City River High School
Cleveland, Ohio
Where Strong Minds, Healthy Bodies, and Deep Character Grow Together
Join the Prospective Family Interest ListShaping the Whole Person
Students thrive when their minds are challenged, their bodies are active, and their character is shaped with intention. At City River, learning happens in classrooms, on fields and in the gym, and in moments of reflection and connection with others. By educating the whole person, we prepare students for college and lives grounded in purpose and meaning.
Mind
Body
Heart
Discover the City River Experience
Where Strong Minds, Healthy Bodies, and Deep Character Grow Together
The Daily Rhythm
City River is a college preparatory renaissance high school where equal value is placed on academic excellence, the arts, and physical health.
Our school day runs from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Academics, the arts, and movement are all part of the day. We design our schedule so students think, create, and move, then leave school finished with their work, free to rest, connect with family, and pursue life beyond the classroom.
Strong Mind
A strong mind is built through curiosity, hard work, and the willingness to struggle with complex ideas. At City River, students read challenging texts, solve difficult problems, and develop their own thinking across the humanities, sciences, mathematics, and the arts. We teach students how to think, not what to think: how to analyze information, connect ideas, and refine their work through iteration. Learning at City River means wrestling with hard questions, trying solutions that don’t work the first time, and seeing each attempt as progress.
Healthy Bodies
At City River, physical health is inseparable from academic success and personal well-being. Movement is part of every school day: team practices like soccer or basketball for some students, weight lifting, running, and group fitness classes for others. But movement is only part of the equation. The food students eat shapes their energy, focus, and long-term health just as much. Schools control two meals of many students’ days, and we take that responsibility seriously. Our goal is lasting physical health built through regular exercise and fresh, nourishing food that fuels both body and mind. We ask only for commitment: to get better and healthier every day.
Deep Character
Academic excellence and physical health will only take students so far without a strong sense of purpose, responsibility, and ethics. At City River, students develop character through everyday choices and shared responsibility. They reflect on their values, make thoughtful decisions, and learn to engage across lines of race, background, and experience. Mental wellness is woven into this work: regular check-ins, goal setting, and honest conversations about the complexity of young adulthood. Character development is not just preparation for college but the foundation for a life well-lived.
In Their Words
Families and school leaders share their experience working with our founder and vision for City River.
Meet the Founder
About Jake Taylor
Jake Taylor began his career on Wall Street before becoming a math teacher in Spanish Harlem, where he saw firsthand how strong academics, daily movement, and intentional school culture can shape students’ lives. He later taught in Cleveland, worked on education policy at the Ohio Department of Education, and served as Middle School Director at Urban Community School. Jake is currently completing a two-year fellowship with Future Ready Cleveland studying best practices at high-performing schools across the country to thoughtfully design and launch City River High School. He holds degrees in finance from Penn State and public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. He believes rigor, joy, and curiosity belong in every classroom, and City River is how he’s acting on that belief.
Connect with Jake at jake@cityriverschool.org
Frequently Asked Questions
City River will open in Fall 2027 with its inaugural ninth-grade class.
City River is an independent, private high school.
Applications open in January 2027, with admissions decisions released in March 2027. Admissions are rolling and include an application, family questionnaire, review of academic records and financial information, and an admissions conversation or interview.
Yes. All families pay tuition. City River uses a sliding scale tuition model based on each family’s income and household expenses. Our goal is to make City River accessible to families across the income spectrum so students from different backgrounds can learn together. We are finalizing our tuition structure and will share specific amounts soon. Ohio state scholarships and vouchers can be combined with tuition to further reduce out-of-pocket costs.
City River offers rigorous, college-preparatory coursework. As the school grows, honors and Advanced Placement courses will be introduced, with an emphasis on depth of learning and conceptual understanding rather than memorizing facts and procedures.
Yes. All students participate in daily movement beginning at 8:00 a.m. during the school day. This includes competitive sports teams, structured workouts, and developmental athletic programming. City River is not a school exclusively for athletes, but competitive athletics are an important part of the program.
City River does not provide daily transportation to and from school. However, the school does provide transportation from morning movement or athletic programming to the school campus, ensuring all students can participate in the start-of-day program.
City River is currently vetting multiple facility options on Cleveland’s west side to ensure our location fully supports our daily rhythm of academics, movement, and the arts. We expect to announce our location ahead of our Fall 2027 opening.
You may support our work and contribute here: https://givebutter.com/city-river-high-school-0mebco