Riverstone International School

Riverstone International School, formerly the "Hidden Springs Community School", is one of three International Baccalaureate-accredited schools in Idaho, and the only such school in southern Idaho. It is located in Boise. Opened in 1997, it offers instruction to children from kindergarten through grade 12. Andrew Derry is the current Head of School.

History

1997: Hidden Springs Community School (the former name of Riverstone International School) opened its doors. The School was founded by businessman Jim Grossman, Sam Hazard, and a group of dedicated parents. The goal was to provide students in grades K through 12 with a quality, independent education in the Treasure Valley. The School opened its doors in a refurbished farmhouse in the Dry Creek Valley, just northwest of Boise. In its first year, the school enrolled 57 students in grades K through 8.

1998: The School’s enrollment continued to climb and grade 9 was added. Enrollment in the Lower School continued to increase.

1999: The School attempted to add a tenth grade. At the end of the year it was determined that the school would remain at grades K through 9.

2000: Hidden Springs Community School moved from its Dry Creek Valley location to Harris Ranch in southeast Boise, next to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. The school officially changed its name to RiverStone Community School. Enrollment in grades K through 9 reached 110. The School was housed in an old Forest Service Building and two full-size and one half-size modular buildings.

2001: In March, Joe Kennedy was appointed as Head of School. In the fall of 2001 enrollment had increased to 130 in grades K through 9. The campus increased in size by leasing more area from the Harris Family and adding an additional full-sized modular building. In October 2001, Mr. Kennedy successfully completed the accreditation of RiverStone Community School through the Northwest Association of Schools and of Colleges and Universities (NASCU). This allowed the school to become accredited with the State of Idaho. In November 2001, the School approached the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) to seek accreditation through their organization and expected to become accredited in the 2003–2004 school year.

2002: In May, RiverStone negotiated the purchase of the convert|2.41|acre|m2|sing=on parcel on which it currently resides. In addition to the land purchase, the School also negotiated an option on the adjacent convert|11.2|acre|m2. RiverStone’s enrollment for the 2002–2003 school year was 170 students in grades K through 10. The School dedicated itself to completing a full Upper School with a college preparatory curriculum culminating with the International Baccalaureate Diploma in the final two years of high school. In 2002, five RiverStone families and two local families stepped forward to host seven international exchange students in an effort to globalize the school and set the stage for the IB program. International students came from Russia, Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Chile, and Colombia. In the future, RiverStone Community School anticipates that 30% of its enrollment in the Upper School will be international students.

2003: The school procured the option on the convert|11.2|acre|m2, thereby expanding the campus property holdings to convert|13.2|acre|m2. In August 2003, the school broke ground on a new convert|11000|sqft|m2|-2|sing=on elementary school building that was completed in November and houses K-5 classrooms, a small auditorium, and classrooms for art, music, and Spanish. The school's enrollment increased to 224 students in grades K through 11, of which 19 were from other countries including Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam.

2006: The school changed its name to Riverstone International School. The school's enrollment increased to 270 students. The school also began construction of a gymnasium that completed on December 22, 2006.

2007: The school acquired a separate building in which to hold the upper school, grades 10 - 12.

Vision statement

INSPIRING, EMPOWERING… ACHIEVING

Mission statement

Riverstone International School fosters academic excellence, innovative thinking, and creativeself-expression in a collaborative and respectful environment.

We achieve this through a focus on the following:

1) The International Baccalaureate curriculum with its mandate of academic excellence in a wide range of disciplines.

2) International awareness with an understanding of the value of diverse viewpoints.

3) Service learning as a way to develop one's self and one's place in the community.

4) The growth of the individual student by emphasizing and encouraging well-rounded personal development, the ability to seek and evaluate information from which to make well reasoned choices, and active participation in one's community.

5) Outdoor education as a way to promote environmental awareness, physical development, and an understanding of the issues involved in human interaction with the environment.

Belief statements

We believe Riverstone International School provides purposeful, relevant, and challenging activities that enhance student learning.

We believe Riverstone International School provides a safe, caring, and healthy environment that promotes freedom of thought and a respect for the diversity of others.

We believe Riverstone International School students learn to live in a diverse world with a vision toward the future and an appreciation of humanity’s cultural heritage.

We believe Riverstone International School students will graduate with the skills, attitudes, and knowledge to be a contributing member of society and a life-long learner.

We believe Riverstone International School has the flexibility to meet the varied needs of its students through different instructional techniques and settings.

We believe Riverstone International School is a student-centered learning environment where each student has an adult advocate.

We believe Riverstone International School students can achieve excellence in an environment where they, with teachers, parents, and community, share responsibility for the development and wellness of the whole person.

We believe Riverstone International School recognizes, appreciates, and encourages creativity as an integral part of every student’s educational experience.

We believe Riverstone International School students should become active participants in a commitment to the present and future health of our Earth.

We believe at Riverstone International School that technology is an important educational resource which helps students succeed in a rapidly changing world.

We believe at Riverstone International School that an integrated curriculum promotes student learning.

We believe at Riverstone International School that Outdoor Education leads to the development of the individual students.

Why Riverstone is the right choice for your child

In Riverstone there are exchange students from a variety of countries. Some of the past and present countries represented are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Russia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Puerto Rico. The diversity of nationalities and languages gives Riverstone students the ability not only to learn a lot about cultures of other countries, but also to make friends with people all over the world!

Here in Riverstone kids are taught to be creative, to participate in activities that promote the Earth’s future health, to support each other, to find creative solutions to the problems, etc.Riverstone International School admits students of all races, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, and other school administered programs.

Riverstone seeks to foster academic excellence, innovative thinking, creative self-expression, and incredible amounts of pretension in a collaborative and respectful environment. Service learning and a focus on international and environmental awareness enhance the school's college preparatory curriculum.

External links

* [http://www.riverstonecs.org Riverstone International School official website]
* [http://www.riverstoneschool.org Riverstone International School new website]