Dear Rivermont Community,

Rivermont turns traditional education inside out.  Students do not come here to conform to a strict model, or to become like one another.  They come here to explore unique opportunities, programs, and experiences ... to become free-thinking individuals.  Students are supported and encouraged to take risks in academics, leadership, athletics, arts, and service.  Become an environmental warrior, write and direct a play, or develop and market a web application.  These are our students' choices to make, as they design their Rivermont Experience!

At the heart of the Rivermont Experience is an unwavering dedication to academic excellence.  The purpose of the curriculum from PreSchool through Grade 12 is to lay a solid foundation that both challenges and excites students about the lifelong process of learning.  Our esteemed faculty encourages critical thinking, curiosity and discipline, giving students the tools needed to succeed in the world.  By infusing a traditional curriculum with innovative ideas and technology, Rivermont ensures that students nourish their personal talents and passions while at the same time gaining a critical foundation to life and learning.

Since children learn by doing, the Early School is a very active place. Children move about the room and explore creative centers in daily play. Teacher-led activities encourage the development of creativity and fine motor skills. As teachers seek to bring the world into the classroom through project learning they also take the children out into the world through numerous field trips to museums, businesses, and parks. Learning activities take advantage of our historical campus and the wealth of opportunities offered by the Quad Cities and surrounding communities.

The Lower School provides an academically rigorous yet nurturing environment where students develop skills and attitudes that provide a valuable foundation for future learning. The School's mission and philosophy establish that education of the whole child is imperative. Rivermont instructors ensure that each child succeeds intellectually, creatively and in social, physical and emotional spheres. As a college preparatory school, the Lower School's key focus is to assure each student receives a first-rate primary education with excellent preparation for a successful transition to Middle School and advancing academic endeavors.

The Middle School academic program is at once demanding and supportive, its curriculum progressing purposefully over the course of three years building upon and expanding the integrated curriculum of the Lower School.  Curricular and extracurricular offerings and expectations are designed to guide students to greater independence and personal responsibility while preparing them for the focused college preparatory setting of the Upper School.  Students explore and acquire broad and diverse core curriculum while gaining the confidence to share this knowledge in intellectually stimulating class settings.

The Upper School is the capstone of the Rivermont Experience! 

The program prepares students for the rigors of challenging college curricula by teaching them to learn together yet think independently, express themselves with clarity and confidence,

and understand extensive information in all six disciplines.

We expand on the traditional 3 R's of the Lower School to encourage and foster the  

5 R's of risk, rigor, respect, responsibility, and resilience.

The rigorous academic program concentrates on the development of the ability to reason, reach independent conclusions, and apply knowledge and skills learned in one discipline to another. 

Rivermont is a better way for students because of . . .

• Challenging curricula that emphasize critical thinking, creativity and knowledge application.
• A continued relationship with an advisor in regular one-on-one and small group meetings.
• Individual support from teachers as needed.
• Student conferences with parents, teachers and advisors that focus on all aspects of each student's school experience while encouraging accountability and initiative.
• Service learning projects and the Junior Project develop students' commitment to their communities.
• Senior Project that gives students a real world experience in their chosen profession or field of study.

Rivermont is a better way for parents because of . . .

• On-going communication of student progress, school activities and student achievements.
• Ready access to a student's advisor, teachers, deans and administrators.
• 100% acceptance to 4-year colleges and universities.
• Over 90% earn renewable college merit scholarships exceeding $140,000 each.
• Community of parents with a common goal of academic excellence in a balanced school environment.

Rivermont Collegiate

Where excellence has many faces

Rick St. Laurent

Headmaster