’s ed. “They would need to make allowances for that.”
Blake-Lewis said that changing the program in the schools to include the P.E. credit isn’t absolute, but “gives them options. It doesn’t mean that we have to do it.”
She said that students who want driver’s ed can still do P.E., but for students who aren’t interested and wish to take that course outside of the classroom, “it gives the option.”
Three policies are being added to comply with the Virginia Literacy Act, along with the approval for school board members to join a board or committee meeting remotely. SOL standards will also be updated to comply with Virginia Literacy.
Along with this, fentanyl information and education will now be distributed to students in grades 9 through 12. This will happen “annually in the first two weeks of school,” said Landon. Special education liaisons will have their information posted publicly. Some other policies have been removed that are no longer applicable to current standards. A change was also made to the consideration of applying for special placement.
Bassett and Magna Vista high schools will be getting new fieldhouses. Quality Construction from Danville will build Bassett’s, while Concrete Foundations from Gretna will do the construction at Magna Vista.
Additionally, updates were provided on many changes and renovations, confirming that many ongoing projects are currently in progress to improve school facilities.
In other matters, the board:
* Recognized Monique Holland as the VSBE Media Honor Roll winner.
* Recognized players from All District Basketball.
* Recognized players from All District and All District Regional boys’ track.
* Recognized runners from the Track Teams
* Recognized players from the Soccer Team.
* Recognized Coach Sam Suite
* Recognized members of the VA Association of Teachers
