From Automobiles to Education

Principal Gareth Volz of Flint, Michigan’s Richfield Academy is in high demand. As he walks through the halls of his charter school for kindergartners through eighth graders, students constantly approach him to talk, ask questions, and report problems with their schoolmates.

Volz says he knows the names of at least 90 percent of the 588 students at Richfield Academy, many of whom have attended the school since it opened six years ago.

The charismatic principal is one factor that draws increasing numbers of students to the school. But if you ask Volz, safety even more important. Feeling safe cannot be overrated in Flint, which is perhaps most famous as the headquarters of General Motors, but where ever since the 1980s and ’90s, when the industry closed automotive factory after factory, crime and unemployment rates have soared.

All of this leaves the students at Richfield feeling stressed and vulnerable. School guidance counselor Kathryn Black estimates 30 percent or more of the student body have felt the direct impact of the continued decline of the auto industry in Michigan. It’s her second year at Richfield, and she says the stream of students and families coming in to talk about financial problems has been steadily growing.

Richfield’s student body is 55 percent white, in a town where African-Americans make up the majority. Still, 88 percent of its students receive free or reduced lunch, a poverty indicator in the schools. The school social worker says that some students are homeless, or dealing with parents working multiple jobs or even moving away to find work.

Regardless of what’s going on in the community, the staff at Richfield try to ensure that outside stresses in the students’ lives do not affect their academic performance. A program “five years in the making,” spearheaded by Richfield parent liaison Frank McDowell, uses Flint city buses to transport kids to school from all across Flint and the surrounding areas. Though the overwhelming majority of kids come from inside Flint itself, McDowell says the buses will go anywhere in the area to get kids from home. This is the first year of the program, and it has dramatically reduced the amount of absences from school, McDowell says.

Along this vein, “Mr. Mac” wants Richfield to be a place for the parents to turn if they need any kind of help. From providing clothes to wear to school, food to eat at home, and parenting classes in-between, McDowell tries to do it all for his students. He spends much of his day on the phone, coordinating resources for the students, all while joking with passerbys.

When Volz is not in meetings, he likes to spend his time in the hallways, multi-purpose room, or talking to students in his office. “How’d you do on that test yesterday?” he asks a passing middle schooler. “Oh, and please tuck in your shirt. … Got to keep our kids looking neat and doing great,” he says, smiling.