The absolutely perfect job, one Katie Mawyer dreams of each day and night, would be on the sidelines of a football game, with a microphone in hand, giving updates on a player’s injury or a coach’s critical call.
“I want to be a field reporter,” Mawyer said. “Monday Night Football would be great.”
They teach them to dream in the Henrico County Public Schools, especially at the specialty centers where major league ambitions often seem to come true.
Mawyer attends Varina High School’s Center for Communications, one of nine specialty centers spread over eight high schools around Henrico.
“My teachers and classes offer so many opportunities, so many chances to work hard, have fun and figure out what I want to do,” the senior said. “They inspire me to dream about my future.”
Middle school students can apply to four-year programs that range from the center for the arts
to the center for information technology to the center for science, mathematics and technology. Many students attend high schools outside of their home districts.
The centers spawned in the mid-1990s have become the envy of many parents, who often tell Beverley Lanier they wish specialty centers existed when they were young.
“When parents come and see our facility, they say ‘oh man, this is great,’” said Lanier, communications center chair. “They can’t believe we offer this in high school. Many say they wished they had these kinds of opportunities.”
Her program focuses on numerous areas in the field, including writing and speaking, television, print journalism, advertising, public relations and Web design.
The center averages 120 to 130 students a year. Educators say many of the students go on to study communications in college.
The freshmen receive an overview of the communications field, while sophomores concentrate on print journalism. They work on the Blue Devils Advocate, winner of the Virginia High School League best newspaper trophy three of the last four years.
As juniors, students advance to television and work together to produce Roll Tape, a 15-minute news show that runs on the public schools’ cable channel, Henrico 99. Juniors also televise Varina 411 Live inside the high school.
Seniors are expected to create a portfolio of their work as well as deliver motivational speeches and produce on-air presentations. One positive aspect of the program that is sometimes overlooked is the impact of students working as a team for four years together.
“We do a thing at the end of the year for seniors, and it makes me cry every single time,” said Lanier, who has worked with the program since its inception in 1995. “We have a dinner and the focus of the program is to recognize their achievements. Each senior gives a speech. Many of them talk about working with each other, the ups and downs and feeling like they are part of something great. They express their sense of belonging. This is as important as anything we do here.”
Nancy Lavier said a sense of belonging also infuses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Henrico High School, where she is a coordinator. The specialty center offers students a foundation
of communications, international relations, intercultural awareness and holistic learning. It is much like a college liberal arts program.
Besides getting a diploma from Henrico High School, IB students also earn the Advanced Studies and the International Baccalaureate diplomas upon graduation.
“To earn the diplomas is not an easy thing, but colleges respect them highly,” Lavier said. “Some to the point of, I know in Florida, Colorado, California and Texas, if a student scores a certain number on the examinations and completes all the requirements for the diplomas, the state will pay for the tuition even if the student is from out of state.” The program started in 1996 and had a total of 30 seniors from 1997 to 2001. Since then, it has been on a steady growth trajectory: from 47 seniors last academic year, 90 IB students are expected to graduate in June.
Students take a challenging academic curriculum that includes six years of foreign languages
as well as rigorous demands in science, art and technology. Students are required to work their bodies as well, taking 150 hours in sports or other physical activities, and performing community service as juniors and seniors. “What IB strives for is to help a student learn balance,” Lavier said. “In real life, when these students become adults, they’re going to have a career, have a family, try to keep themselves physically fit and also give to others. Our program teaches them how to keep this balance.”
Lee Hanchey said she has the greatest job in the world. Hanchey was a student at Henrico High School when it opened, and returned as a chorus teacher. She also has helped the Center for the Arts evolve into a premier program since it debuted as the first specialty center in 1990.
“Art and music is my life,” said Hanchey, center chair. “To be able to see students express themselves with art and music is incredible.”
The program teaches vocal music theater, dance, performance theater and visual arts. Classes cover acting techniques, drawing, tap and music theory, depending on a student’s area of focus.
The center has a spacious dance studio as well as a professional-grade stage. Studios for visual arts are equally impressive. A new building for visual arts is under construction.
Unlike other specialty centers, the Center for the Arts will accept students who move into the county during their high school years.
“When you allow students to study something they have a deep interest in, everything else falls into place for them,” Hanchey said. “That’s why I praise Henrico County. I see the results. Students leave here confident and ready to pursue whatever their goals.”
Henrico County’s Specialty Centers run the gamut from foreign language immersion to leadership studies to the humanities. Future engineers likely will find a home at the Center for Engineering at Highland Springs High School. And it’s just as likely student engineers will work hard on the FIRST Robotics season, a six-week intellectual journey that tests youngsters’ dedication, teamwork and ingenuity.
“Some of the kids work until 11 at night,” said Billy Batkins, chair for the Center for Engineering at Highland Springs High School. “They also work weekends. Some put in 200 to 300 hours during those six weeks.”
Legendary inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to inspire high school students’ studies in science and technology. FIRST is a national program that challenges teams to apply math and science concepts to build a robot that can successfully complete a task in competition.
Teams receive their test and a basic kit of parts, motors and electronic devices in early January. Highland Springs High must complete its robot by March for a regional competition at Virginia Commonwealth University. Last year, more than 1,000 students competed at VCU.
Highland Springs has won the engineering inspiration award twice, and this year placed 19th out of 62 teams according to Jeffrey Scoggin, former center chair, who’s now assistant principal of Short Pump Middle School.
The program encourages partnerships with corporations or universities. Many schools seek help with the $6,000 entry fee and the $2,000 in additional expenses. The Highland Springs team established a partnership with the VCU School of Engineering after a university official, Cynthia Schmidt, approached the high school with an idea.
“I suggested during an advisory committee meeting that we should do a documentary on the FIRST Robotics program at Highland Springs,” said Schmidt, VCU’s director of university marketing. “My son Travis is involved, so I knew how impressive the program is.”
