Huguenot High School will present an evening of instrumental and vocal music June 4 as the school holds its annual spring concert, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The concert, free and open to the public, will feature performances by the Huguenot concert band, choir, guitar ensemble, orchestra and jazz band. For more information, contact Chris Moseley at 320-7967. Huguenot High School is located at 7945 Forest Hill Ave.

The Student Council of Huguenot High School has planned an afternoon full of beautification projects for the exterior of their school on May 18 as part of ‘The National Great American Cleanup’. Aptly titled “Extreme Makeover Curb Appeal Edition,” the project is a partnership with the Richmond Department of Public Works in conjunction with National Public Works Week.
The program will begin at 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. with teams of students, staff and parents sprucing up the landscape of the district high school. Volunteers are invited to participate in this cleanup effort.
To volunteer or for more information, contact Wanda Wilder, Student Council Sponsor, at 320-7967.

Huguenot High is well known for its excellent athletic teams and above average academics in addition to its deteriorating school building, but from the gray of halogen office lighting came a warm handshake and a smile that lit the room.

Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, Principal Thompson has seven years of administrative experience, two as a principal and five as an assistant principal. Her educational experience includes a Master’s in Education from UNC Charlotte and a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her administrative experience has run the gamut from school bus duty to instructional supervision, testing, and accountability. The schools she has worked in have been urban and diverse with student populations of about 80% black, 13% Latino, and 7% white.

When asked about her vision for Huguenot High, Thompson considered the fact she is new to Richmond and so she spent some time looking into the data and history of the school. Her analysis from the data and discussions with stakeholders is that although the school has been accredited and maintains a good reputation, “It is time for our students to start moving from excellence and competence to competitiveness. We’ve got to start getting students ready for the 21st century.” She said she also values service oriented training that helps make the transition from learning in the classroom to application in the workforce and wants to see “more students receiving advanced diplomas and scholarships.”

Of course every school has challenges, and Principal Thompson seemed quite aware of the data when she said 52% of referrals to the office for discipline come from the freshman class and these are not so much because of disrespectful behavior, but for issues like cutting class. She wants to implement an incentive program for attendance and claimed “If we can get 9th graders in class, I can assure they will have engaging classes.” When questioned about the common unofficial tradition of veteran teachers being placed in easier classes while new teachers are often relegated to more challenging classes, she said “we need to put our strongest teachers with our strongest needs.”

Thompson felt that the condition of the facilities were having a negative impact on teacher and student morale and she hopes that the deadline for building a new Huguenot High could be moved up from 2015.

In order to address some of these problems she said she would be working with Communities in Schools (CIS) coordinator Terry Harris and that she had worked with two CIS coordinators before and the results were excellent. CIS has also been a partner in the recent improvements at George Wythe High.

Thompson really seems to value supporting her teachers and said that in the past she has tried to spend at least 60% of her time in the halls and classrooms. She believes in building Professional Learning Communities and tries to avoid scheduling meetings during class hours so that she can be with students and faculty where she is needed.

Community relations are important to Thompson as she has already begun reaching out to the community and is working with the Huguenot Neighborhood Team, a consortium of business and civic associations, in addition to the Community Action Group, and plans to reach out to the faith based community.

As SouthsideRichmond.org is dedicated to building community, we welcome and support Principal Thompson in helping our students reach their potential.