Open High School is an alternativepublic high school in the Oregon Hill neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. It was established in 1972 with the intention of helping students become independent, self-determined thinkers and learners. Students volunteer at a variety of places, take college courses for high school and college credit, and independently develop and maintain a class schedule. The school building was originally built with money and on land donated by Grace Arents.[citation needed]
At meetings of this council, student reps bring forth questions, disagreements, or ideas that the family might have and that they would like to bring forth to the student body. If a concern gets enough attention, or if an individual student would like to set it into motion, it is brought up during a monthly "town meeting",[1] where the entire present administrative staff and entire present student body come together in order to discuss and vote on anything that a single student or group of students may deem important.[citation needed]
Due to its selective application system, and comparatively small school facility, Open High School has a lesser number of students than that of other schools in its district, Richmond Public Schools, allowing for a smaller student-teacher ratio.[citation needed]
Students are given the opportunity to create their own elective classes in combination with a teacher sponsor, known as a 'Thursday Class' These classes are typically unrelated to typical school material and instead, feature material the student or teacher deem important or compelling to convey.[citation needed] These classes can include guitar, crocheting, or theater courses at VCU.[1]
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