The Richmond community has lots of questions about their new charter school (general FAQs are found here). Here are answers to some of the most popular questions.
Is Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts a private school? Are vouchers used in the admissions process?
Just like all other charter schools in the United States, Patrick Henry is NOT a private school. Vouchers are not involved in the admissions process.
Who can attend Patrick Henry?
The school will be open to all children in the Richmond Public School District. No children will be given preferred status in the application process. If demand exceeds the number of available slots, a lottery will take effect.
How much does it cost to attend Patrick Henry? Are there any special tests that my child needs to take to gain admission?
Just like all public schools, there is no tuition and there are no tests to qualify for Patrick Henry. All that is required is the child's willingness to learn and the parents' willingness to play an active part in the child's education.
How and when can we apply for Patrick Henry?
Patrick Henry School accepts applications in January/February of each year. Families will be notified of enrollment in early March. If applications exceed planned enrollment, a lottery will take effect.
What type of parental involvement is required?
Children and their parents will jointly apply to attend the school. As part of the application, parents must sign a commitment to contribute six hours of their time each month at the school. Parental involvement is for the benefit of the child even more than it is for the school. That is why we require parental involvement and that is why we will do everything we can to see that each parent participates
What happens if parents cannot fulfill their commitment to the school, due to work or economic issues?
We will do everything we can to help a parent who really makes an effort to be involved, but for whatever reason falls short of the required time. Parents may, for example, be able to meet their commitment by doing work for the school at their home, or it may be possible for other family members to donate their time on the parents' behalf.
Economics should not be a factor in parents' participation. Parents will never be required to make any kind of monetary contribution to the school.
How is Patrick Henry charter school being funded?
It will be funded in the same way that other public schools are funded — by a per-pupil sum that is comprised of local, state and federal dollars allocated for education. We are sensitive to the Richmond School Board's concerns about energy cost and handicapped accessibility and are currently pursuing corporate and private funding in addition to grants to find the capital resources necessary to improve the building. The Patrick Henry School Initiative is a 501(c)(3) public charity, which aids in fundraising.
Why use the Patrick Henry building for this purpose?
Patrick Henry Elementary School was originally built to serve as a neighborhood school with the purpose of creating a sense of community among the neighborhoods surrounding Forest Hill Park. When the school closed in 2006 after nearly a century of use, the neighborhoods of south Richmond lost an important community keystone. Retaining the pinnacles of our community is not only socially responsible, it's in our best interest.
From an educational standpoint, the school's proximity to Forest Hill Park offers unique educational opportunities in the arts and sciences that no other school in the city or surrounding counties can boast. It has historic significance and is a beautiful "storybook" school that is within walking distance of many of our city's children.
From a neighborhood standpoint, having a neighborhood school will help retain neighbors and ensure a thriving community.
Get more information on preserving historic schools
Is the school's curriculum focused on the environment? Science? Arts?
A focus on science is the starting point for study in different disciplines of learning. For example, in studying wildlife, children will make graphs (math); write a short story (language arts); learn vocabulary such as habitat, camouflage, and nocturnal (language arts); learn what role wildlife played in Native American life (social studies); and make plaster casts of animal footprints (visual arts). Every discipline of learning can be taught from science. With a holistic approach, we feel we can offer a more engaging learning experience than can be offered by teaching subjects individually.
Is the school be open year round? If so, why was this chosen?
Patrick Henry will have a "Progressive Quarterly Calendar" (PQC), which is what many people call "year round." The progressive quarter calendar contains the same number of school days in the school year as traditional school calendars, but the school days are distributed more evenly throughout the year. Each quarter is followed by a break of at least two weeks. At the end of the school year (in summer), the vacation break is five weeks.
Studies have shown that students perform better at a PQC school because they don't forget information over the summer, class time in the fall is not devoted to playing catch-up, and teachers don't get burned out. In respect to Patrick Henry's science and environmental focus, our kids will be able to use the park more often (better weather in summer) and study all the seasons. The five-week break in the summer allows for plenty of time for a summer vacation with the family. Also, vacations during the regular school year are more possible and less crowded at popular vacation spots. Lastly, we offer daycare before and after school and during intersession breaks through the YMCA. Download a sample calendar.
How will the diverse children of Richmond be served so that all children's needs are met? In other words, how will Patrick Henry help those who may have learning disabilities, lower achievements, and behavior issues?
We feel that most problems children have in their current learning environments will be significantly reduced or alleviated altogether by the combination of a progressive quarter calendar, required parental involvement, an interdisciplinary approach to learning, and our outdoor classroom environment. All children respond better to a hands-on approach to learning. At the elementary level in particular, children internalize information that they can make direct relationships with better than if required to think in the abstract. Children with learning disabilities particularly benefit from a more hands-on approach for this same reason.
How will Patrick Henry help change and strengthen student achievement in Richmond and provide services that the current schools are not providing?
Patrick Henry will provide four very significant differences that cannot be found in other public schools in Richmond:
Is Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts a private school? Are vouchers used in the admissions process?
Just like all other charter schools in the United States, Patrick Henry is NOT a private school. Vouchers are not involved in the admissions process.
Who can attend Patrick Henry?
The school will be open to all children in the Richmond Public School District. No children will be given preferred status in the application process. If demand exceeds the number of available slots, a lottery will take effect.
