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Michael Bolling, executive director of the new CodeRVA High School, introduces the school's future home during a news conference, joined by (from left, foreground) Chesterfield County Superintendent James Lane and Gail Hardinge, chairwoman of the CodeRVA board and of the New Kent County School Board. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
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The entrance to the CodeRVA High School space in the former A.H. Robins headquarters on Cummings Drive, now occupied by several tenants, the largest of which is Michael & Son Services (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
The new computer science-focused, regional CodeRVA High School will open this fall in an office building on Cummings Drive alongside Interstate 64 that used to house the A.H. Robins Co. headquarters.
Board members gathered at noon today on the empty ground floor where up to 100 rising ninth and 10th graders from 12 school districts will begin attending classes in September. Applications are being accepted through Feb. 24 from students in 12 school divisions: Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg and the counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George and Sussex. (See coderva.org for details.)
Michael Bolling, executive director of CodeRVA High School, says that more than 400 students have applied. They will be chosen through a lottery system that considers gender, race and economic factors in an effort to reflect the region's population. An additional 100 students will be accepted each year, with a capacity of about 400. Furniture for the 15,310-square-foot space will come from Capital One, which is renovating one of its buildings.
"One thing that will set the school apart is blended learning," says CodeRVA Board Chair Gail Hardinge, referring to the mix of online courses and face-to-face instruction. Students will be able to work at their own pace, which means someone could, for example, complete ninth grade in less than a year. Summer programs will offer instruction for students who need to catch up or want to work ahead.
"It will be a national model of what innovation in high school education is all about," Bolling says of the school.
A view of the school's floor plan, designed by Ballou Justice Upton Architects.
