US News rated 2 city of Richmond high schools in top 10 in Virginia

[sarchivist98]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Tucker was a good experience for my kids, its the United Nations and the kids couldn't care less. The Specialty Center kids just become part of the student body as they do in every high school in the county.

Thanks, VA Yankee. I don't really understand how the specialty centers work. Do the kids take their core classes with the general student body, but have separate electives added on?

Does the school do a good job of integrating newcomers? I know where we are the influx of refugees has been exciting, but also a challenge, as many of the kids have barely been to school. The kids can sometimes even be new to things like grocery stores and electricity after spending their lives in camps, which can lead to teasing.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by sarchivist98

Thanks, VA Yankee. I don't really understand how the specialty centers work. Do the kids take their core classes with the general student body, but have separate electives added on?

Does the school do a good job of integrating newcomers? I know where we are the influx of refugees has been exciting, but also a challenge, as many of the kids have barely been to school. The kids can sometimes even be new to things like grocery stores and electricity after spending their lives in camps, which can lead to teasing.

Every High in Henrico is a high school and each hosts one or more specialty centers Henrico County Public Schools | Specialty Centers . Using Tucker for example they host Spanish Immersion where the kids take the bulk of their course taught in Spanish, IB where almost all their classes are aligned with the IB curriculum, and one I never heard of Advanced College Academy. In all these specialty programs the student is transported to Tucker and is part of that student body, where a special class is not applicable to the program such as gym/health, art etc. then the students takes the same class that the other kids are taking.

In other words they are part of the student body and are not segregated/separated from the other students. I believe Tucker is also the center to help assimilate students who may be recovering from strife in their homelands, check with the school district. I remember Tucker had kids from Somalia that were adjusting from the conditions you spoke of.

Feel free to PM me if you want with questions.