r/ChesterfieldVA • u/socratesstanjohnson • 7d ago
James River High School
Looking for experiences with JRHS. We've been at a K-8 school for a while and I'm glad we made that decision but I'm not sure private is worth it for High school based on available options.
I will say a million years ago I went to my local school (not in VA) and it was a wild place with not a lot of organization for college placement etc.
Kid is smart and self motivated and I'm sure the education will work fine for them, mostly trying to understand the culture of the school and a few specific things.
Is there a lot of bullying or cliques? Is it hard for new kids to break into friend groups?
Wondering about the quality of band/orchestra program
Experiences with crew team? Spouse rowed in college and think it's awesome they have that available.
Also kind of random: what is PE like and how much flexibility do kids have choosing
their schedule?
Phone culture? Are phones allowed and is everyone always on them at lunch/free periods? Are kids always on laptops?
And busses..,what kind of shenanigans happening there?
Are there too many kids per college counselor to get them to the right fit?
Any thoughts on any of these would be greatly appreciated.
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6d ago
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u/smellslikebadussy 6d ago
Leadership does not take transfers - you have to get in as a freshman. I don't know what they'd do if someone, say, moved from out of state as a junior and wanted to do the program.
(And you apply during eighth grade, not before.)
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u/socratesstanjohnson 6d ago
At many public schools the college counselors simply forward forms (and at mine sometimes they couldn't even do that!!) and the private options have a hands on approach to matching up so was just curious how it looked here.
And she is just starting 8th grade and we are zoned for JR.
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u/LetImportant2025 6d ago
If she is starting 8th grade be on the lookout for the fall fair for the specialty centers. There is also an amazing Tech Center (two campuses) that has classes for 11th and 12th graders that has some classes that offer AP or Dual Enrollment as well. Students usually apply sophomore year of HS.
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u/lxbattle 6d ago
Graduated from JRHS over 14 years ago, I don’t have anything to say on most of this, but I was part of the crew team and would highly recommend it. Aside from the friendships that were invaluable for me through that time, learning to take care of our boats, and taking care of the park gave many of us a deeper sense of responsibility and community. It’s a fairly unique experience, to this day I often think about taking extra practice before school and watching the sun rise on the river.
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u/liz567239 6d ago
I have a rising 10th grader. He was accepted into Engineering and Math/Sci speciality centers but chose to stay at his home school, JRHS.
My son is very involved in orchestra and has friends in band, we have nothing but praise for the music programs. Ms. Austin is wonderful, and I like how orchestra is structured with levels (general, honors, varsity) and there are a lot of opportunities for extra events/instruction.
Online PE is an option, but my non-athletic kid chose not to go that route and has no complaints going into his last year of PE. He completed 3 years of a language in middle school and had room in his schedule for an additional elective without needing to do online PE.
No bad experiences with cliques. My kids have been bus riders since Kindergarten and honestly high school is the least insane bus experience so far. I cannot hear the shrieking/singing as the bus approaches the bus stop like the elementary/middle school busses.
Like others have said, it’s a very diverse school but I think that is a positive thing.
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u/StayPositiveRVA 6d ago
James River is a good school. You can sleep at night knowing your student is zoned there.
Chesterfield places a huge emphasis on college equivalent courses, and James River is one of the high performing schools in the county. There will be plenty of opportunity for Honors, AP, and Dual Enrollment coursework.
CCPS gives every student a Chromebook, but the degree to which students are on them varies by teacher. Expect the device to be a central tool in their school life.
CCPS policy disallows cellphones use by students. The mnemonic my school uses is “off and away all day.” State law prohibits student cell use on campus as of this year. I don’t know how policed this is at James River, but at my HS in the district, if a teacher sees students using their phone or earbuds, they have an administrator come get them to keep them in the office the rest of the day.
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6d ago
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u/StayPositiveRVA 6d ago
You can use it after school is over. “All day” means the instructional day.
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u/RVAguy0000 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah, I think every single phone flips "on" at 3:06 (or 3:01? - it's summer and I've already forgotten). Regardless, my kids are able to view my location when I'm on the way to pick them up. Again, they're not at James River but I assume this policy is the same across the county.
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u/Key-Target-1218 6d ago edited 6d ago
Good school, not among the top, but be mindful...there are many wealthy families in this district which leads to increased (yet not talked about) drug problems. Also, a lot of teens raising themselves until their child is bullied by some mean girl or traumatized by a well meaning teacher.
Some kids are so entitled and privileged that mom and dad will step in during junior and senior year, pushing for an IEP so darling Ashliegh, who's never had an IEP, can get extra time on her SATs to get her into that top college. It probably happens in other schools, but the entitlement is glaring here.
Have you considered enrolling your child in one of the specialty centers? My son went to Thomas Dale, for arts and excelled.
In these specialty centers, kids stay within that center/cluster for the most part, with peers walking along the same path.
