Richmond schools are vast in terms of numbers and types, with a large number being private institutions.
In best high school rankings, many of the schools have gained recognition in various categories by the US News & World Report.
The city serves more than 70,000 students each year, with an average student-teacher ratio of 14-1. That is one of the best across metro areas.
The Communities in Schools(CIS) program, has been hands on with working to improve proficiency in reading and math from K-12 in 39 schools.
They are focusing on Henrico County and Richmond City through timely intervention and enhancement alternatives.
Planning a move to Richmond? Here's an in-depth guide to schools in that city and how to sift through the various Richmond schools to determine the best fit for your children.
Public Schools
The Richmond Public Schools District, also known as the Richmond City Public Schools, is known for its diversity. Serving nearly 25,000 students annually, the district covers pre-kindergarten to grade 12.
More than half the students are usually proficient in Mathematics and more than sixty percent in Reading.
The district comprises over 100 public schools and only 2 public charter schools, 11 of which are high schools.
School Districts
Richmond schools fall into 5 districts: Henrico County Public Schools, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Richmond City Public Schools, Medical Colleges of VA, and Mcv VA Treatment Center.
The two latter districts have only one school each, both Pk-12.
The neighboring cities also served by the Richmond schools are Highland Springs, Bon Air, Mechanicsville, Sandston, North Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, Henrico, and Dale.
High Schools
The Richmond City School District serves nearly seven thousand students annually, with low college readiness, as per a US News Education report.
Less than eighty percent of students are proficient in Reading and just over 60 percent in Mathematics.
The city has a total of 65 high schools.
Armstrong High School
Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the Richmond schools with students scoring low in mathematics proficiency.
The graduation rate at the school is 75%, with the annual enrollment being just over 900 students.
The school is located in the Central Gardens area of the City.
Thomas Jefferson High School
The Thomas Jefferson High School has a student enrollment of more than 700 and a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1. It is ranked at 261 overall in the state of Virginia.
Minority enrollment at the school is close to 80%, with all the students participating in free lunch or reduced lunch services.
On the College Readiness Index, Thomas Jefferson High is one of several Richmond schools that rank under 15 percent.
John Marshall High School
John Marshall High School, with less than 700 students enrolled annually, has a primary minority enrollment. US News and World Report rank the school 257th in the entire state.
The school has an excellent student-teacher ratio of 13-1 is ranked third overall in the Richmond City Public Schools High Schools. It is located in the Washington Park area.
Middle Schools
Richmond schools include eighty-nine middle schools, from the public to Christian and Catholic.
Nearly fifty of the middle schools are private, 22 of which have religious affiliations from Adventist to Pentecostal.
Twelve are alternative schools; sixteen cater to special needs, twenty-seven are traditional high schools, two International Baccalaureate, and one Montessori school.
Only two of the schools are all-female and two all-male.
The most common sports played at the schools are basketball in 12 schools, soccer in 10, and cross country in six.
Henderson Middle School
Henderson Middle School serves nearly 400 students annually in grades six to eight. It has a low student-teacher ratio of 10-1.
The proficiency level is below 30 percent in mathematics and less than fifty in reading.
The school is in Washington Park.
Brookland Middle School
Brookland Middle School are in the Henrico County Public Schools District, and year over year, many of its students score under 60 percent in the Reading and Math proficiency tests.
They, however, do much better in science but still below the state average. Only a small percentage of the students usually participate in Algebra 1, but they typically score above 80 percent on average.
Martin Luther King Middle School
Academic progress has been low year after year at this middle school.
Only a handful of students participate in Algebra 1 with an over 80 percent pass rate and a student-teacher ratio of 14-1.
The school is situated between three communities, East End, Fairmount, and Union Hill.
Elementary School
With 25 elementary schools serving the populace, Richmond schools have been performing above par, with only a handful struggling.
Carver Elementary School
Both schools serve close to 500 students each year, with many standardized test scores falling way below the state average in Science, Mathematics, and English Reading.
Broad Rock Elementary School
Broad Rock Elementary School is not only diverse but ranks pretty high when it comes to academics. With more than 900 students enrolled on average each year, the school operates way above the state and national average.
It turns out more than eighty percent of students are proficient in both Mathematics and Reading every year.
States consider multiple factors when implementing their tests. Therefore you have to weigh them carefully if comparing them to each other.
One hundred percent of the students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. Broad Rock, which is in the British Camp Farms area, is under the Richmond City Public School District.
Greenfield Elementary School
Greenfield Elementary School on Savoy Road, Richmond, VA, performs just above average. However, the students score above the state average in the proficiency tests annually. This includes the area of science.
Even though the students perform exceptionally well on the state exams, the overall academic progress is below many others or just on par with other elementary schools.
The school ranks high when it comes to assisting students who may have learning differences.
Private schools
Nearly 70 percent of the Richmond schools are private. That is more than 300 private institutions in the Richmond City School District alone.
They also represent a large chunk of the 65 High schools, the elementary and preschools.
Christian Schools
The highest number of schools with religious affiliation fall under Catholic and Baptist, followed by Episcopal.
Catholic schools are prominent among Richmond Schools in VA. They have classes for preschoolers to High School level.
All their students perform at an optimal level, whether at traditional schools or boarding schools.
Veritas Christian School
Veritas is a lovely institution, both academically and aesthetically speaking. The school was founded in 2000 and had an average student-teacher ratio of 16-1.
They usually have more than six hundred students enrolled and a very high student retention rate. It takes a holistic approach or what they refer to as a classical approach to learning, focusing on the entire being.
The school serves Junior Kindergarten to grade 12.
Charter Schools
These are public schools considered as being independent of school districts. They instead have agreements with state or regional boards.
Only 2 of those institutions are in the Richmond City Public Schools District. The charter schools welcome every child, charge no fees, and have no entrance tests.
However, they are required to participate in state tests and are held accountable under federal programs.
Boarding schools
Nine schools, from military to catholic, offer boarding in Richmond, VA.
Most of the boarding schools appear to be for boys. The Safe Harbor Boarding school has become renowned as one such institution.
It focuses on molding at-risk young men and transforming their lives.
All the boarding schools have high academic and overall ratings, with both parents and students viewing them as safe and conducive to learning.
Summer Schools
There are a plethora of Richmond schools that have summer classes each year.
Summer schools serve dual purposes, which are to help students catch up or to take additional classes ahead of the upcoming school year.
Some involve extracurricular activities amid full-blown programs that can last a couple of weeks up to two months.
Some programs, like the MathScience Innovation Center, focus on a specific niche.
Overall, the summer programs are highly-rated, and some parents view them as a way for their children to stay safe during the holidays.
In summary, while many schools in Richmond, particularly public schools, need intervention to curb the low performances, many are also doing excellent.
The onus is on you to thoroughly look at not just the reviews but the rankings and see if an area that a school falls short in is essential to you.
The summer programs are excellent and would be an ideal way to ease your children into the school system.
Remember, not all public schools perform poorly, and some may be strong in one area and week in another. We hope your search for good Richmond schools yields success.