Education - Education And Child Care
The Standards of Learning (SOL) is Virginia’s approach to measuring academic progress in public schools. SOLs have been determined for every grade level, and testing in English, math, science, and history starts in grade 3 and continues into high school. The combined counties now have more citizens living in poverty than the city does, and the challenge of educating kids from difficult circumstances is a task undertaken by all of the local school systems. Each of the four largest localities has at least one technical center for high school students interested in career pathways right out of high school.
To enroll your child in a Virginia public school, you must have your child’s original birth certificate, Social Security number, immunization records, and proof of residency for the locality where you are registering your child.
Education - Higher Education
The Richmond region produces nearly 10,000 graduates every year from every kind of college and university imaginable: four-year school, urban university, suburban liberal arts, small-town liberal arts, law school, seminary, Historically Black College and University (HBCU), public and private, art school, engineering school, law school, and community college—in the city, suburbs, and country. As if that’s not enough, continuing education is available from some of the best names in the business, and education and technical schools are in abundance.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Address: 3820 Nine Mile Rd.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
5. New Kent County Public Schools
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 966-9650
Address: 11920 New Kent Hwy.
Description: With just two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, this school district offers instruction from prekindergarten through the secondary level, including vocational, special education, and enrichment programs for gifted students of all ages. All four schools earned full accreditation for 2009 to 2010. New Kent Elementary received the state Board of Education Excellence Award for 2010, and New Kent High School earned the Governor’s Excellence Award. Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment classes are offered for high school students.
6. Powhatan County Public Schools
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 598-5700
Address: 2320 Skaggs Rd.
Description: Powhatan County School District has just six schools in it: three elementary schools, a middle school, a junior high school, and a high school. The elementary schools are for prekindergarten through grade four, the middle school handles grades five and six, junior high is seventh and eighth grade, and the high school serves students in grades 9 through 12. Enrichment, including math competitions and robotics, is offered to students. Powhatan Elementary and Powhatan Junior High received the state Board of Education Excellence Award. In a partnership with J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, dual enrollment classes are offered to high school students. More than half of 2009 high school graduates received advanced diplomas.
7. Collegiate School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 740-7077
Address: 103 N. Mooreland Rd.
Description: Collegiate School is by far the largest private school in the area, with 1,553 students in grades kindergarten through 12. It’s a coeducational college-preparatory school for students in Henrico County’s West End. Foreign language instruction takes place at every grade level. After-school care is offered for students up to grade seven. Students’ SAT scores here are well above Virginia and national averages. In 2008, 88 percent of students who took AP exams scored 3 or higher, and graduates go on to many prestigious colleges. Athletics take place on the main campus as well as at the 182-acre Robins Campus 7 miles away.
8. St. Catherine’S School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 288-2804
Address: 6001 Grove Ave.
Description: This all-girls Episcopal school serves girls from junior kindergarten through high school on its beautiful 16-acre West End campus. Sixty-five percent of the faculty members have advanced degrees, and St. Catherine’s is known for its innovative college-preparatory curriculum. It works—in 2009, 90 percent of students taking AP exams earned a 3 or higher, and graduates head to some of the country’s finest colleges. Its Upper School offers coeducational classes with nearby St. Christopher’s, and the school-wide athletic program includes 45 teams in 15 different sports.
9. St. Christopher’S School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 282-3185
Address: 711 St. Christopher’s Rd.
Description: Dedicated to educating the “whole boy,” since 1911 St. Christopher’s has 950 boys from junior kindergarten through grade 12 on its West End campus. Strong programs in athletics and the arts work in concert with the college-preparatory curriculum. More than half of the 150 faculty members have advanced degrees, and almost 100 percent of graduates go on to four-year colleges. Year-round extended day care is offered for students in junior kindergarten through grade seven for both St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s. Coed classes for high school students from St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s take place on both campuses.
10. St. Gertrude High School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 358-9114
Address: 3215 Stuart Ave.
Description: An all-girls independent Catholic high school in the Museum District, St. Gertrude enrolls 283 girls in grades 9 through 12. Since 1922 St. Gertrude has specialized in the way young women learn. Students take advantage of their proximity to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Historical Society, and the Science Museum of Virginia to enhance the college-preparatory curriculum. Many students take honors and AP classes and compete in 11 varsity sports as well. The average class size is 15, and all that attention pays off—100 percent of the class of 2009 was college bound.
11. The Steward School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 740-3394
Address: 11600 Gayton Rd.
Description: This school teaches 600 students from kindergarten through high school on its 37-acre Far West End campus. In existence since 1972, it recently received a $1 million anonymous donation to increase diversity and endow a scholarship fund. Child-centered education and individualized attention are the keys here. Its college-preparatory curriculum offers honors and AP courses, and after-school care is available.
12. Millwood School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Address: 15100 Millwood School Lane
Description: Offering junior kindergarten through 10th grade, this 79-acre school next to Woodlake in Chesterfield County is in the process of adding one grade of high school per year until it spans junior kindergarten through 12th grade. It is a coed, independent, college-preparatory school with 304 students, though that number will be heading upward with growth. Sports and other activities are offered, as is extended care before and after school.
13. St. Michael’S Episcopal School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 272-3514
Address: 8706 Quaker Lane
Description: This coed, Episcopal school in Bon Air, for students in kindergarten through grade eight, has recently added a separate middle school campus and is a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Middle School Years program. With 371 students, St. Michael’s emphasizes involvement, whether through in-school clubs, after-school sports, theatrical performances, or robotics. Spanish instruction begins in the fourth grade. By the time students graduate eighth grade, most are ready for Spanish II in high school.
14. Trinity Episcopal School
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 272-5864
Address: 3850 Pittaway Dr.
Description: On 35 acres in a residential neighborhood, Trinity features small classes for its 405 students in grades eight through 12. It’s a coed, independent, Episcopal, college-preparatory school that offers individual attention and many options for growth. Trinity was the first Richmond area school to offer the International Baccalaureate program, and its students have a choice of many of the commonwealth’s and country’s finest colleges.
15. Rainbow Station
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Education
Telephone: (804) 747-5900
Description: With four facilities around town, in Hanover County, Chesterfield County, and two in Henrico County, Rainbow Station takes care of children from infants through age 14 in a variety of programs. Offering early-education programs through age five at preschool and nursery schools, Rainbow Station’s focus then shifts to the Village at Rainbow Station, where school-age kids are supervised before and after school and offered all sorts of activities to meet their changing needs. Each Rainbow Station has an infirmary staffed by a pediatric nurse for mildly sick children, for those days when parents just can’t miss work.