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In some ways, it was a bit of a test for Randolph-Henry students, a project to see how far they’ve come. 

The students in Diann Tharpe’s Life Skills class at Randolph-Henry High had a plan, one they put together last week with very little help. They invited family, school administrators, members of the Class of 1968 and some other guests to a brunch. And they did more than just offer invites. They put together the whole thing themselves, in what you might say was a bit of an early Thanksgiving. 

“In preparation, students embarked on a field trip to shop for ingredients, prepared homemade dishes by following recipes, decorated the cafeteria, and served the meal with care,” said Randolph-Henry High Principal Erin Davis. 

And on Thursday, Nov. 21, they got to work. All of the invitees showed up and were served by the Life Skills class members. Much like the ‘Bowtie Boys’ project at Bacon District that we reported on earlier this year, the Life Skills class is designed to help students grow and develop outside of the classroom. They can learn how to work together as a team, fix food in the kitchen, fix equipment, prepare for and present events. And this time, the ‘early Thanksgiving’ was met with applause from staff and family members alike. 

Randolph-Henry students offer a tour

After the meal was over, guests got a tour of the newest part of Randolph-Henry, the Life Skills Center. This is a place where students will be taught things like how to set a table, how to make a bed, the right way to do laundry, as well as cooking and cleaning. A lot of these skills may sound just like common sense, but it’s something students often end up without. 

“This hands-on space provides students with invaluable real-world preparation for life beyond high school,” Davis said. “We are especially thankful to our Class of 1968 for their generous support, not only for donating much of the furniture for this space but also for the many impactful projects they fund for RHHS. Their contributions make a lasting difference in the lives of our students.” 

More than that, projects like this in Charlotte County are gaining attention not just in the region, but across the state. We’ve mentioned before how Charlotte County Public Schools excelled in Standards of Learning test scores. With everything added together, the district ranks 21 out of the 131 school districts in Virginia. 

When it comes to pass rates on the state Standard of Learning (SOL) tests, Charlotte County overall improved this year from 78% of students to 84.4% passing. That puts the county first in Region 8 and 31st statewide. 

Charlotte has a record to maintain at this point. The district has been fully accredited without conditions since 2019, excelling in the classroom and beating multiple state standards. Even the graduation rates, it’s worth pointing out, are rising. In 2023, 82.7% of students graduated on time. This time, that number climbed to 89.9%. 

What about absences?

Also, unlike every district around, not only are absence numbers dropping in Charlotte schools, some are falling below pre-pandemic levels. Here is where the Life Skills project and other such programs come in. They give students something to experience hands-on. 

In the state’s Chronic Absenteeism task force meetings this past year, those “hands-on” projects were mentioned as ways to get more students engaged. It’s been recommended that other districts take a page from Charlotte and similar places, where the data shows these concepts are working. 

In the district, chronic absenteeism has dramatically dropped, going from 24% overall last year to 17% this time around. Overall, Charlotte County took a different approach than those districts around it. In Prince Edward, school officials put up posters and had students make videos, warning of the dangers of being absent. Then in Buckingham, notes were sent home to parents. In Charlotte County, however, and specifically at Randolph-Henry High, officials rewarded good behavior rather than just focus on the negative portion. And the numbers don’t lie. This way is working. 

In the data released Monday, Sept. 30, Randolph-Henry’s chronic absenteeism rate stood at 18.94%. That’s down from 26.64% at the same time last year. It’s basically an incentives program, where if students show up every day, they earn rewards. 

One example came last April. The rule was simple. Any student that maintained “exceptional attendance”, which is two or fewer absences, got two things. First, a ticket to the Durham Bulls AAA minor league baseball game. Second, they got a boxed lunch to eat at the game. And out of that group, four students had their names drawn, receiving $25 each to spend in the team’s gift shop.