Riverside University High School offers dynamic academic programs that prepare students for college, careers, and community leadership.
Bilingual Education
Our bilingual program serves approximately 150 native Spanish speakers. The program offers a great opportunity for students in grades 9–11 to maintain fluency in Spanish, preserve their culture and traditions, and learn a second language. By senior year, students are ready to transition to receiving all instruction in English.
The courses offered through our bilingual program are English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Instruction is provided in both English and Spanish, and bilingual paraprofessionals are available to assist students. We also offer English as a Second Language classes, Spanish for Spanish Speakers, AP Spanish Language and Culture, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture.
Seal of Biliteracy
This industry-recognized credential is awarded to students who have attained proficiency in English and one or more additional languages by high school graduation.
Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP) at the Urban Ecology Center
Students visit the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) for field experiences. Through UEC’s Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP), classes visit local green spaces to learn from UEC educators through hands-on activities. Students may explore local habitats, identify plants, find signs of animal life, or even build forts with classmates! Every trip has a portion outdoors and is engaging for all students and chaperones. All three centers have outerwear available to borrow for all participants to explore in any weather.
PLTW: Project Lead The Way
PLTW is the nation’s leading provider of K–12 STEM programs, and Riverside is a nationally certified school of excellence for the PLTW Biomedical Science program. Students who enroll in this pathway can earn college credit by examination at the end of each course.
Principles of Biomedical Science
In the introductory course of the PLTW Biomedical Science program, students explore concepts of biology and medicine to determine factors that led to the death of a fictional person. While investigating the case, students examine autopsy reports, investigate medical history, and explore medical treatments that might have prolonged the person’s life. The activities and projects introduce students to basic biology, human physiology, medicine, and research processes while allowing them to design their own experiments to solve problems.
Human Body Systems
Students examine the interactions of human body systems as they explore identity, power, movement, protection, and homeostasis. Exploring science in action, students build organs and tissues on a skeletal Maniken®; use data acquisition software to monitor body functions such as muscle movement, reflex and voluntary action, and respiration; and take on the roles of biomedical professionals to solve medical cases.
Medical Interventions
Students follow the life of a fictitious family as they investigate how to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. They explore how to detect and fight infection; screen and evaluate the code in human DNA; evaluate cancer treatment options; and prevail when the organs of the body begin to fail. Through real-world cases, students are exposed to a range of interventions related to diagnostics, genetics, immunology, medical devices, pharmacology, and surgery.
Service Learning
Participating in a course that involves service learning is one way to meet current graduation requirements. Service-learning projects connect classroom studies with the care and concern students naturally have for their world. Through investigation, planning, reflection, and youth-led action, students join community partners to solve problems and make things better in their schools, their neighborhoods, and their larger communities. In the process, they master valuable skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and more.