It’s been 121 days since Richland High School opened its doors for the first time. That is 53,845 minutes and countless memories that Richland’s students have been able to experience. Now they share their opinions about the first semester.
“I’m enjoying it so far, and I think that Dr. Croy has been doing a good job,” senior MJ Bahsoon said. “Like, I can see how much he enjoys what he does. He wakes up every morning ready to be a principal for us, and like, demonstrate and be a role model for everyone that walks in through the school. So I can applaud him and be grateful towards that attitude and spirit he has.”
In terms of improvement, a freshman asked for more maps of the campus, a junior wished to sit outside all the time for lunch, and a senior asked for more social activities like a movie night. Yet, others said they had no changes to be made.
“I think with time, the school will improve automatically by just having more like legacy and like history,” junior Sofia Strickland said.
Richland is home to 1,717 students, with seniors having the smallest class of 164.
“What I like (about Richland) is that there’s no set tradition or like legacy,” Bahsoon said. “That this year, we’re able to create our own traditions, and legacy, and culture. There’s not
a certain expectation that we have to like, live up to. So I’m excited to build up with it, even though I’m a senior.”
A fan favorite of Richland’s culture is the freedom of advisory.
“I like the layout a lot better than Prosper – I think it’s easier to find classes,” sophomore Taylor Hansen said. “And like our advisory, I like how we’re able to, like, freely float around and like do what we need and do and everything like that.”
Most students did not have any complaints about their new school – one even liked the new phone ban that was implemented this year by Texas legislature, Sept. 1.
“I know I said I don’t like the phone rule, but to a point I do because it does force me to put my phone away and kind of like be present, which I like doing,” Strickland said. “I try to do it myself, but I feel like the phone rule kind of helps me, to just like, do it for eight hours.”
A portion of Richland’s students came from Prosper High School.
“I miss like my old teammates that graduated, but like that’s not something I can like really like miss,” junior Lincoln Bennison said. “But I kind of hold on to those memories, you know.”
Richland offers three academy classes: cosmetology, electrical engineering, and cybersecurity.
“I like all of their different like CTES, because I feel like it’s important to know what you want to do after high school,” Strickland said. “And those are really great tools to have around that you can kind of like try out and see if you like it, and then if you do like it, you get to start doing what you love at an earlier age, which is awesome.”
Over 200 adults make up the staff population at Richland.
“I like my teachers here,” Bennison said. “I think they’re all very good. I haven’t had any problems.”
When asked, every student had a class they didn’t enjoy going to, but some welcomed it.
“I do like my new classes,” senior Taniform Chukwuani said, “They’re hard, but I like the challenge.”
With the first semester coming to an end, students can reflect on their first five months at Richland High School.
“My first semester was definitely stressful, but high school has definitely been a very good experience with me so far and even though I’ve been very stressed, I’ve been on top of my grades because of my sport,” freshman Audrina Sanchez said. “So ultimately, it was stressful, but I really did enjoy it with my first homecoming, my first football season on drill team and just my first everything of high school.”
