ADMISSIONS
PHSSA is a public school, operating under a charter, through a lottery process open to all elementary aged children in the Richmond Public School District. As a public charter school, PHSSA adheres to many of the Richmond Public Schools (RPS) policies and procedures for open enrollment facilities.
- Current students and siblings of students enrolled at the time of the lottery will have pre-lottery status in admissions.
- The number of available seats may vary from year to year, contingent on enrollment projections compared to staffing and building capacity.
📌 Open Enrollment for 2026–2027
The Open Enrollment application period opens October 1, 2025 for the 2026–2027 school year.
✅ Families (siblings of current PHSSA students) wishing to apply for a school outside of their zone MUST complete an application.
✅ Current students do NOT need to reapply.
Applications are due by January 30, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Placement is lottery-based and subject to available seats.
For full details, visit:
https://www.rvaschools.net/chief-of-staff/enrollrps/school-applications/openenrollment
If you have any questions regarding admissions and enrollment, please contact our Enrollment & Planning Coordinator, Ms. Kristina Santiago.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ADMISSIONS
PHSSA is a public school, operating under a charter, through a lottery process open to all elementary aged children in the Richmond Public School District. As a public charter school, PHSSA adheres to many of the Richmond Public Schools (RPS) policies and procedures for open enrollment facilities.
- Current students and siblings of students enrolled at the time of the lottery will have pre-lottery status in admissions.
- The number of available seats may vary from year to year, contingent on enrollment projections compared to staffing and building capacity.
**The lottery application for the 2025-2026 school year has closed. Applications for the 26/27 school year opens October 1, 2025.
If you have any questions regarding admissions and enrollment, please contact our Enrollment & Planning Coordinator, Ms. Kristina Santiago.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts a private school?
Just like all other charter schools in the United States, PHSSA is NOT a private school.
How much does it cost to attend PHSSA? Are there any special tests that my child needs to take to gain admission?
Just like all public schools, there is no tuition and there are no tests to qualify for admission. All that is required is the child's willingness to learn and the parents' willingness to play an active part in the child's education.
What type of family involvement is required?
Children and their families will jointly apply to attend the school. As part of the application, families must sign a commitment to contribute 24 hours of their time each school year. Family involvement is for the benefit of the child even more than it is for the school. That is why we require family involvement and that is why we will do everything we can to see that each family participates.
Once my child is accepted to PHSSA, will we have to reapply every year?
Eligible students may return each year unless the involvement requirement is not met, the student no longer resides in the City of Richmond, a student fails to meet behavioral expectations and/or fails to follow attendance requirements. Please see the Family Handbook for more details.
Does PHSSA provide transportation?
PHSSA provides bus transportation to students. We have two buses that stop at hub stops throughout the city. You can see an example of the routes and schedules here.
If a student is already enrolled at PHSSA, do their siblings needs to apply to Open Enrollment?
Yes. All new students to PHSSA need to submit an Open Enrollment Application.
If a student has been offered a space at PHSSA, are in-building tours available?
At this time, we are not holding in-person tours.