Riverside Junior/Senior High School

The school may have warranted 4 stars in the past. Over the last few years, it is been poor at best. The curriculum does not prepare the kids for college and the majority of the teachers are poor to adequate compared to other school districts my children have attended. This year, they have taken away the school buses due to poor budgeting causing an hour to two hours back-up during drop off and pick-up; 16 year old drivers; parents having to leave early from work; and the safety of our children is in jeopardy especially during the harsh winter months. We will be physically moving to another county just so our kids can attend a decent high school. The school is very old and very over crowded. If you are considering, I would suggest you think twice.
--Submitted by a parent

I was in this school system for 5 years and although there are a lot of opportunities available, I have to agree with the other student review. It's just an average public high school with the same general problems. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers, there is every kind of student imaginable, and the academics are completely based on getting you ready for tests rather than really teaching you something useful. On the other hand, the way they structure their PSEO program is great. I know people from different schools that complain that their schools only let them take so many college courses and that they still have to take classes at the high school. At Riverside you can take absolutely everything at Lakeland Community College and never have to step foot on the Riverside campus your junior and senior years. Also, there are a lot of options in regard to sports and clubs so that's a plus. Good band program, too. Overall I graduated with an honors diploma and an associates degree and I feel prepared for college, but only because of the PSEO program.

The school offers diversified classes and the chance for students to choose many ways to pursue studies to prepare them for the future.
--Submitted by a parent

On the surface, Riverside appears to be a great school with a well=kept and attractive campus, new football field and recreation center, and good test scores. As a former student, I can tell you that Riverside is nothing more than the average public school. Most of the teachers are very good; however they must base all of their curriculum on state standards, making their goale solely to help each student performed acceptably on state standardized tests. The honors classes are a joke. The only difference between and honors kid and a 'regular' kid is that an honors kid knows how to successfully cheat the system. There is a major drug/alcohol problem within the walls of every public school, and Riverside is definitely no exception. Overall, I graduated Riverside with a 4.0 GPA, yet I have found that I have no real use for any of the so-called 'knowledge' I learned there.
--Submitted by a student

School is great and good group of teachers.
--Submitted by a parent