About a dozen students walked out onto the field at Highland Springs High School on a recent Tuesday afternoon, holding soccer balls and chatting animatedly in Spanish.
The students are part of a soccer club formed by Assistant Principal JoAna Smith to help multilingual learners feel more engaged at school.
Smith, who serves as the school’s administrator for the multilingual learner population, said she loves Henrico County Public School’s focus on cultural responsiveness as part of its instructional model.
“Part of that is you have to be intentional with relationships with students and make connections with them,” she said. Creating the club has been a way to deepen those connections.
Juan Mejia, 17, is on the school’s soccer team but also participates in the club and serves as captain.
“It’s a different experience, because it’s in the middle of the school day, so it’s nice to have a moment out of class to enjoy what we like,” he said.
Juan said the program makes him look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays, when they get to step out of one of their elective classes to practice for 30 minutes.
Smith said the program has noticeably improved attendance and behavior, as well as grades, of the participants. The club has more strict academic requirements than the VHSL, she said.
“I want to prepare them, not just to play but also to go on to college, where they have to maintain a GPA and attendance,” she said.
Smith said the idea was born after she participated in an action-based research cohort a couple of years ago and she and other administrators began brainstorming ways to build on their existing engagement strategies. Similar programs have been instituted in other Henrico schools, including one at Douglas S. Freeman High School that Principal John Marshall received an REB Award for the program. The Highland Springs program received a grant from the Henrico Education Foundation to help pay for equipment, transportation, uniforms and physical exams.
Josue Martinez, 17, is also on the school team and a member of the club. Speaking through a peer translator, he said he looked forward to practice days and felt an increased level of comfort playing with others who spoke his native language.
“They’re giving opportunities to people who don’t get that many opportunities,” Josue said.