Affinity Groups, Equity Ambassadors, Gender Identity and #BLM in Henrico County Public Schools

Henrico County Public Schools prioritizes Diversity, Equity and Opportunity. Racial affinity groups of staff met three times over the summer — the groups included one for Black staff, one for teachers of color and one called the “allyship affinity group,” described in part as a “a space to recognize and process the impact of privilege on White educators.”

Henrico has a program in which students can apply to become “equity ambassadors.”

In October of 2020, the district sponsored a virtual event called “What LGBTQ+ Students Need: How COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Election are Impacting our Youth,” which was led by the executive director of Side by Side, a youth LGBTQ+ organization in Virginia. Below is a video of the entire training:

On its Diversity, Equity and Opportunity page, the district website has a section called ‘Girls for a Change’ that lists enrichment opportunities and programs for girls. There is no mention of boys on the page, nor any opportunities listed for boys.

References

Henrico County Public Schools hires equity and diversity director Enrico Citizen, March 28, 2018