Henrico County’s general government departments and Henrico County Public Schools earned a combined 2 Achievement Awards from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) which recognizes excellence in local government programs for 2013.
Henrico’s award-winning programs are listed below:
Comprehensive School Safety Audit Process
Museum Collection Management Program Database Documentation
Comprehensive School Safety Audit Process
Henrico County Police
A goal of Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) is to provide its students and staff with a learning environment that effectively supports the instructional program by maintaining a safe and inviting environment in which to learn and work. To that end, the school division’s safety office wrote the HCPS Safety & Crisis Manual. The following year the Department of Research and Planning and the Office of Safety and Security collaborated with public safety officials to write a comprehensive safety audit protocol as a companion to the Safety & Crisis Manual.
The first provides guidance to schools to enable each to maximize the safety and security of the learning environment and to develop a crisis plan that puts the school in a position of emergency readiness while meeting divisional expectations and the unique needs and characteristics of the school. The second provides an audit tool by which to measure the safety standards and practices actually in place in each school. A comprehensive safety audit is conducted, on site at every school, by a team of relevant practitioners. Each year one-third of our schools receive a comprehensive audit while the other two-thirds receive an interim audit, to complete a three-year cycle.
Museum Collection Management Program Database Documentation
Henrico County Recreation and Parks
The County of Henrico has a collection of over 40,000 historical artifacts. The collection was established in 1978 with the donation of Meadow Farm, an 1810, 150-acre farm and the entire contents of furnishings, decorative art, farm equipment and family documents. That particular donation consisted of over 20,000 items. In subsequent years the Historic Preservation and Museum Services section of the Henrico Division of Recreation and Parks has served as a repository for any and all historical materials related to the history of Henrico.
With 7 museums furnished with 18th, 19th and early 20th century artifacts in permanent and changing exhibits, the collections management function has grown and developed to keep accurate records using up-to-date technology, which includes recognized and approved museum documentation software. The goal of the county’s museum department is to collect, document, preserve and interpret the material culture of previous generations at the highest level of museum standards. The issue of documentation is essential to realizing the full education value of the collection and making that information accessible to the local community and beyond.
