Academics and More Riverdale students tackle PSU Honors College coursework RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL – While at fi rst students found it how the city of the present was Teacher Laura Keldorf is excited and it diffi cult to adhere only to the text shaped by the city of the past. They’ll shows! After 15 years spent teaching and avoid using personal anecdotes examine physical landscapes of cities Portland State University’s Western in their writing and discussions, Ms. and consider the role policies, such Civilization to high school students, Keldorf says it wasn’t long before they as redlining, play into the intentional she’s now bringing The Global City were pointing out infractions and segregation of marginalized and to life. This three-trimester PSU disenfranchised populations. Honors College course not only They’ll also critically assess the provides a total of 15 college format and structure of artistic credits, its content more closely human expression. Visits to PSU aligns to Riverdale’s desire to and guest professors are included focus on diversity, awareness in the experience. In the fi nal term, and fostering a greater sense Ms. Keldorf says students complete of empathy for differences. It’s the extensive requirements for an opportunity to step away their senior exhibitions with an from what Ms. Keldorf calls "a additional focus on identifying the Eurocentric history of privilege disciplinary methods for each fi eld and victors" and focus instead on of their research. a multicultural, interdisciplinary Throughout the course, lengthy critique of society as a whole. writing assignments develop Riverdale High School students discuss the scholarly The conceptual, seminarover several graded drafts, and texts they are reading in The Global City, a PSU Honors style curriculum calls upon students are seeing marked College course that is off ered as a full-year elective. the fi elds of urban studies, improvement — going from a fi rst anthropology, sociology, geography, draft score of 82 to a third draft score of productively redirecting peers back to history, political science and 96 is common. Parent feedback during the text at hand. economics. It’s designed to foster conferences confi rmed that students To start, students were introduced curiosity and create scholars by to social capital and discussed the in this course are thinking and writing incorporating critical thinking, process extent to which civic engagement like never before, and engaging writing and the persuasive power of — aff ects the development and resilience in global conversations at dinner, and diff erences between — evidence of the global city. As the course unfolds during carpools or while shopping for and argument. in trimester two, students will explore groceries.
Did you know? College credits on campus RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL – Riverdale students complete a full course load in all three trimesters each year. By meeting Riverdale's 28-credit graduation requirement, they also exceed Oregon state graduation requirements by four credits (eight classes). Better still, many of our students graduate with a signifi cant number of college credits. Riverdale teachers, through partnerships with three Oregon colleges, teach college-credit
4
classes on our campus. During the last school year, 201718, we had 116 students earn a total of 464 college credits at Riverdale: • Western Oregon University: 26 students earned 104 credits • Portland State University: 77 students earned 308 credits • Portland Community College: 13 students earned 52 credits
Students describe RHS This image sums up a recent RHS student survey — with the largest words most frequently used to describe the high school. The next tier includes: opportunities, relationships, challenging, teaching, helpful, understanding, prepares, support and fl exibility. Riverdale Review