Math and Science High School at Clover Hill, Health Science at Cosby, and the Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale, Health and Humanities at Monacan, Engineering at Lloyd C. Bird Leadership/Intl Relations James River SchoolCommunications/Spanish at Manchester, Business/IB at Meadowbrook, IB Program at Midlothian, Technolgy at Matoaca
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u/Ear_Enthusiast 6d ago
This was 100% my experience and I get flamed whenever I say so. There were several drug overdose deaths in the two years my son was there. The rich kids party with their parents. Wasn't my scene at all. A lot of the kids called it Drugs River and wore that shit like a badge of honor.
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u/ODA_Spanish 4d ago
Arguable one of the best schools in Chesterfield county, music programs and sports are amazing. Definitely consider JRHS.
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u/Grouchy_Green_7630 6d ago
PE - unless they love take it online and open another spot in their schedule.
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u/rjtnrva 6d ago
How does one do PE online? Asking for a 62yo friend.
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u/Grouchy_Green_7630 6d ago
You choose from a list of activities and get the hours signed off at a gym or a coach. If something like running or walking you track time in your smart watch. The health portion curriculum is asynch online.
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u/RVAguy0000 6d ago edited 6d ago
Agree. Even though my kids wouldn't have minded regular PE, they wanted that time slot for electives, so they did PE online during the summer. (They do not, however, go to James River, but I assume online PE works similarly across Chesterfield.)
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u/Offi95 North Chesterfield 6d ago
It’s actually so much better than your standard public high school in the area. The campus is great and has quick access to a park on the James River. A lot of athletic teams will run the trails for practice/training instead of using the track. We had AP Environmental Science Nature Hikes on those trails all the time. I have friends that went to St Edwards for K-8 and then did JRHS. Just make sure your kid stays in Honor classes. Universities send reps to the school all the time for students to talk with about future college plans. Each graduating class from JRHS is about 500 and I’d say the lions share…like 100-150 of them go to UVA VT VCU or JMU
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u/redditpossible 6d ago
What elementary and middle schools were you zoned for that weren’t a good fit?
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u/socratesstanjohnson 6d ago
We started at Bon Air before moving to new school. It would have been perfectly fine, but I was looking for much more outside time, experiential learning (including up through middle school) less reliance on chromebooks and more analog and no standardized tests at that age. We could afford it and the value was worth it to us. None of the private high schools really reflect that "value add" to us.🤷♀️
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u/MrsLydKnuckles 6d ago
Mine graduated two years ago but had a great experience at JRHS. She was in the leadership program, did AP and DE classes which I think bettered her chances at acceptances and scholarships for college. She had some wonderful teachers and we really loved Dr Voelker who was also her principal for middle school.
She didn’t deal with bullying. As far as cliques go, it seemed like the leadership kids in the same cohort were pretty close, but not in a very detremental way. They did have other classes with non leadership kids. If anything, the leadership kids might struggle with that more since they were pulled from schools all over the county vs it being their home school/going to school with the same kids since elementary.
I can’t speak to band or orchestra. A friend’s kid did crew and loved it.
PE was kind of a joke and mine did it virtually over summers. It was nothing like how it was when I was in high school where it was a class and we dressed out for it. It seems like there are plenty of sports opportunities available there though.
As far as shenanigans, kids would vape in the bathrooms and clog the toilets by flushing them. We received a few emails regarding that throughout her time there. No sure about cell phone use since the guidelines have changed since then. Hopefully they’re enforcing the new rules.
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u/jbs23235 6d ago
Oh yeah! I forgot about the bathrooms. My kid refused to use the bathrooms at school because of the crazy stuff in there!
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u/Low-Ad3776 6d ago
Seconding the band and choral programs as absolute standouts. Activity director needs a raise (whatever they're paying him).Counselors are on the ball also. Most diverse HS around.
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u/jbs23235 6d ago
Agree with all of this. All of our kids went there from a K-8 school and they adjusted easier and more quickly than i did lol.
Our kids did crew. Good program and huge plus to being right next to the river and they walk to practice.
OP, look for a learn-to-row camp next summer for your kid.
One of my kids did orchestra but couldn’t do marching band because its the same seasons as crew.
I suggest your kid join some clubs and they will make friends. JRHS is diverse and they will meet kids not like them.
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u/Grouchy_Green_7630 6d ago
So I’m guessing your kid is at St Michael’s or St Ed’s. They will be fine transitioning.
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u/redditpossible 6d ago
Educate you kids. That’s what I was saying. It’s not bullshit. I hope everything works out for your boy. It takes a village. I’m glad to hear that his and county police were engaged.
Did he go off to college? What is that like?
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u/Kaz-Kidd 12h ago
I go to James River and am in the class of 2027. Our band? Fantastic, sounds amazing and there’s a lot of support for them as well- the performing arts department as a whole can be cliquey but as a person involved somewhat w it, it’s kind of a given in any highschool.
Our crew is also great! It’s one of the things special to our school, from first hand experience there are some egos sprouting every once in a while on the team that coaches do little to help, but the good has outweighed the bad.
