Evening School coming to Richmond Senior

HAMLET — After about a ten-year hiatus, a evening school will return to Richmond Senior High School this semester.

“There is a need for another option for high school students at Richmond Senior to attend classes and earn credit out side of regular school day hours,” said Dr. Kate Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

The evening school will only be available for students with “specific extenuating circumstances” that would prevent them from attending normal school hours. As outlined in the policy, circumstances could include homelessness, teen pregnancy or medical issues.

“It’s a great idea. I don’t why we stopped doing it,” said board member Daryl Mason. “It was great not only for my kid, but a lot of kids coming over from Richmond [to Ashley Chapel] that allowed them to graduate on time.”

School counselors have identified 14 students who would benefit from an evening school. Students who earn 22 credits and meet NC State graduation requirements will receive a full diploma.

“They will earn credit for the courses needed with certified teachers in the classroom,” Smith continued. “We will definitely make sure that these kids have access to a counselor, a social worker, and all of the student-support personnel that a traditional day student would have.”

The evening school is not for students who fail a class and wish to recover a credit outside of normal school hours. A fifth-block, credit recovery class is available for those students.

Chairman Wiley Mabe said he is aware of one student who would like to go to school in the morning, but is working a third-shift job to support their family. For a student who is nearing graduation but will need extra resources or support, board members agreed that this is the purpose of the evening school.

“This is not for a 16-year-old who is a freshman that says ‘I have to go to to work,’” said board member Cory Satterfield. “No this is for a person who is getting ready to graduate.”

The board suspended the typical 30-day review of this policy so that the evening academy can start as soon as possible.

Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell said the evening school will help with the graduation rate. At a Board of Education work session in June, Ferrell said his former school district’s high school was able to raise the graduation rate from a low 70s percentile to the ’90s, primarily through the advent of an evening school.