Voices College-bound Language Acad at W. Contra Costa Co, Richmond CA

Original Research by School Decision on Voices College-bound Language Acad at W. Contra Costa Co

Voices College-Bound Language Academy at West Contra Costa County is a charter school in Richmond serving kindergarten through eighth grade, with a small enrollment concentrated in the early grades. The school operates two campuses as of late summer: one on 28th Street, where most students attend, and a newer location on Andrade Avenue opened to house transitional kindergarten and kindergarten programs.

The student body is almost entirely Hispanic, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment data shows the school is strongest in its youngest grades and tapers sharply in middle school; eighth grade currently has no students.

Academic performance on California's state assessments is a significant concern. Across tested subjects and grade levels, proficiency rates are very low. In mathematics, third grade shows proficiency in the low teens, fourth grade drops to single digits, and fifth grade reaches only a few percent. English language arts shows a similar pattern, ranging from the mid-teens to low twenties in the tested grades. Science proficiency in fifth grade is in the single digits. Compared to other districts in Contra Costa County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. The school did not report complete data for grades seven and eight on state tests, with some results suppressed due to small sample sizes.

The charter's status and future warrant attention. In December, the district renewed Voices' charter for a limited term rather than the five-year period the school requested, placing it under a low-performing designation and attaching conditions tied to academic improvement. This short-term, performance-contingent renewal creates operational uncertainty for families. At the same time, the school is expanding its physical footprint and capacity, which signals growth ambitions even as it faces academic and staffing pressure. District staff have noted concerns about credentialed teacher availability, with a substantial portion of educators lacking full credentials, and cited code and facility compliance issues.

The school's explicit focus is on language and college preparation. A parent considering enrollment should understand that this is a charter serving a predominantly Hispanic population, heavily weighted toward younger grades, with current academic outcomes significantly below typical proficiency benchmarks and active pressure from the district to raise achievement within a compressed timeline. A parent may want to look into directly with the school what supports it is providing to address test scores and what the limited renewal means for continuity and planning.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · district not reported

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 53%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · district not reported

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.