Here’s how different Virginia school systems plan to keep your child safe this 2024-25 year

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — It’s that time of year — you’re putting school supplies in backpacks and your trust in your school system. Parents across the Commonwealth are giving their kids goodbye hugs and sending them off to new places in the care of new faces.

The “back to school” season may bring a sigh of relief for some families, but a sense of fear for others. 8News spoke with school leaders across Central Virginia to hear how they plan to keep kids safe this 2024-25 school year.

“We value and honor the fact that families in our community are entrusting us to take care of our young people,” said Amy Cashwell, superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools. “We’re never complacent when it comes to school security.”

For the first time, Henrico County Public Schools students will use ID cards to ride the bus, access specific parts of the school and check out resources.

Cashwell told 8News that, regardless of age, all Henrico County students will start each morning walking through weapons detectors.

“We want to make sure our students know that they should be leaving at home anything that constitutes a weapon or doesn’t belong as part of an instructional tool for the school day,” Cashwell said.

Similar scanners will stand at the entrance of every Richmond Public Schools (RPS) middle and high school — but RPS students will also be required to wear clear backpacks .

“This is a place that is safe for our children — we preach safety every day on this campus,” said Timothy Vaughn, principal of Thomas Boushall Middle School in Richmond.

Both of these school districts, plus Chesterfield and Hanover counties, highlighted the importance of creating a community — encouraging students to report bullying and prioritizing mental health resources.

Chesterfield and Henrico also expanded their camera systems.

“We’ve made improvements to our entrance vestibules,” said Chesterfield County School Board Chair Dot Heffron. “We’ve made improvements to our camera systems in our schools.”

Above all, school officials told 8News that they want parents to know:

“We are ready to welcome our students,” Heffron said.

“We are ready to wrap our arms around our students,” Cashwell said.

“When [students] come in these doors, they know they’re going to receive that love,” Vaughn said.

All school systems 8News spoke with — including, but not limited to, Richmond, Chesterfield County, Henrico County and Petersburg — added that school resources officers are a crucial part of keeping the school community safe. Some districts said they will have additional officers and members of law enforcement on site this year compared to years prior.

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