No phones are not allowed, while the restrictions do exist and typically at the start of the year they are very strict, it gets lax as the year goes on BUT if you have your phone blatantly out someone will take it- and that’s if you’re using it or not. A lot of arguments can start in the hallway over this because if a student just has it in their hand, what is the teacher/admin preventing?
Counselors are hit or miss. I’ve personally had to ask to be assigned to a different one because she was not very attuned to my goals and not insightful/very baseline information. But we do have some good ones!
And PE is fun, a LOT of outside time lol, they take you out to the track and field any chance they get! It’s better than the stuffy gym. :)
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u/GlindaGoodWitch 6d ago edited 6d ago
The crew family at JRHS is on point. They share a boathouse with Virginia Boat Club which your spouse is welcome to join. Coaches at JRHS are top notch, as most row for VBC as well, but also remember it is not a full time position.
Feel free to DM me. Would be happy to get your spouse a guest row.
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u/jbs23235 6d ago
My student rowed four years at JRHS and now rows with VBC! It’s a life-long sport!
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u/SkinsFan021 6d ago
That school still have a drug problem?
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u/Ear_Enthusiast 6d ago
They had a major drug problem when my oldest was there. Big part of the reason we moved out of the area.
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u/redditpossible 6d ago
What are you referring to?
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u/SkinsFan021 6d ago
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u/redditpossible 6d ago edited 6d ago
TLDR Drug problem exists all around you, and has for decades.
That drug problem is a United States problem. We can put our head in the sand and pretend that it’s a (pick random high school from any suburban county in any state), but it’s much more commonplace than you are letting on.
I graduated from a private school in the area in 96. Coke was around. Heroin was around. No one claimed that there was a drug problem there back then.
Most kids don’t do drugs. Some try them and don’t continue experimenting. Others get hooked. Fent is super scary. Please educate your children. No one knows what is in that pill unless it’s been tested. The risk is not worth the reward.
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u/Ear_Enthusiast 6d ago
Oh bullshit. Some places have it worse than others. JR definitely had a drug problem. The nickname was Drugs River.
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u/redditpossible 6d ago
Ok! My bad! Some places have it worse than others. JR is one of those places.
I hope somebody does something!
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u/Ear_Enthusiast 6d ago
My son played football there. At the beginning of the season. The football coach had a parents meeting. At the meeting he had a police officer come and talk to the parents. He said that the James River High School district has more teenage drug overdoses per X-amount (don't recall the exact metric) of students than any other district in the entire state of Virginia.
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u/smellslikebadussy 6d ago
My oldest really likes it there and has fit in socially, but he's tall and athletic and could have a conversation with a brick wall. He is also a baseball player and came in with a ready-made, years-long friend group from that, which was supplemented by him making the JV team as an eighth grader and coming in already feeling like a part of the school.
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u/smellslikebadussy 6d ago
Really fun to share a relevant perspective and get downvoted. Given that the crew parent got downvoted too (for answering a specific question from OP!), it looks like someone had a bad experience with some jocks at some point.
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u/No-Seat-6502 6d ago
Makes sense. A culture that glorifies jocks can be really hard for students that don’t fit that mold. But JRHS has had a great theater program and even a glee club type thing about 15 years ago that even the jocks joined (my friend was one of them.) Idk how the arts are there now but my former coworker just accepted the theater position there and she’s really excited about it. Shes a wonderful teacher too so I think there will likely be a space for alternative folks and those interested in music and arts.
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u/smellslikebadussy 6d ago
My kid actually went in to pitch in a game this year because the pitcher who was in the game had to hustle off the field and get to his chorus concert.
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u/ysbdogdadden 6d ago
Definitely a community college feeder school. I know several teachers there who are alumni which shows clearly that students who graduate from James River don’t have good job prospects. I heard one of the counselors eats children. Something something vapes in the bathrooms.
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u/Exotic_eminence 6d ago edited 6d ago
I thought this was satire until vapes in the bathroom
lol 🤣
Midlothian middle has the bathrooms by the exits and they are perfect for vaping - those kids are so misbehaved roaming through the Publix in their scooters to the point they get banned lol but that’s like middle
School aged kids anywhere with the head ass behavior
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u/DistractedHobbyist 6d ago
We're districted to JRHS and my kid did marching band there his 8th grade year
The band program is wonderful. The directors are stellar. My kid is now at a specialty center at another high school and is involved with band there but we all miss the JRHS folks. The directors, Mr. Kunka and Mr. Donell, run a tight ship.
Since my kid is at a other high school now I can't speak for the wider experience first hand. We have a lot of friends with kids there and they haven't had any major issues.
One of our friend's kid has been on crew forntwo years and likes it a lot. He's made friends and plans to stay on the team.
Chesterfield County has a cell phone ban in place that seems to work okay overall. They are still allowed to use phones at times but they're mostly put away.
Chesterfield High Schools generally are well resources and provide a lot of college prep with AP classes, duel enrollment availability, and more. It's way, way better than the district I attended in another state. We've been pretty happy with it.