Riverside Drive Charter Elementary School

13061 Riverside Dr.

School District

Los Angeles Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:21
Type

charter

School Map for Los Angeles Unified 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 August 16, 2024

TLDR: Riverside Drive Charter Elementary is an incredible school that provides psychological safety for students, diverse community, office staff that are personable, caring teachers, community engagement, and thriving students. I have so much to say so I'll break it into points, no particular order. 1. Peaceful environment. You know you're at a good school when parents are honking and screaming at drop off, lol. There's some double parking but the mayhem is very low. The school sits on the main road but the playground and campus as the calm of the middle/upper-middle class neighborhood it surrounds. 2. Very safe. The only accessible entrance during school hours remains locked with parents/guests being buzzed in. It's a closed campus at drop-off but parents get the community feel by being able to go on campus at pickup which to me is a win win.3. Inclusive and diverse. It is difficult to express how grateful I am of the inclusivity and diversity of this campus without first explaining my past experience. I did everything I knew to do to get my African American family accepted at our last elementary school. I volunteered, did PTA including President, ignored the rude comments, stares, and forgave the racial slurs thrown at my children. My youngest son said no more and after 9 years of trying we transferred down the street to Riverside Drive. When you haven't experienced the contrast it is difficult to understand how much psychological safety exists at this school. Psychological safety trumps academics and at this school you get both. 4. Staff and teachers. Our fifth grade teacher was phenomenal. My son flourished having him as a teacher. I don't seek out special treatment from, or being catered to by, the front office. They are there to do a job, promote fairness, and care for students. What I look for is how they interact with the students. Since I was new the office staff didn't know me but they knew my son (and not for anything wrong lol) and that was impressive. I could see how comfortable he and other students were going into the office and interacting with staff in general. 5. Community. They have so many community building activities for students and families. There are lots of opportunities to engage as a parent and get involved with the school by volunteering for field trips, joining a committee, or just attending the afterschool events and meeting other parents and schoolmates. The school is very open and engaged with their families.
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2024

We spent 5 years at Riverside Drive Charter School and I was very involved on the PTA, was a room parent, joined committees, and on the governance council. I have both pros and cons about the school. Pros: The younger grade teachers are all fantastic (second grade and under). The PTA is amazing! It is a very welcoming community that works hard to raise funds for all of the extracurricular activities for students (Garden class, PE, Theatre Arts, Art/Music, etc.) Cons: The upper grade teachers at Riverside are mediocre. Many of them are tenured teachers who have seniority and have been there a long time. They are not very friendly and lack enthusiasm for education. Many parents complain about the options available to them from 3rd-5th grade. If your child is in SAS (School for Advanced Studies track), they are pushed in an unhealthy and unrealistic way. Kids should be kids and should not be expected to have homework on weekends or fill their evenings with "busywork." Administration: The school Principal is friendly and great with parents. She makes you feel like your voice matters and is appreciative of parent volunteers. However, when concerns about negative children's behaviors (bullying, child safety concerns, teacher concerns, etc.) are voiced, she seems like a passive leader and does not do much to alleviate the situations and concerns. The Coordinator of the school (second to the principal) is rude, arrogant, and has a terrible attitude with parents. She ignores parent concerns, yells at children, and has a negative demeanor. She should not be in that role with that kind of attitude. It really is too bad, as this kind of behavior trickles down to the faculty and staff at the school. Like any school, Riverside has its strengths and weaknesses. We are thankful for the years there, but the school can definitely improve in some areas.
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2024

My son attended Riverside from K through 5th. We had an amazing experience. The teachers and principal are exceptional and care deeply about the children. It is a supportive community and in my experience, if you get involved you get back so much. Specific shout outs to Principal Richardson, Ms. Roosevelt and Ms Meyers for their exceptional skill and compassion. Riverside is an excellent community school.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2024

Beautiful small school with great teachers and assistants! The only thing you should be aware of is how rude the office staff is. This should honestly be a given and everything, but gossiping and being rude while parents are standing in the same room is wildly unprofessional and I don’t know how some of these people got this job but they should be way more aware of who’s listening.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2023

Riverside Drive is a wonderful school. My daughter went to Riverside for 4 years where she thrived and grew academically and socially. I love how diverse the school is and the staff and principal do a wonderful job of making sure that all children's backgrounds are valued. I really love how students with learning differences are treated with respect and parents' concerns are valued. I was sad when my daughter matriculated and left Riverside. It's a beautiful community.
Submitted by parent on April 18, 2023

Not for students of color. some teachers are Also, They don't like ADHD students. They onl;y communicate with parents with negative notes.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2022

Our daughter has attended Riverside since Kinder and she is now in 5th grade with the amazing teacher, Ms. Roosevelt. We are thrilled to have such a kind and caring, hard-working, talented, and dedicated teacher as Ms. Roosevelt. She gets the kids engaged, challenged, and she is patient with them. I know my daughter will be well prepared for middle school because of Ms. Roosevelt. And our principal is fantastic! She goes above and beyond for our kids and is always ready to talk to parents. Our PTA has a superwoman President and she and the rest the PTA work hard to raise money so we can have our fabulous theater program, our Enrich garden program, PE coach, and tons of fun community-building events. RDCS is a fabulous school.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2022

