Richmond Public Schools

Richmond did not have public schools during much of the 19th century, only private institutions funded by user fees or charities.

From 1906 until 1962, the city of Richmond segregated its public schools by race, and schools serving African American Virginians received less funding and poorer facilities, which led in part to the U.S. Supreme Court's two decisions in Brown v. Board of Education in beginning in 1954.

Defiance of those decisions by the Commonwealth of Virginia led to the Massive Resistance crisis in the state which lasted more than a decade.

The Richmond School Board also lacked authority at the time to force integration, since beginning in 1958, the state government assumed control over attendance policies.

On October 21, 2009, the superintendent of Richmond City Public Schools, Yvonne W. Brandon, unveiled a plan called "Dropout Prevention Initiative" (DPI).

There are also mentors provided by the higher educational institutions and the faith- and community-based organizations with which the DPI has partnerships.

[12] A unique aspect of this program is that recovery specialists within the DPI literally walk door-to-door to the homes of students who have dropped out to talk with them about and encourage the possibility of returning to school.

Richmond Public Schools have implemented "Extensive Mandatory Professional Development" for staff on how to effectively identify and help at-risk students.