The Problem

A lack of educational resources and teacher shortages disproportionately affect low- income and minority students in Henrico County, Virginia. Data reveals that schools with a higher concentration of poverty and larger minority populations are more inequitable in terms of educational opportunities. Despite there being measurable differences in the educational opportunities provided to students in high-poverty versus low-poverty schools, the issue is commonly overlooked.

Background

Virginia has 212 public schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families. These schools are mostly found in the Greater Richmond and Hampton Roads regions. Richmond City has the most of any division with 29 high-poverty schools, with about 63% of students in the division enrolled in one of them. Other divisions with many high-poverty schools include Norfolk, Roanoke City, Prince William, Newport News, Danville, Hampton, and Henrico (Duncombe).

HCPS schools are currently dealing with the growing perception in Eastern Henrico (where many minority groups and low-income families reside) that there is an uneven distribution of educational resources. Ratings released by the Virginia Department of Education show that out of the 17 schools that are currently struggling to earn accreditation in Henrico County, 16 of the schools are in Eastern Henrico (Moomaw).

Tara Adams, who advocates for closing the achievement gap of black students in Henrico County, states that the school division has not adequately dealt with the situation in Fairfield and Varina district schools (Kebede). Hodge, a 19-year math interventionist at several eastern Henrico schools, also had children attending Varina High School and Deep Run High School respectively. He commented that the experience “showed disparities in education and policies at the two schools favoring students in the west, which strikes at a common notion among residents in Varina” (Kebede).

The ratings fuel the ongoing debate over the allocation of Henrico’s resources in the east versus the west, a discussion “tinged with issues of race and income” (Moomaw). School officials have begun to invest in helping eastern Henrico students reach state standards, and education officials have attributed the issue to increasing rigor in Standards of Learning tests (Moomaw). When asked about the geography of the struggling schools, Bondy Shay Gibson said students in the eastern districts are equally as capable and motivated as others. “They simply need more support from the school division to reach their goals,” she said. “And that’s exactly what they’re going to get” (Moomaw).

Factors That Contribute to the Problem

Students in high-poverty schools lack experienced instructors and access to necessary/rigorous courses, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. For example, 93% of low-poverty schools in the state offered Algebra 1, a foundational course for transitioning to higher-level math, compared to 75% of high-poverty schools. Additionally, 99% of low-poverty high schools offered at least one AP or IB class, whereas only 71% of high-poverty schools did the same. On average, high-poverty schools offered 10 AP and IB courses, while low-poverty schools offered 19 (Duncombe).

Next, high-poverty schools have lower spending levels on instructors and instructional materials. According to the Commonwealth Institute, “High poverty schools spent 10 percent less per student on instructors, instructional materials, and professional development than low poverty schools using state and local resources in 2013-2014” (Duncombe). Evidently, Virginia does not prioritize quality instruction for schools with students who have greater needs outside the classroom.

Furthermore, students of color in Virginia schools are over-represented in high-poverty schools. For years, public and private housing discrimination practices have ensured that colored families of all socioeconomic classes live in high-poverty areas, exposing their children to schools segregated by race and income (Jordan). As a result, these students are deprived of opportunities to pursue their academic ambitions. According to The Commonwealth Institute, “one out of every six students of color (15 percent) in Virginia attended a high-poverty school in the 2013-2014 school year, as did more than one out of every five (22 percent) Black students - compared to just 3 percent of White students” (Duncombe). Student performance reflects these disparities: the consequences are seen in worse attendance, standardized testing, college enrollment, and graduation rates (Duncombe).

Impacts

Student performance reflects these disparities: the consequences are seen in worse attendance, standardized testing, college enrollment, and graduation rates (Duncombe). More recent statistics in ProPublica’s database demonstrate these differences in opportunity in Henrico Schools. Varina High and Ward Elementary School, which are located in East Henrico County, have student populations composed of 68% and 64% black students respectively. In contrast, Deep Run High and Colonial Trail Elementary School, which are in West Henrico County, have black student populations of 5% and 8% respectively (“Miseducation | Henrico County Public Schools”). In the entire Henrico County Public Schools District, white students are 2.4 times more likely to be enrolled in at least one AP course than black students (“Miseducation | Henrico County Public Schools”). On average, black students are 2.4 academic grades behind white students, and they are 4.6 times as likely to be suspended. Overall, recent figures demonstrate the high segregation index between black and white students in HCPS, indicating the uneven distribution of these racial groups among schools in the district.

This graph demonstrates the correlation between “poverty segregation” and racial segregation in the nation’s public schools. It reveals how black students are four times more likely to attend a high-poverty school than a low-poverty school, and over six times more likely than white students to attend a high-poverty school.

These statistics corroborate the information in the graph above. They reveal significant differences in accreditation and demographic makeup of high-poverty vs. low-poverty schools. It also illustrates how high-poverty schools tend to have a lower percentage of qualified teachers and less variety in course offerings, both of which detrimentally impact the success of students.

How do Teacher Shortages Affect the Issue?

Teachers play a fundamental role in the improvement of education because they serve as role models and supporters for students. However, recruiting and retaining exceptional educators has become an urgent issue and has been negatively impacting schools serving students of color and low-income students. This is due to teacher attrition, and it disproportionately impacts several schools in Henrico. “In 2012–13, almost one in 10 teachers in high-poverty public schools left the profession. In contrast, fewer than one in 15 teachers in low-poverty schools did so…” (Podolsky et al.).

The persistently increased rates of turnover in high-poverty, high-minority schools affect the concentration of underprepared teachers in many schools. In Henrico County, schools and administrators are not culturally prepared to grapple with the implications of teacher vacancies and inexperienced staff. An article published in July 2022 summarizes Henrico County’s current situation- the division is seeking to hire around 200 teachers to compensate for the dire shortage (Moors). Moreover, 21 Eastern Henrico County Public Schools account for 125 (about 60%) of vacant in-school positions (Lappas).

This map reflects how more teacher vacancies are in districts serving more students of color and economically disadvantaged students.

Overall, Henrico County Public Schools have recently undergone positive shifts in student demographics. According to a 2018 report, HCPS “has more than doubled its number of Asian and Latinx students, while its Black student population has increased slightly and its White student population has declined” over the past decade. As a result, the current student population of HCPS is extremely diverse - “39.9% White, 35.5% Black, 9.1% Latinx, 10.5% Asian, and 4.9% other races” (Holton et al.).

However, a large proportion of these students, particularly from high-poverty schools, are negatively affected by the disparities outlined above. Despite there being measurable differences in the educational opportunities provided to students in high-poverty versus low-poverty schools, investing in the issue is commonly deemed “wasteful.” Through Education4Everyone, we aim to address these issues with the urgency they warrant.

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