Henrico School Board removes several scenarios from school redistricting proposal

Henrico School Board members Thursday decided to remove three scenarios that were initially part of the board’s school redistricting proposal. 

Changes that would have moved more than 200 students from Pocahontas Middle School to Quioccasin Middle School, more than 70 students from Holman Middle School to Hungary Creek Middle School, and about 70 students from Ridge Elementary School to Jackson Davis Elementary School now are no longer a part of the proposed redistricting. 

The removals were made in response to feedback from the community over the past two weeks, including input given from hundreds of parents at a town hall meeting last Thursday, said school board chair Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District). More than 1,000 people have also responded to an online survey about the proposal.

“[I] thank all who came out to the town hall last week. Public input is critical to this process,” Shea said. “I know talking to my colleagues, it really has informed a lot that one-on-one, we’ve been talking about to understand each other’s districts.” 

One change removes “Section 4” from the Quioccasin-Tuckahoe-Pocahontas proposal, allowing the 210 students who live in the Cedar Hill, Harbour Cove, Heritage Oaks, and Stonequarter neighborhoods – most who attend Ruby F. Carvery Elementary School – to continue going to Pocahontas Middle rather than Quioccasin Middle. The move would have placed all Carver Elementary students in the Quioccasin zone.

“That community has given very clear feedback that they prefer to remain split between Pocahontas and Quioccasin,” said Shea.

Many Carver parents spoke out at last week’s town hall against this section of the proposal, saying that the move would significantly decrease socioeconomic diversity at Pocahontas.

The rest of the sections within the Quioccasin-Tuckahoe-Pocahontas proposal will still be considered, Shea said.

Another change removes the redistricting of 76 students in the Broad Meadows neighborhood from Holman Middle to Hungary Creek Middle, allowing them to remain at Holman. The move would have raised the capacity at Hungary Creek to over 90%, and several parents had opposed the change.

The board also did away with a scenario that would have moved 72 students in the Brinkhaven, Parham Hills, Westdale Estates, and Pinecreek Village neighborhoods from Ridge Elementary to Davis Elementary. Parents had voiced concerns that the change would have moved almost all of the Ridge Parent Teacher Association’s most active members out of the school district, negatively impacting the school’s culture and parent engagement.

“Given that it was only around 70-ish kids, I’ve had the chance to speak with almost every family that’s impacted,” said board vice-chair Madison Irving (Three Chopt District). “The feedback has been that these folks are concerned that [this] would leave Ridge a worse-off place, and I think that those are perfectly valid considerations.”

The change of a small area of three land parcels, which currently have no students, from Ridge to Three Chopt Elementary would also be removed.

Parents still have concerns about current proposal

Despite adjustments to the initial proposal, some parents are still hesitant about the proposed redistricting, saying the changes would be disruptive to families and detrimental to some school communities.

At the school board’s public forum on Thursday, several parents asked the board to allow all current high school students to be able to stay at their high school if redistricting were to move forward. Board members have said that their preference would be to allow students in grades 5, 8, 11, and 12 next school year to have the option to stay at their school, which would require 10th graders to switch schools.

Jesse Narron’s son Wyatt, who is a freshman at Douglas S. Freeman High and has already gotten involved in the school’s sports teams and clubs, would have to move to Mills E. Godwin High next year, leaving behind the friendships he has made and forcing him to start over.

“Wyatt’s not a number on a spreadsheet. He’s not a tick mark on a chart. He’s a high school student,” said Narron. “His roots [at Freeman] are already established. He is a Maverick…Wyatt’s already a part of that family.”

Several teachers at Skipwith Elementary also asked the board to add Skipwith to the redistricting proposal, saying that the school has no more space left for students and needs immediate relief.

First-grade teacher Emily Lancaster said that the school has added more than 100 students in the past three years, forcing the art class and music class to be offered on carts rather than in classrooms and placing the counseling office and ESL classes of over 30 students in workrooms.

“I’ve already had staff from our school come up to me this year and say that the overcrowding will be the reason that they leave Skipwith after this year,” said Lancaster. “These are fantastic teachers that you are at risk of losing over a problem that can be fixed.”

Henrico Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell said that the division can look into providing programmatic adjustments to Skipwith or other solutions to help with overcrowding.

After hearing feedback from community members, HCPS will also add additional information on the redistricting proposal to the division’s website, said Shea, and new maps that better illustrate the proposed boundary changes, including a GIS map tool that will allow families to search their exact address. 

The school board will review updated enrollment numbers for the 2025-2026 school year at its Oct. 9 work session and hold a public hearing on the redistricting proposal at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.