The New Law at FCHS

Fluvanna County High School has a new school resource officer (SRO), Carter Henley. If you are interested in law enforcement, she is someone you can definitely talk to.

Henley was an eighth grade English teacher last year. This is her second year at Fluvanna, and her first year being an SRO at Fluvanna County High School.

“I became an English teacher at Louisa Middle School in 2019. During the pandemic I became the SRO at Louisa County High School. In 2021, I accepted a position here at FCHS to teach 8th grade English (shout out to my former students),” she added. “Captain Hill, with the Sheriff’s Office, approached me over this summer and asked if I would be interested in a position as SRO here at the high school. I jumped on the chance, so here I am,” Henley explained.

Henley grew up in Richmond, Virginia. As for college, she says “I started at University of South Carolina and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with my bachelors in English. I received my Master of Medieval Studies from the University of Wales.” She then graduated from the Steward School in 2003. “I won the award for highest academic average in Chemistry and the Smith College Bill Award for achievement in English. I was also on the Student Council all 4 years of high school,” Henley said.

Her favorite part about being an SRO is ”getting to follow students as they grow and develop into young adults.” She added “I love hearing what they did over the weekend or what plans they have. It’s also fun to see how my former students are doing as freshmen.”

Why did she leave the world of teaching to become an SRO? “Captain [Von] Hill offered me the opportunity to apply, and I couldn’t let that offer go unexplored,” she said. She said she also made the switch because “honestly, I’m a little nosey, and I like to know what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s also a lot of fun working with students of all grade levels.” “Teaching is not unlike law enforcement. Most of both careers involve molding young minds and serving as a role model, so the transition has been pretty seamless,” Henley said.

Outside of school, Henley said she loves to garden, hike, and generally be outside. She also loves to read and listen to history podcasts in her free time. “My 12-year-old daughter has recently decided she likes to go shopping, so that is something fun we do together,” she added.

Henley has two dogs, a shepherd mix from Afghanistan and a hound mix from Kuwait. “They are both very spoiled,” she said.

Henley was hired by the Henrico Police Department in 2012, then she graduated from the 55th basic academy in 2013.

One thing that Henley wishes that students know is that, “Officer Ayers and I are both human beings and not just deputies. The second thing is that we are here because we want to be; we choose to be here at the high school.”