Academy of Richmond County High School

Worst school I have ever seen. I see some glowing reviews here, but always involving IB students or their parents or students of the school. Looking at the spelling in these reviews though will give a quick indication of the level of education here. Fails to meet federal standards EVERY year. When I questioned a counselor about the school's unsatisfactory results, she told me it is because they have a lot of black students who cause the school to fail. She then assured me that my child is white, and therefore should do well. I chose to not enroll my child at all and home-schooled instead. My child is enrolled this year and I'm dumbfounded at the lack of concern at the school. Windows are broken, the building is falling apart, walls and lockers are graffiti filled, dirt and grime that were on the walls last year is STILL there. Terrible.
--Submitted by a parent

I went to ARC in the years of 2004-08. I must say that I had trouble when I first got there, but as time went by everything grew on me such as the environment and the curriculum. They have some of the most excellent teachers that you may ever run across in the education department. I miss it so much! It was a great deal for me to attend ARC. If I could go back I would.

my son wasnt even intrested in school until they offered guitar classes now you cant keep him out of schhol unless there is a death or illness in the family..
--Submitted by a parent

I went to ARC as did my father and I was pleased that my daughter would as well. However, I'm afraid my husband and I made a bad decision. She was an average student, not academically gifted enough to be in the IB program (which is excellent), and was thrown in with the general population. With the exception of a few teachers, she did not have very good instructors or receive an acceptable education in the basics. Her writing skills were poor and we had to pay for tutoring to get her ready for college. Thank goodness the college she attended was prepared to help the freshmen with needs and get them caught up with students with stronger backgrounds. As a junior in college, she is doing quite well now but it would have been nice not to have to play 'catch-up' for two years.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a student. And i have been very blessed to have some of the best teachers, outside of IB, at Richmond. I agree that Richmond is very over crowded, and that we have many problem students, but you must understand, when these 'problem students' were not present its not like Richmond was all sunshine and roses. Simply because there was, and still is a lot of so called students at Richmond that do not care. I have been to meetings with the county to try and voice my opinion, and all I here is that Richmond's teachers are to blame. I must stress that is not so. A lot of the parents and members of the RCBOE have not stepped foot in a classroom. If a teacher does not spoon feed your child it is considered as them not doing there job. Please.
--Submitted by a student

how are all these parents saying its over crowed, because i swear i never see any parents come in. But yeah it is over crowed and the teachers well most of the teachers are pretty good but we get all the trouble students from schools like laney and josey
--Submitted by a student

ARC is overly crowded and cannot give their students the attention and criteria needed to get their education.
--Submitted by a student

Great School, I commend the Vocational Dept (Ms Lofton) and her staff they are a great team htey have contributed to the success of my son's academics. Although the school does have a large student population they have taken the time to ensure that my son's educational needs are priority!
--Submitted by a parent

This school is completely overcrowded with the troubled students of schools not meeting AYP. Sure the schools are at some fault, but until the parents of this area decide to take control of their children at home we will continue to be baby sitters and not educators. ARC is one of the most historically recognized schools in the state and is being ruined by a core of students that are not in school to learn.
--Submitted by a teacher

Richmond Academy needs serious improvement in the classroom and learning facilities. To the parents, I strongly suggest that you put your kids in either the IB Programme or Advanced Placement classes because they will not receive the best education that your tax dollars can buy. It is so over crowded that some kids can not even get into their required classes. None of the teachers are underqualified to handle such a working environment yet a lot of them are sloppy with their grades and have overly demanding attitudes towards their students. A lot of this negative energy is stress induced from having non-educational matters to deal with. Such as the dress code and having to check identification and the constant updates on websites most students can not find let alone use. None of these things have created a positive,or should I say significant, influence when it comes to graduating these kids.
--Submitted by Anderson, a parent