Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts

Washington · DC · Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts · Public charter · K-12 combined


📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 2 AP courses offered — Moderate
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 47% of US high schools
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 68th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 77% (Bottom 25% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

You've seen Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts. What are your child's real college odds? Check any college in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price for every college on their list. Check odds →
💡

How Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

  • LocallyDC trails the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (−12 points). Stronger local schools matter even more.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Kingsman Academy PCS, Ballou STAY HS, Luke C. Moore HS and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

📬

Get alerts when Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts's numbers change

New admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.

Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Moderate — some AP / advanced course access

Bottom 47% of US high schools

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
2
Subject breadth not reported
Students taking AP courses
40
≈14 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
6
0 calculus · 6 advanced
Lab science classes
6
3 physics · 3 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

68th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
138
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
49.8
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 25% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
77%
Range: 75–79%
4-year cohort size
68
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
17.4%
Typical mix. Watch the trend — high turnover can compound.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
0.0%
Strong attendance culture among teachers.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
20.7%
Elevated above the national average (~16%). Worth understanding — chronic absence compounds into dropout risk, transfer-out risk, and revenue loss.
Students absent 15+ days
62
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
300:1
Above the ASCA 250:1 target but below the US median (~430:1). Capacity is workable.
Counselor FTE
1.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
22
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +0.7%/year, projecting from 2024's 300 students:

2025
302
2027
306
2029
311

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $32,217 per student in district revenue, the 11 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $354,387/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Kingsman Academy PCS
Washington
Public · charter 1.9 290 +17.9%
Ballou STAY HS
Washington
Public 3.3 278 +14.9%
Luke C. Moore HS
Washington
Public 3.6 275 +77.4%
BASIS DC PCS
Washington
Public · charter 0.8 233 +8.9%
Anacostia HS
Washington
Public 2.2 246 -23.4%
Friendship PCS - Technology Preparatory HS
Washington
Public · charter 2.8 307 -8.1%
The SEED PCS of Washington DC
Washington
Public · charter 3.9 245 +2.1%
Bard HS Early College DC (Bard DC)
Washington
Public 3.2 331 -12.2%

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts?

Check any college's odds in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely with real admit odds and your real net price, for every college on their list.

Check your child's odds →
🎯 What are your child's odds? →