3 minute read
Graduation Requirements
ACADEMIC GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
In order to graduate, students are required to accrue the following number of credits in each discipline while enrolled as a student at the Rivers School in Grades 9 - 12. Students transferring into the Rivers School in 10th or 11th grade may have these requirements adjusted based on prior high-school level coursework, on a case-by-case basis. These adjustments will be discussed and finalized in the student’ s initial course counseling meeting prior to the start of the school year. A single credit is earned by receiving a passing final grade in a year-long, full course at the Rivers Upper School. A half credit is earned by receiving a passing final grade in a one-semester, full course at the Rivers Upper School. Beginning in 2021-2022, trimester courses will no longer be offered, as the Upper School transitions to a semester term structure. A one-trimester course taken prior to the 2021-2022 school year will count for 0.33 credits. Below are the minimum course requirements in order to graduate from the Rivers School for students enrolled at Rivers from grades 9 - 12: 4.0 credits in English 3.0 credits in math, including Geometry and Algebra II 2.0 credits in history, including United States History and 1.00 credit (total) taken during grade 11 and 12 2.0 credits in science 2.0 credits in foreign language 2.0 credits in the arts 0.5 credits in a course cross-listed with Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) Please note that these are the minimum requirements to earn a Rivers diploma. Students are required to be enrolled in at least five full courses each term from among the English, history, language, math, and science departments - plus any arts credits. Please be aware that some colleges expect high school students to take more courses in certain subjects than are required to graduate from Rivers. Courses with an IDS designation will meet both a departmental distribution requirement and the IDS requirement. If any other course is cross-listed in multiple departments, students may choose how they will apply the credit toward the graduation distribution requirement. Credit may be applied in one department only. Students cannot apply credit for a single course toward more than one departmental distribution requirement except in the case of IDS-designated courses.
Back to Table of Contents
INDEPENDENT STUDIES
The Rivers School Curriculum is designed to prepare students for a world that needs their talents, imagination, intellect, and compassion. Our faculty continuously reviews and updates our curriculum to ensure it meets this goal. It is common for students to develop interest in areas outside the topics covered in our core courses, and Rivers encourages students to partner with adults in the community to explore these topics in more depth. These explorations and projects, however, are by definition outside of the scope of our designed curriculum. As such, these outside explorations and projects are not assigned as courses on a student’ s transcript, nor do they count towards a student’ s graduation requirements in a particular department. The term ‘Independent Study ’ will be reserved for cases where a student has demonstrably exhausted the Rivers School curriculum in a core discipline and requires outside resources to continue study at a level not offered at Rivers. In such cases, the student and relevant Department Chair are required to submit a proposal for the independent study to the Dean of Studies no later than June 1 of the year prior to the academic year in which the Independent Study will occur. Explicit written approval by the Dean of Studies, Dean of Faculty, and Head of Upper School are required in order for the Independent Study to go forward in the subsequent academic year.
