Henrico Redistricting Comment: The Power of the Internet to Help Neighborhood

I heard an interesting story over the weekend that I wanted to pass on to show how powerful the Internet is becoming as a community tool.  We all know about the massive success of Facebook and other sites, but the same social media and community technology also made a difference to a Short Pump neighborhood.

The neighborhoods on the other side of Nuckols Road (ones like Chappell Ridge and Wyndham Forest) currently are within the Deep Run High School district.  But changes to the maps that were put earlier this year had them going to the newer high school which was quite a bit further away (relatively speaking).

The families there were quite unhappy with that decision especially when they heard that the decision was made based on an assmption by a consultant to Henrico country that Nuckols Road was a major barrier line.  The consultant apparently never came out to see the area and based the decision from maps which showed Nuckols Road as a larger thoroughfare compared to the other streets.

Little did he or she understand that Nuckols Road was not a major “barrier” at all and in fact, several of the children in these neighborhoods still walked to Deep Run High School which is so close by.

In the latest round of comments, the neighbors in these communities organized through a Yahoo Group set up by them and it was through communicating through Yahoo Groups that they were able to organize enough to successfully present their positions and reasoning to the Henrico schoo redistricting communities.

Given all of our busy lives and inability to attend live meetings or even scheduled phone calls, the use of technology such as Yahoo Groups can be extremely effective to help neighbors organize and share their thoughts.

I thought this was a great example of how even busy communities like Short Pump can still find ways to gather a large support group to push forward important matters.