Original Research by School Decision on Richard Allen Preparatory
Richard Allen Preparatory is a small charter school district serving kindergarten through eighth grade across two Dayton campuses. The K-2 and 3-8 buildings together enroll a small number of students, with the kindergarten class notably larger than upper grades. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small number of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The district recently completed a curriculum adoption that reflects a deliberate instructional choice. Richard Allen Schools shifted to the Imagine Learning EL Education platform district-wide, an evidence-based approach centered on reading development and collaborative project-based learning. The Hamilton campus, which houses younger grades, showed improved early literacy results following this implementation. For families enrolling their children at Richard Allen, this means the daily classroom experience will center on this literacy-forward, project-based model across both campuses.
State testing data was not available for this district, and attendance and financial data provide limited context. The chronic absenteeism rate is below the midpoint among Montgomery County districts, which is a strength. Per-pupil current spending falls in the lower-middle range for the county, positioning this as a lean-budget operation relative to some larger district neighbors.
The district's small, stable enrollment means families are choosing a close-knit environment with a deliberate instructional approach rather than a large, broad-based school system. The concentration of students in early grades and notably smaller upper grades may reflect typical charter enrollment patterns where kindergarten draws more families than retention through eighth grade, or it may reflect the younger life of these programs. A parent considering Richard Allen should ask the school directly about enrollment trends and what happens for students leaving the district at eighth grade, since this ends at middle school and does not serve high school.
The limited public reporting on this small charter district means a parent will need to visit, talk with current families, and review the school's own materials to understand daily practice and community culture beyond the curriculum framework. The EL Education adoption is concrete and recent, giving families a clear window into what reading instruction and learning expectations look like here.
See more original research from School Decision →