Community Youth Services

Community Youth Services is a small alternative public school serving 67 students in grades K–12 at 315 NW 3rd St in Richmond, Indiana, and it is part of Richmond Community Schools. Because there are no other schools within 20 miles, the most useful comparisons for families are to its own district and to the state of Indiana rather than to nearby campuses.

The figures that stand out most are attendance and graduation. In 2024–25, 66.7% of students were chronically absent, compared with 33.1% in the district and 16.7% statewide — about twice the district rate and four times the state rate. Graduation was 7.1% in 2024–25, versus 94.3% in the district and 89.7% statewide, and it has been far below both every year reported, including 18.1% in 2023–24 and 25.0% in 2020–21. Test proficiency is also very low: SAT Math was 0% in each of the last three listed years, SAT ERW was 0% in 2023–24 and 2024–25 before reaching 20% in 2025–26 (still below the district's 35.02% and the state's 51.9%), and ILEARN results for all grades were 6.45% in English language arts and 3.23% in math in 2023–24.

Some context helps explain these numbers. As an alternative school, it may serve students who are off-track, behind on credits, or in need of non-traditional supports, and its small cohort means year-to-year changes can be driven by just a few students. Economic need is high — 67.16% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2023–24, and the rate reached 88.52% in 2022–23. Per-student spending was $4,973, and student-teacher ratios have been small (7.7:1 in 2023–24), which may allow more individual attention but has not yet shown up in stronger outcomes. The district itself is rated 1 star, yet this school's results sit below district averages, suggesting concentrated student needs and pointing to attendance intervention, credit recovery, and wraparound support as likely priorities.