by Tony Lofton, Macy Shupe and Jovana’e Wallace
To reach out to the community with positive news about the school, six administrators visited local churches on Sundays in November.
Principal Tracie Omohundro, Associate Principal Nic Barlett, Assistant Principal Dawn Rogers, Assistant Principal Cody Streightiff, Administrative Intern Gena Jones and Director of School Counseling Meredith Holder paired up to visit Gravel Hill Baptist Church, Village of Faith Ministries and St. John’s Catholic Church.
After church services, administrators met with members of the congregations to “spread the good word about Varina,” Ms. Jones said.
Administrators shared copies of the “Blue Devil’s Advocate,” county planning guides, school profiles and brochures on extracurricular activities.
“If the community sees that the employees of the school support the school, that will make them want to support the school as well,” Ms. Jones said.
Senior Daniel Lee, who attended the presentation at Gravel Hill Baptist Church, said, “It’s easier for the school to reach out to the community than for the community to reach out to school.”
Mrs. Omohundro initiated the church visitation program, “Take It to the House,” in response to low turnout at school functions such as parent visitation and PTSA meetings. “Take It to the House” is a well-known cheer used during football games.
Mrs. Rogers, who visited Gravel Hill Baptist Church with Mrs. Omohundro, said that meeting community members was an extension of the administrators’ fall visits to the homes of freshmen. Mrs. Rogers said that over 100 people attended the service and over 20 stopped by to talk with Mrs. Omohundro and her.
“It is not all about sports; it is also about academics. We can get 5,000 people to come to the football and basketball games, but we can’t get them to come out for the academic fair,” Mrs. Rogers said.
To organize the community visits, Mr. Barlett sent 30 letters to local churches and followed up with telephone calls. Three churches invited administrators to make presentations.
Freshman Jalen Atkins, a part-time worship leader at Gravel Hill Baptist Church, said the administrators’ presentation allowed “the community to see what we accomplish at Varina and the goals that we achieve.”
Jalen said that future presentations should include students.
“It would be good if students came because the adults can see it’s not just the workers who care, but the students care, too,” Jalen said.
Pastor Mike Jones of Village of Faith Ministries invited Mr. Streightiff to speak during the service. Mr. Streightiff said that he spoke about current and upcoming school activities. Ms. Jones also attended the Village of Faith Ministries service.
After the service, both administrators answered questions from several parents of middle school children about their concerns for next year. They also encouraged parents to become active in the school.
“We talked about the desire to reach out to the Varina community to try to get more folks involved with the school,” Mr. Streightiff said.
Attending evening events at school is difficult for some parents, so “Take It to the House” provides an opportunity to reach parents outside of school.
“As far as I know we’re going to continue to do it annually because it’s been such a good experience,” Mrs. Holder said.
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