Riverside High School

3218 Rose of Sharon Road

School District

Durham Public
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Durham Public School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 10, 2024

The students run this school, the administrative does not have the knowledge to de-escalate situations. This school does have some great teachers. If the school had better administrative staff this would be a awesome school
Submitted by other on December 01, 2021

Its an OK school, some great teachers, some not so great. My girls love it, though. They made good friends. Good Latin program, engaged teacher, they are starting to read The Gallic War. The engineering program is good, and the leader is great - but mostly showed my girls that they don't want to be engineers, which is valuable. Good string music program, band not so good. All sorts of students, very various - very educational that way.
Submitted by parent on September 29, 2019

Fabulous. The engineering electives are top-notch (though a bit too heavy on the workload/complexity of projects and deadlines for high schoolers). The principal has innovative ideas and seems fearless in implementing them. We have 'smart lunch' right now, where the *entire* school has lunch at the same time. Teachers can have office hours and offering tutoring help, kids can use the time to study - or - to just go outside and play ultimate frisbee or hang out with their friends. In a school of its size, this is challenging, but they seem to be making it work! My son's teachers have all been very supportive of his learning differences and have worked with us to keep him challenged academically.
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2019

Riverside has been a great school for both of my kids, providing a broad educational experience, a variety of clubs and sports, an award winning PLTW engineering program and an award winning student newspaper. My daughter was well prepared for college by her experience at Riverside.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2019

There are certainly good qualities at this school--however, with an AP student who is not feeling engaged or supported, I'm concerned about my child and even more so, the kids that aren't in honors or above classes.
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2017

The mentoring the kids get through the Engineering program is excellent, and the non-Engineering classes and teachers have been good too--which is important, because the Engineering classes make up only an eighth or so of my son's total classes. The block schedule has been a surprisingly good fit for him. He enjoys his classes, is learning a ton, has time for clubs and school activities, has a peer group of really upstanding kids, is able to hone in on his interests, and is generally happy at school. It would be hard to ask for more (from his school anyway; the state and federal governments could do way better to support public education. We're beyond grateful that Riverside continues to have committed, outstanding teachers in the current political climate).
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2017

Riverside has been a great high school for our daughter. She is not in the engineering program, but focussing on arts, humanities and also taking science courses. She is now a Junior, and I would rate only 2 of her teachers thus far as less than great. The faculty are highly competent and make themselves available to help students. The music department is excellent, the science teachers top notch, most of the english teachers are highly dedicated. There are many AP courses offered, and most are well taught. While parents could be more involved, there are many who are. This is a school to get behind and believe in, there is amazing potential. Don't let the ABC scores fool you.
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2015

Riverside has an excellent PLTW Engineering program that offers students college credit for its courses. It is led by great teachers with real world engineering experience. The overall faculty is excellent, with many AP courses offered and a high passing rate on AP exams. Riverside graduates enroll in Ivy League schools, engineering schools, and many UNC system schools each year. My child has had a great academic, athletic and social experience at Riverside - it is a great school.