Original Research by School Decision on Richard Milburn Academy Odessa
Richard Milburn Academy Odessa is an open-enrollment charter high school serving students in grades nine through twelve. It operates as a dropout-recovery and credit-recovery program, so its student body and design reflect that purpose: it enrolls students who are at risk of leaving school, and the academic and social pathway it offers is explicitly centered on helping them stay and graduate.
The school sits in Odessa, a West Texas city built on the energy industry, with oil, gas, and related businesses dominating employment and the economic landscape. Housing values there reflect the region's relative affordability compared to statewide benchmarks. The school itself is housed at a single address on North County Road, not spread across multiple campuses.
The enrollment is small to mid-sized for a high school, with roughly balanced representation across the grade levels. Just over half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, signaling moderate to substantial economic need. The student population is heavily Hispanic, with a smaller proportion of white students and very few other groups represented; this mirrors the demographic composition of Odessa overall. Data on students with disabilities or English learners was not reported, so the school's support infrastructure for those populations cannot be assessed here.
State test results from the most recent year show a profile consistent with an alternative, dropout-recovery model. Across all subjects, the proportion of students reaching the "Approaches Grade Level" standard is below half; only a tiny fraction meet or master grade-level content. The exception is science, where a large share reached the "Approaches" level, though mastery remained very rare. In English language arts and math, the entry-level proficiency rates are substantially lower. Social studies showed moderately higher entry-level performance. These results reflect the demographic and academic standing of the population this school deliberately serves: students entering with significant academic gaps who have already been identified as at-risk. A parent considering this school should understand that test proficiency numbers are low by design and population; the school's mission is completion and re-engagement, not pushing proficiency rates upward.
No graduation rate was available for this school. The district as a whole, however, reports a graduation rate well below the statewide average, a direct reflection of serving students already identified as likely to drop out. Even so, the fact that a meaningful share of that at-risk cohort does graduate through RMA represents the program's core value.
The broader district, Richard Milburn Alter High School based in Killeen, operates nine dropout-recovery campuses across Texas. Beginning in the school year just ended, all campuses including Odessa now offer universal free breakfast to every student, removing a recurring meal cost for families. The district is a charter operator that levies no local property taxes; families in its service areas pay no RMA-specific school property tax. The district earned an overall C in the most recent state accountability ratings, a grade that reflects its alternative mission rather than a judgment against comprehensive instruction.
A parent or student weighing this school should approach it as a re-entry point, not a traditional high school. It explicitly recruits and serves students who have already faltered or dropped out elsewhere. The low test proficiency data reflects that population, not weak teaching or lack of purpose. The real question for a family is whether they need a program designed around completion and recovery, with flexible scheduling and a culture built to re-engage at-risk students, or whether a traditional comprehensive high school is the right fit. For students who have already left the traditional system or are at immediate risk of doing so, this school's design and track record offer a genuine alternative pathway to a diploma.
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