A charter middle school wants to open in Richmond, but the path to approval is far from certain
A charter school proposing to operate in Richmond city received approval from a Virginia Board of Education committee on Thursday, but will need the approval of the Richmond School Board, which is likely to be more difficult, before becoming a reality.
The Harbor School, a potential charter school designed to target economically disadvantaged middle school students, is now set to appear before the State Board of Education after members of the Charter School Standing Committee approved their application for additional review.
“We are excited about the opportunity to welcome more educators like those here today who are willing to do the hard work of launching their own public school models,” said State Superintendent Emily Anne Gullickson.
Grace Turner Creasey, president of the Virginia Board of Education, noted that it has been more than 10 years since the department has received a public charter school application.
The school would function under Richmond Public Schools, and thus ultimately needs the board’s final approval before being able to open by its proposed start date of fall 2026.
Leaders of The Harbor School noted low test scores among RPS middle school students. In 2024, just 49% of 8th graders passed the reading test given as part of Virginia’s Standards of Learning.
But history shows that Richmond School Board members have opposed the idea of creating new charter schools. At a School Board forum last year, seven of the nine members elected to office did not raise their hand to a question asking if they would support additional charter schools in the city. One did not attend, while 4th District representative Wesley Hedgepeth said he was open to discussions.
Current school board member and Vice Chair Matt Percival (1st District) said that while he can’t speak on behalf of the entire board and is open to ideas, he needs to be convinced that data supports the approach of having a charter school in Richmond right now.
“Right now we do not have a capacity problem in Richmond on the Northside. What we do have, along with every other school district in Virginia, is a financial and human capital challenge,” he said. “Opening a new school that competes for dollars and teachers is not the first thing that I would think of to tackle those challenges.”
Christian Braunlich, a member of the state committee and former member of the Fairfax County School Board, told The Harbor School leaders that having conversations with the local school board to get approval “is not going to be easy.”
“This is a highly politicized decision that the board will be making,” he said.
Charter schools in the state have been controversial, including concerns that charter schools would deepen segregation, as they are linked to the state’s history with Massive Resistance, a set of laws preventing the integration of schools.
In 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a goal of launching at least 20 new public charter schools. That hasn’t happened, but 15 lab schools — a cousin of the charter that is connected with an existing college or university — have been approved under his leadership.
Currently, there are only seven charter schools within the state, with two located in Richmond. They include Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts – which caters to kindergarten through 5th grade students – and the Richmond Career Education and Employment Academy – which is for students with disabilities.
Leadership of The Harbor School said that they have had informal conversations with Richmond School Board members and understand that it won’t be easy but believe they’ll be successful.
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Jon Bibbs, member of the management commission for the school and former CEO of Richmond Preparatory Christian Academy, said that there is a “great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation” around charter schools in Virginia and they’re willing to talk through that with members. He also said parents, students and other residents in Richmond have expressed interest in having another charter school.
“This was developed as a response to voices from our community,” he told the commission. “And we anticipate that our school leadership in the city of Richmond is gonna do what they say and be responsive to the voices in our community who are asking for innovation.”
More about The Harbor School
The Harbor School is proposed to be a community-run, non profit, tuition-free school designed to serve students who may have difficulty succeeding in a traditional school environment. Open enrollment would be available to students by applying through a public lottery system. The proposed school would use competency based learning, an education model that allows students to advance based on their understanding of a subject rather than the amount of time they spend in class.
Leaders say that they’ve worked for the last four years interviewing parents, students and working through pilot programs to establish feasibility that helped design the school.
Susan Craig, founder of the school, said that the school is designed in a way for students to have a “small school experience.” Rather than being in a class with other students in their grade, a student would be in a cohort of eight to 12 students working with a learning coach throughout their entire time of being at the school. Students within the cohort could be in any grade, as this brings peer learning and mentorship. At full capacity, the school would have 324 students.
Braunlich, a state committee member, said that public school systems apply equally to everyone, while The Harbor School allows individualized learning to students and teachers, giving Richmond the opportunity to do “something new and imaginative.”
“So if we're going to look at new ways to deliver education and deliver learning to students – and I believe that they are going to be supportive of finding those new ways – this is an ideal way to do that,” he said.
The leaders will present their application to the full Virginia Board of Education later this month, before presenting to the Richmond School Board in October.
Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org
