A Day in the Life…

Watch video: Intensive Courses Documentary

River’s Edge Academy's schedule and structures promote academic rigor and intensive work in the four core academic areas (language arts, social studies, science, and math) during each of the four high school years through highly engaging work and a nurturing school culture.

School Day
Our school day is from 8:15 AM to 2:30 PM. Students and staff start each day with a community circle, often student led. On Wednesdays, we have a shorter school day (8:15 AM - 12:30 PM) with an intentional block time for fieldwork. Our students take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it to place-based learning in the field. Weekly, our students can be seen pulling invasive species in a nearby park, testing the water quality at the banks of the Mississippi River, to a historical site, or biking across town.

What is Circle?
The REA community begins each day with an opening circle. Students lead the time and start by reading a quote, making announcements, talking about the schedule and then facilitating an initiative. Initiatives are games or activities with the purpose to build relationships, trust or simply to have fun! Circle is an important tradition at REA.
Intensive Courses Documentary

What is Crew?
Each student at our school is a member of a crew. Crews have common adventure and service experiences to develop teamwork and friendship. Crews discuss literature, local or national issues of concern, as well as issues with in Crew or the school community. Crew goals and activities are focused in four categories: College & Career Prep, Literacy, Community Service & Healthy Relationships, & Adventure & Fitness. Crew leaders know students well and serve as an advisor. Students stay in the same Crew with the same Crew leader for four years.

What is Fieldwork?
Learning at River’s Edge Academy connects students to the world. Students frequently work in the field and students often work in the field once or twice a week. Attendance is required on fieldwork days as much as it is in the classroom. The field may be a forest, theater, park, hospital lab, historical site, museum, nature center or community center.

Students at River’s Edge Academy use the natural and social environment of Saint Paul as sites for purposeful fieldwork and service connected to academic work. Students working in the field are active investigators using the research tools, techniques of inquiry, and standards of presentation used by professionals. In addition to having students conduct research outside the school, teachers bring experts from the community into the classroom. These experiences maximize students’ motivation to learn.

At REA, fieldwork serves many purposes:

Fieldwork is integral to an Expedition; students collect data relevant to Expedition content and products. Students do research at the fieldwork site and use the techniques of inquiry used by professionals in the field.

Fieldwork immerses students in investigations and builds both curiosity and background knowledge.

By going to a particular field site, students acquire a sense of place that furnishes context for
the work and brings the “story” of the Expedition to life.

Fieldwork experiences provide a more engaging way than the classroom to learn some kinds of content.

What are Intensives?
Intensives are courses that last for 5-8 full school days and occur at the end of each semester. Students are
either participating in an in-depth study of a special topic or receiving specific academic support. During an elective Intensive, students have a chance to focus on a type of study that is different from what they experience during the
regular school day.