Richlands Middle

Richlands Middle is a tight-knit middle school in Richlands, Virginia, part of Tazewell County Public Schools. The school works with 447 students in grades 6 through 8. That puts it 40% below the typical public school in Virginia, which averages around 750 students.

Within Tazewell County Public Schools, which oversees 13 schools and 5,134 students, Richlands Middle is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Richlands Middle shows that nearly all students (97%) are White. Other groups include 3% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Tazewell County as a whole.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Richlands Middle has 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.3:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 88% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Richlands Middle performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 64.1%, the actual is 77.0%, a residual of +12.9 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Tazewell County put median household income runs about $47,313, roughly 17% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Richlands Middle is one of 14 public schools in Tazewell County (combined enrollment of about 5,134 students).

Richlands Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Richlands Middle at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 81.0%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 20%: 561 students in 2018 compared to 447 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 13.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.