Open High School has a community-based structure where advisory homeroom-like groups known as "families" direct students in the development of school activities, functions, and other school related activities. Each family selects two student representatives to represent them in a Student Representative Council.
At meetings of this council, student reps bring forth questions, disagreements, or ideas that the "family" might have and that they would like to bring forth to the student body. If a concern gets enough attention, or if an individual student would like to set it into motion, it is brought up during a monthly "town meeting", where the entire present administrative staff and entire present student body come together in order to discuss and vote on anything that a single student or group of students may deem important.
Due to its selective application system, and comparatively small school facility, Open High School has a lesser number of students than that of other school in its district, Richmond Public Schools, allowing for a smaller student-teacher ratio.
Students are given the opportunity to create their own elective classes in combination with a teacher sponsor, known as a 'Thursday Class' These classes are typically unrelated to typical school material and instead, feature material the student or teacher deem important or compelling to convey.