Hannah Lawson

Inside Richmond’s highest performing school

If you walk down the hallways of Richmond College Prep Schools (RCPS), it looks like many other elementary schools. But there is one key difference: it is the highest performing school in Richmond. The school, located near the Iron Triangle, is ranked #1 in the city and #4 in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) according to its 2013 Academic Performance Index (API) score. The majority of its students are Hispanic or African-American. 92 percent of students qualify…

Restorative Justice offers Richmond High students alternatives to suspension

Sofia Paredes, a senior at Richmond High School, has always been an outspoken student, but exercising her freedom of speech hasn’t always been received in the way she hoped. “I had trouble communicating and being patient with my teacher,” Paredes said. “Participating in RJ allowed the problem to be fixed before it escalated and maybe put me in real trouble.” “RJ” is the nickname given to Restorative Justice, an in-school program Paredes participated in with her teacher this year. By…

Young artists envision a better world

On Monday evening, the Bayside Council PTA hosted a celebration of student art. The theme for this year’s Reflections Showcase was, “The World Would Be a Better Place If…”

Truancy epidemic in Richmond elementary schools

A recent report by the California attorney general’s office states that approximately 50,000 elementary school students in California were considered chronically truant and more than 250,000 were chronically absent during the 2013-14 school year. The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) had a chronic absence rate of 17 percent. These numbers represent an attendance crisis that not only takes away funding from the district but also places students at an educational disadvantage. Truants cost Contra Costa County approximately $33,000…