The school’s serene, green campus is a school and urban farm where educators use agricultural best practices to teach all subjects and reach students from K4 to eighth grade. Children work and learn in multi-age groups, indoors and out, guided by licensed teachers and staff.

No pair of hands is too small to make a contribution. Students learn to read and follow instructions, measure ingredients, map garden plots, and deal with the unexpected as they tend River Trail’s gardens, food forest, café, and small animals. Older students develop the agricultural knowledge and communication skills to mentor younger classmates. By eighth grade, all River Trail students have pre-professional experience in the business, hospitality, and sustainability industries. Many of our graduates continue advanced environmental and STEM studies at our partner school, Vincent High School of Agricultural Sciences. Together, River Trail and Vincent are one of America’s only public K-12 urban agriculture programs.

Creativity and collaboration are built into River Trail’s open-concept architecture and class schedule. Students enjoy weekly art, gym, and music classes, and visits to the school library/media lab. Movable walls and common areas help students work across grade levels on spring-planting and fall-harvest projects. Guests enjoy our annual musical, Black History Month, and Harvest Fest celebrations. Parents join our School Engagement Council and taste test River Trail’s ice creams, pastries and salsas during family events.