RICHMOND, Va. — RISE Academy, a tuition-free private high school in Richmond's East End, is asking for the community's help to provide a memorable prom experience for its students.
The tuition-free and tuition-affordable school recently celebrated 23 years in existence. It relies solely on community support to cater to its nearly 60 students.
"Everything that happens here is based on the generosity of the people who believe in our mission and believe in our students," said Head of School Dr. Brittany Lopes.
With a few months left in the semester, school leaders are seeking volunteers to cut and curl hair, provide barber services, and donate formal clothes.
"We try to make prom accessible to everyone," Lopes said. "Everything is pretty expensive, so we try to remove that barrier to provide everything to our kids. So it has become kind of a tradition to do nails and hair and have a barber here, and if you need clothes, we'll find out how to get it for you."
The staff's dedication to removing barriers and getting to know families has proven successful. The school has 16 seniors, and all of them have been accepted to college.
"They're amassing over a couple of million dollars in scholarships at this point," Lopes said.
"Students are interested in the trades, and a couple are interested in the military, but all of our students are focused on something," Lopes said.
"We kind of provide an option for students looking for small class sizes, a place for students to kind of fail forward, take risks, be themselves, and have an authentic experience in a small class size," Lopes said.
"Society, there are so many factors that are at play in a student's life that if you can remove all of those barriers like we are doing here. A kid can just come in and learn, and that's what school is supposed to be about," Lopes said.
Lopes said community gifts will help create memories these students can hold onto forever.
"I feel like all kids deserve to have the experience that you would want your own child to have," Lopes said. "Students feel dignity, they feel supported, they feel loved, they feel cared for."
To learn more about RISE Academy and donate, visit riseacademyrva.org/donate.
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