Richmond County Public Schools (RCPS), the K–12 public school district in Richmond County, Virginia, serves about 1300 total students. It operates three schools: Richmond County Elementary-Middle school, Rappahannock High School, and Mackey-Thompson Learning Center.
Facilities
The district of Richmond County Public Schools serves a rural area located on the Northern Neck peninsula of eastern Virginia, north of the Rappahannock River. Until 2015, RCPS had operated one elementary school, one intermediate school, and one high school. In 2013, the RCPS Board of Education planned construction projects to allow elimination of the intermediate school.
A construction grant of $6,085,500 from the state's Qualified Zone Construction Bond was secured to plan "additional structures to the elementary and high schools to accommodate Grades 6-8 as well as new sports facilities for varsity and junior varsity teams". Bids were let in July 2013, and a $14.4 million contract was awarded to Southwood Builders. Construction included "new wings ...a 600-seat auditorium with a music room and 1,000-seat gymnasium".
By the 2015 school year, Richmond County Public Schools began operating two reconfigured schools and a learning center: Rappahannock High School (grades 8–12) Richmond County Elementary-Middle School (grades K–7) Mackey-Thompson Learning Center The Mackey-Thompson Learning Center houses the Virginia Preschool Initiative for 4-year olds, the Gifted & Talented program, and the Academic Recovery Program for remediation and credit recovery. The Center, originally built in 1938 as Richmond County High School, is named for two African-American educators, William H. Mackey and Augustella Yates Thompson, who were "community leaders in the pursuit of educational opportunities for African-American youth of that time".
Accreditation and academics
According to the Virginia Department of Education School Quality Profiles, "Annual accreditation is waived for all Virginia public schools for the 2021-2022 school year due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools and students." Richmond County Public Schools had been fully accredited in 2017, results consistent with the RCPS district's 2014–2015 report card on statewide benchmarks. In addition, Niche awarded the district an overall ranking of A- in academics in 2017. Niche's 2022 website ranked the district as B- (above average) overall, based on student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1 and state test scores showing 86% of students proficient in math and 77% in reading.
The Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition recognized RCPS for its collaborative program with Friends of the Rappahannock, "A River Runs Through Us", a systemic "Meaningful Watershed Education Experience" as its "2016 Program That Works". All sixth grade students investigate, 'How do our daily actions impact the health of the Rappahannock River?'"
Richmond County Public Schools invested in a remote learning "1-to-1 program" in 2020 so "every child in the eighth through 12th grade has a laptop at home". That investment in technology also included provision of mobile hotspots for internet access to students without it.
A much earlier (1976–1978) curricular innovation focused on K–12 arts education, "implemented through art, music, and drama classes, and demonstrations of the Virginia Museum Traveling Exhibition". Researcher Sally Schumacher reported after the 3rd year of the program, "Since 1978, more students participated in the art and music curriculum, with opportunities for instruction in drama and musical productions. Administrators and teachers felt that the arts program increased student awareness and appreciation of the arts, creativity, and self-esteem."
Funding
County residents raised a funding issue in March 2013 over whether "border students", who live outside the Richmond County borders, should be charged tuition to attend school in the county. At the end of March, the Non-Resident Student Committee recommended the district "continue to accept border students without making them pay tuition". A mailer sent to county residents claimed these students "were attending RCPS at a hefty cost to taxpayers", but school funding in Virginia is based on student attendance, a composite index, and required local contributions.