Enrollment
277
High
DISTRICT 571 · STATE 1,213
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RICHMOND CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510324002307
Richmond Alternative School
119 West Leigh Street, Richmond, VA 23220 · (804) 780-4388 · Richmond city
GRADES 06–12HIGH12-CITYALTERNATIVE EDUCATION SCHOOL277 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
Schools serving specialized populations are not graded, because state test results are not a fair comparison for them. How grades work
Student : Teacher
8.3:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 8.9:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 66%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 5 | 2% |
| Grade 7 | 19 | 7% |
| Grade 8 | 27 | 10% |
| Grade 9 | 43 | 16% |
| Grade 10 | 50 | 18% |
| Grade 11 | 49 | 18% |
| Grade 12 | 84 | 30% |
Student demographics
46%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
14.0%
own-school result
Math
16.0%
own-school result
State assessment results for this school reflect a specialized student population. The figures above are the school's own reported scores; they are not directly comparable to state averages or to general-enrollment schools, so the usual state-average comparison line is suppressed here.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 14.0% | 16.0% |
| 2023-24 | 12.0% | 4.0% |
| 2022-23 | 17.0% | 6.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Not computed for this schoolBeatsExpectations is not computed for specialized-population schools (schools for the deaf or blind, therapeutic and behavioral-health placements, juvenile-justice and alternative-education settings, and similar). State ELA/Math proficiency rates are not a comparable metric for these populations, so a demographically-adjusted residual against general-enrollment peers would be misleading. About the methodology →
Where Richmond Alternative School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Richmond city |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 277 | #297 of 325 | #6 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 8.3:1 | #5 of 309 | #3 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.2% | #201 of 309 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -71.8% | #1 of 178 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
277
-2,964 (-91%) vs 2020
+3% since 2010-11, when it was 268
Student : Teacher
8.3:1
was 810.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 277 | 33.2 | 8.3:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 134 | 5.2 | 25.8:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 162 | 5.8 | 28.2:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 3,241 | 4 | 810.3:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 983 | 7.5 | 130.4:1 | 18% (180) |
| 2015-16 | 223 | 19 | 11.7:1 | 96% (213) |
| 2010-11 | 268 | N/A | N/A | 79% (213) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Richmond Alternative School.
Since 2017-18: students down 72% (983 to 277); teachers up 340% (7.5 to 33.2).
About Richmond Alternative School
At 119 West Leigh Street in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond Alternative School operates as a very small high school. It is open to students in grades 6 through 12 and enrolls 277 students. By comparison, high schools in Virginia enroll about 1,213 students on average.
Richmond City Public Schools is the local district for Richmond Alternative School. It runs 47 schools with 20,962 students.
More than half of the students at Richmond Alternative School are Black (68%). The remaining shares are 29% Hispanic. Census estimates put the Black share of Richmond city's population at about 41%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Richmond Alternative School scores 46%.
Its staff includes 33.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 8.3 students per teacher. The gap from the 13.9:1 average for high schools in Virginia is 5.5 students per teacher.
Richmond city is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $64,587, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 46%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. There are 61 public schools in the county, enrolling about 20,253, Richmond Alternative School among them.
George W. Carver Elementary is about 0.5 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8.
The federal government classifies Richmond Alternative School's location as City: Mid-size.
Federal data put enrollment at 3,241 in 2020-21 and 277 in 2024-25; the school may have served different grades in those years. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 810.3:1 to 8.3:1.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Richmond Alternative School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Richmond city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
229,359
Census ACS
Median income
$64,587
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
20,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Richmond City Public Schools
- Huguenot HighHigh · 1,469 students
- River City MiddleMiddle · 1,150 students
- Richmond High School for the ArtsHigh · 1,116 students
- Cardinal ElementaryElementary · 821 students
- Thomas Jefferson HighHigh · 749 students
- Armstrong HighHigh · 709 students
Other schools in Richmond
- John Randolph Tucker HighHigh · 2,132 students
- Douglas S. Freeman HighHigh · 1,881 students
- Hermitage HighHigh · 1,719 students
- Mills E. Godwin HighHigh · 1,702 students
- Monacan HighHigh · 1,644 students
- Huguenot HighHigh · 1,469 students
Nearby schools
- George W. Carver Elementary0.5 mi · 404
- Open High1.0 mi · 171
- Dogwood Middle1.2 mi · 371
- Martin Luther King Jr. Preschool1.2 mi · 185
- Martin Luther King Jr. Middle1.3 mi · 500
- Overby-Sheppard Elementary1.4 mi · 256
Frequently asked questions
About Richmond Alternative SchoolHow many students attend Richmond Alternative School?
Richmond Alternative School enrolls approximately 277 students in grades 06-12.
What grades does Richmond Alternative School serve?
Richmond Alternative School serves grades 06-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Richmond Alternative School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Richmond Alternative School is approximately 8.3:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Richmond Alternative School?
At Richmond Alternative School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 29% Hispanic, 68% Black, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Richmond Alternative School?
Richmond Alternative School is overseen by Richmond City Public Schools in Richmond city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.