About Chimborazo

Check out our School Quality Profile.

Chimborazo Elementary School opened in September 1905 in historic Church Hill. The school got its name from the large park overlooking the James River nearby. The school’s name is believed to have come from Mount Chimborazo in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. In 1802, a local naturalist attempted to climb Mount Chimborazo bringing local interest to this high peak. In 1968 the school moved a few blocks to a new building at 3000 East Marshall Street, where it stands today as a lighthouse to Richmond’s East End community. 

Our mascot is the Jaguar and the school colors are BLUE & WHITE.

Today, we are a Title I school with a population of diverse families. When we began our journey towards accreditation, we had in excess of 700 students in a building designed for less than 500. Our SOL scores were in the single digits in some areas. The support of Governor Warner’s PASS Initiative (Partnerships to Achieve Successful Schools), afforded us the opportunity to implement data driven strategies co-developed by Richmond Public Schools and VA Dept of Education. Additionally, PASS enabled us to purchase much needed supplies and equipment to enhance instruction, get volunteers for tutoring, and secure the aid of mentoring schools to help fine-tune instruction.
As a result of these collaborative efforts, in the spring of 2004, we brought together all of the best practices and techniques to help our students achieve success. Not only did we pass the SOL tests, but we also met the state Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). That tradition continues today as one of the top three elementary schools in RPS!