Barriers to Student Academic Success in Richmond Public Schools

1. Facilities Issues

1.1. "The building are not properly cleaned"

1.2. "The school buildings are falling apart as we know it"

1.3. "There is severe overcrowding in the buildings

1.4. "Water often times come out brown leaving us with undrinkable water"

1.5. "Furniture that fills the schools are outdated and broken"

2. Teacher Insensitivity

2.1. "Favoritism is something that is made extremely clear and is very prevalent among teachers"

2.2. "There is a lack of communication between students and staff"

2.3. "There have been many instances where teachers have made culturally insensitive comments"

2.4. "Representation matters, and teachers are just not representative of the majority African-American student population"

2.4.1. "There is a suffocating presence of Eurocentrism in our class content"

2.5. "Regular teachers are out sick a lot, leaving us with substitute teachers who have a hard time picking up where we left off"

3. Lack of After School Activities

3.1. "There is not adequate funding for after school programs such as clubs and sports"

3.2. "We need more tutors to be available after school"

4. Lack of Proper Technology and Supplies

4.1. "The computers in the lab are always broken or do not function properly"

5. Mental Health

5.1. "General testing anxiety"

5.2. "School officials brush off problems as not being serious enough"

5.3. "With Richmond having high gun violence, student are not able to properly grieve classmates"

5.4. "There is a need to Integrate mental health professionals inside of schools"

5.5. "Depression is treated as a secondary issue, not attracting primary concerns"

6. Lack of Real-World Preparation

6.1. "Pressure to attend traditional four-year university"

6.2. "Life skills are not being taught"

6.3. "Lack of guidance counselor involvement"

6.4. "Students are just stacked with busy work all the time"

6.4.1. "There is a lack of interesting classes offered"

7. Lack of Nutritional Food Options

7.1. "I would sometimes go hungry because there were not food options that fit my dietary restrictions"

7.2. "The food was almost never filling so I would go to class hungry"

8. Poverty

8.1. "I never once got to go on my field trips due to my family not having the funds to do so"

8.2. "I did not have access to the internet at home"

8.3. "I was homeless during my senior year of high school"