Recently, many media outlets have sensationalized recent negative incidents of student altercations at CHS while ignoring the positive outcomes and successes that occur in the building. This media portrayal does a disservice to students and staff at CHS who show up every day working towards a better future.
CHS has also faced teacher and substitute shortages and the recent resignation by the school’s principal. Despite these challenges, the school has been working to create a strong sense of community where students and staff support each other.
Currently, 60% of students at Charlottesville High School are from a minority race. 53.6% of students are economically disadvantaged at CHS. This causes CHS to deal with extra issues that other schools in the area may not have to face, such as socioeconomic disparities, language barriers, and more. This is a problem that affects not only CHS but many schools around the nation.
Although this is a challenge CHS has to face it is also part of the wonders that set Charlottesville High School apart from the rest of the Nation. With over 40 languages spoken and students from all over the world including Afghanistan, Germany, and Columbia truly allows CHS to stand out from the crowd, especially in the surrounding areas. CHS has 60% of its population in minority ethnic groups whereas schools such as Western Albemarle(10%) and Monticello(30%) are significantly less. This not only allows students to meet people from all over the world but also become more culturally enriched than most teenagers in our country and world today.
Diversity is not the only thing that sets CHS apart positively from the rest of the nation. CHS has a great engineering and arts department, offering new classes each year to accommodate student interests. Last year, the Orchestra won several awards including the 2A/3A orchestra division champions with a gold rating. In recent years, we have also had a strong presence in sporting events, particularly in track and soccer, with the boy’s cross country getting 2nd in the state. CHS also offers many extracurricular activities that cover all sectors of education and interests and offers career-focused programs located in Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC), which allows students to work in certain specialties.
While some media outlets show these accomplishments, many only focus on our faults. For example, a recent article by the Daily Progress is titled “The kids are not all right: Violence, intruders, and chaos at Charlottesville High School.” This article talks about the concerns of staff members and their safety. The article, however, hyperbolizes the situation as a staff against students, when in reality we must work together as a community to fix these problems.
Many media outlets have also called the physical altercations “brawls,” despite the fact that the severity of many of these alterations would not be classified as such.
As the only public school in Charlottesville, CHS is put under a microscope, as we must focus on challenges and racial disparities that exist within the education system as a whole but are more visible at CHS. This puts staff and students under immense pressure to always succeed, leaving no room for failure or change. When problems do occur, they are often portrayed negatively, creating a self-fulfilling effect, rather than focusing on the progress and improvements that are being made.
While it is important to acknowledge the failures of a school system, constant negative portrayals can cause staff and students to feel there is no way to change the current situation, lowering morale and perpetuating problems. Media outlets must be conscious of their impact on the CHS community. They should be responsible with their language, avoiding words that sensationalize the situation such as “brawls,” and ask themselves why CHS is being called out while other schools in similar situations are not.