How much does it cost to attend Patrick Henry? Are there any special tests that my child needs to take to gain admission?
Just like all public schools, there is no tuition and there are no tests to qualify for Patrick Henry. All that is required is the child's willingness to learn and the parents' willingness to play an active part in the child's education.
How and when can we apply for Patrick Henry?
Patrick Henry School accepts applications in January/February of each year. Families will be notified of enrollment in early March. If applications exceed planned enrollment, a lottery will take effect.
What type of parental involvement is required?
Children and their parents will jointly apply to attend the school. As part of the application, parents must sign a commitment to contribute six hours of their time each month at the school. Parental involvement is for the benefit of the child even more than it is for the school. That is why we require parental involvement and that is why we will do everything we can to see that each parent participates
What happens if parents cannot fulfill their commitment to the school, due to work or economic issues?
We will do everything we can to help a parent who really makes an effort to be involved, but for whatever reason falls short of the required time. Parents may, for example, be able to meet their commitment by doing work for the school at their home, or it may be possible for other family members to donate their time on the parents' behalf.
Economics should not be a factor in parents' participation. Parents will never be required to make any kind of monetary contribution to the school.
How is Patrick Henry charter school being funded?
It will be funded in the same way that other public schools are funded — by a per-pupil sum that is comprised of local, state and federal dollars allocated for education. We are sensitive to the Richmond School Board's concerns about energy cost and handicapped accessibility and are currently pursuing corporate and private funding in addition to grants to find the capital resources necessary to improve the building. The Patrick Henry School Initiative is a 501(c)(3) public charity, which aids in fundraising.
Why use the Patrick Henry building for this purpose?
Patrick Henry Elementary School was originally built to serve as a neighborhood school with the purpose of creating a sense of community among the neighborhoods surrounding Forest Hill Park. When the school closed in 2006 after nearly a century of use, the neighborhoods of south Richmond lost an important community keystone. Retaining the pinnacles of our community is not only socially responsible, it's in our best interest.
From an educational standpoint, the school's proximity to Forest Hill Park offers unique educational opportunities in the arts and sciences that no other school in the city or surrounding counties can boast. It has historic significance and is a beautiful "storybook" school that is within walking distance of many of our city's children.
From a neighborhood standpoint, having a neighborhood school will help retain neighbors and ensure a thriving community.
Get more information on preserving historic schools
Is the school's curriculum focused on the environment? Science? Arts?
A focus on science is the starting point for study in different disciplines of learning. For example, in studying wildlife, children will make graphs (math); write a short story (language arts); learn vocabulary such as habitat, camouflage, and nocturnal (language arts); learn what role wildlife played in Native American life (social studies); and make plaster casts of animal footprints (visual arts). Every discipline of learning can be taught from science. With a holistic approach, we feel we can offer a more engaging learning experience than can be offered by teaching subjects individually.
Is the school be open year round? If so, why was this chosen?
Patrick Henry will have a "Progressive Quarterly Calendar" (PQC), which is what many people call "year round." The progressive quarter calendar contains the same number of school days in the school year as traditional school calendars, but the school days are distributed more evenly throughout the year. Each quarter is followed by a break of at least two weeks. At the end of the school year (in summer), the vacation break is five weeks.
Studies have shown that students perform better at a PQC school because they don't forget information over the summer, class time in the fall is not devoted to playing catch-up, and teachers don't get burned out. In respect to Patrick Henry's science and environmental focus, our kids will be able to use the park more often (better weather in summer) and study all the seasons. The five-week break in the summer allows for plenty of time for a summer vacation with the family. Also, vacations during the regular school year are more possible and less crowded at popular vacation spots. Lastly, we offer daycare before and after school and during intersession breaks through the YMCA. Download a sample calendar.
How will the diverse children of Richmond be served so that all children's needs are met? In other words, how will Patrick Henry help those who may have learning disabilities, lower achievements, and behavior issues?
We feel that most problems children have in their current learning environments will be significantly reduced or alleviated altogether by the combination of a progressive quarter calendar, required parental involvement, an interdisciplinary approach to learning, and our outdoor classroom environment. All children respond better to a hands-on approach to learning. At the elementary level in particular, children internalize information that they can make direct relationships with better than if required to think in the abstract. Children with learning disabilities particularly benefit from a more hands-on approach for this same reason.
How will Patrick Henry help change and strengthen student achievement in Richmond and provide services that the current schools are not providing?
Patrick Henry will provide four very significant differences that cannot be found in other public schools in Richmond:
- Our interdisciplinary approach to subject matter. The different disciplines of learning intermingle and students learn how each subject relates to another and the practical applications for the information. Currently many schools teach each subject individually and children are required to learn in the abstract (mathematics is an excellent example) or students learn different subjects without drawing any apparent connection.
- Our outdoor classroom at Forest Hill Park provides hands-on learning opportunities that cannot be found at any other school in Richmond and possibly the state.
- Our required parental involvement. Parental involvement improves student performance. There simply is no substitute — students do better when a parent is involved in their education. Only a charter school can require parental involvement.
- Our Progressive Quarterly Calendar. Studies have shown that students who don't take a months-long summer vacation are better prepared to cope with their studies and the challenges of daily life. Patrick Henry is the only public school in Richmond with such an innovative structure to its school year.