The PTA at this school is AMAZING and really helps foster the tight community feel here. All through Covid, they kept everyone's spirits up with school-wide activities over Zoom, and continue to do more great stuff now that we are back in person. With the money raised through the PTA, we're able to have drama, music, and PE teachers, which not every school has.
Submitted by parent on August 04, 2021

The school is wonderful very good teachers specially we liked Miss Stresimo Yante 1 Great
Submitted by parent on May 06, 2021

We just transferred this year to Riverside from another highly rated public school in the valley and couldn’t be more happy with our choice. Riverside is a small, well-managed and sweet school with lovely down-to-earth families. It is been a really nice contrast to the previous school we were at. The academic workload is very manageable and appropriate and so far our experience with the teachers and staff has been great. My son has Ms. Sher and she is a fantastic teacher that is vibrant alive and has a true love of teaching. The school is very well run with the new principal Mrs. Richardson Who is approachable, responsible, and kind. The kids have just started back in person and the transition has been seamless. In addition, our teacher made zoom learning as positive of experience as it could be.We originally hesitated to come here because of the average rating, but in hindsight I realize that the quality of the teachers and the down-to-earth nature of the families really does make this school a hidden gem
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2021

We have been at RDCS for 7 years and love our community of bright students, dedicated teachers, staff and principal and amazing PTA! Riverside rules!
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2021

My son has been a student here for 4 years already. We are very pleased so far. They have really good staff and teachers. I have no complaints. Plus they have an amazing PTA.
Submitted by other on May 04, 2021

This school is amazing and has everything I want in a school. I have 2 students enrolled. My daughter has Ms. Simpson for Kindergarten and she is fantastic and effective. She really makes learning fun. I was so worried my daughter wouldn't learn everything she needed this year because most of the year was on zoom, but Ms. Simpson brought her A-game and her puppets! The kids love when she pulls out her puppets. I'm so grateful that my daughter loves going to school everyday. My son is in 3rd grade and has Ms. Sher. She is also a fantastic teacher. My son is considered gifted and everything comes so easily to him, which is a problem because when he has to work hard on something he doesn't want to apply himself. Ms. Sher is so great at helping him learn how to dig deeper and think critically versus just knowing the answers. Such an amazing and valuable skill. My son previously has Ms. Meyers for 2nd grade, who can't say enough wonderful things about. She was so effective working with such a diverse group of kids and managed to give each of them what they needed. He has Ms. Morrison for first grade, who's since retired, but she was so patient with him, yet never wavered in her expectations of his performance. He did so great! Lastly, he had Ms. Ryan for kinder and she really paved the way for him. She has such a keen eye and would give him work at the level he was at, he was already reading by 3, so she would have him help read instructions to the others and give him work that pushed him to grow. We have a fantastic PTA and a wonderful community of diverse families... and the principal, Ms. Richardson, she's the head of the ship. She really pours herself into our school, the students, the teachers, and the parents. She's kind and genuine and the kids love her. She knows their names and always does the work.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2021

My son attending this school for 4 years now and we had a good experience with the teachers and staff. Although sometimes the home works are overwhelming but it help my son a lot:-) Thank you Riverside for all the hard work.
Submitted by teacher on June 29, 2020

As a 6+ year teacher at this school, I can say we've been through some challenges but this is a rock solid staff under great leadership now! If you attend Riverside Dr. Charter you will be welcomed and supported. We really strive to see our kids succeed!
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2020

I would give this a school a 10 if I could. We really love the community here. It may not be the most posh school in the area, but it feels like a family, so many great kids (super diverse) and great teachers.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2020

We are lucky to have this school as our neighborhood school. The teachers are greats patients always here to listen to you. It is a great and very secure etablishment .
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2020

My experience at this school has been extremely positive. Our daughter has enjoyed each of her school years here and we expect that to be the same for the next two years. She has learned a lot and has blossomed into a curious and courageous kid thanks to the folks at Riverside. We are going to really miss this school and the staff when we have to move on after 5th grade.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2020

We LOVE Riverside Drive Charter School! Our son is in Mrs. Bohorquez’s kindergarten class and we couldn’t be happier! She is a kind, caring and involved teacher and our son has come home on more than one afternoon and said how much he “loves” his teacher. We have enjoyed being involved with the school and all of the activities they offer for students and families. There is a great sense of community and that was really important to us. We were offered enrollment at the two other charter schools in Sherman Oaks, and declined because we were so happy with our son’s teacher and the school overall. No school is perfect, but we really feel like Riverside is working hard to be better everyday!
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2020

I love the sense of community that I feel at our school. Its small and personal and perfect! The teachers and staff are all fantastic and the school offers so many extras like a garden, computer lab, science lab, field trips, etc. The PTA is second to none and works hard all year to being fun events to the school and get the parents involved. RDC is a school anyone would be happy to go to.