Open High School is an
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
public high school in urban
Oregon Hill
Oregon Hill is a historic working-class neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. Oregon Hill overlooks the James River and Belle Isle, and provides access to Hollywood Cemetery. Due to the neighborhood's proximity to the Monroe Park Campus of Vi ...
in
Richmond, Virginia. It was established in 1972 with the intention of helping students become independent, self-determined thinkers and learners. Students
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
at a variety of places, take college
courses for high school and
college credit
A credit is the recognition for having taken a course at school or university, used as measure if enough hours have been made for graduation.
University credits United States Credit hours
In a college or university in the United States, students ...
, and independently develop and maintain a class schedule. The school building was originally built with money and on land donated by
Grace Arents
Grace Evelyn Arents (1848 – June 20, 1926) was an heiress, Christian activist and philanthropist in Richmond, Virginia. She inherited $20 million from her uncle Lewis Ginter, a tobacco business magnate and philanthropist, and she used t ...
.
Structure
Open High School has a
community-based structure where advisory homeroom-like groups known as "families" direct students in the development of school
activities, functions, and other
school related activities. Each family selects two student reps to
represent
Represent may refer to:
* ''Represent'' (Compton's Most Wanted album) or the title song, 2000
* ''Represent'' (Fat Joe album), 1993
* ''Represent'', an album by DJ Magic Mike, 1994
* "Represent" (song), by Nas, 1994
* "Represent", a song by the ...
them in a
Student Representative Council.
At meetings of this council, student reps bring forth questions, disagreements, or ideas that a "family" may have and would like to discuss with the whole student body. If a concern gets enough attention, it is brought up during a monthly "
town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
", where the entire administrative staff and student body come together to discuss and vote on anything that a single student or group of students may deem important.
Open High School does not have as many students as other high schools throughout Richmond due to the building's smaller size. This allows for a smaller
student-teacher ratio
A student teacher or prac teacher (''practice teacher'') is a college, university or graduate student who is teaching under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education.
The term is also often used interch ...
.
Students are able to create their own elective classes with teacher sponsors.
Notable alumni
*
Anne Holton, Secretary of Education for the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
from 2014 to 2016 and wife of
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
, who was the vice-presidential
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...
of
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
in the 2016 election.
[Jason Horwitz]
For Anne Holton, Tim Kaine's Wife, Elite Circles Are Old Turf
''New York Times'' (August 5, 2016).[Louis Llovio]
/ref>,
* Aimee Mann
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
, American rock singer.[''Freewheelin' 78'', a publication of the Open High School. p. 132.]
* Noah Scalin
Noah Scalin (born June 2, 1972) is an American artist, known for his creation of the award winning Skull-A-Day art project weblog. He co-runs the art & innovation consulting firm that he founded Another Limited Rebellion in Richmond, Virginia wi ...
, contemporary artist in Richmond, Virginia.
See also
* Alternative education
References
External links
Open High Announcements YouTube page
Open High School website
High schools in Richmond, Virginia
Public high schools in Virginia
Magnet schools in Virginia
Alternative schools in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1972
1972 establishments in Virginia
{{virginia-school-stub