3×
Scheduled for every student
One-on-one conversations happen three times during each school year, before a problem has to become a crisis.
Student wellness at City River
Care belongs in the school day.
City River is designing a school day in which students are known, able to focus, well fed, and in motion. Heart and Mind coaching, restorative practices, a phone-free environment, fresh meals, and daily movement make that possible.
Heart and Mind coaching
Three conversations a year. More support when it matters.
High school is a complex, transitional time. Students are developing their voice, making harder choices, and discovering who they want to become.
Every student will meet one-on-one with a Heart and Mind Coach three times each year. These are structured conversations about how the student is doing, what they are learning about themselves, and where they need support. The coach supplements academic advising and college counseling with a trusted relationship centered on the student as a person.
More
Not one-size-fits-all
Students who need more will receive more frequent check-ins and a higher level of support. Planned partnerships will also help families connect with counseling and clinical care.
Tools
Skills students can use
Mindfulness, reflection, breathing, gratitude, and emotional vocabulary help students notice what they need and choose what to do next.
Research partnership
Studied with Cleveland State.
City River is being designed as a learning laboratory for whole-student practice. With Cleveland State University, the school will study the impact of the Heart and Mind Program and its broader wellness approach. The findings will help City River improve over time and, as the evidence develops, share useful practices, tools, and lessons with educators nationally.
A phone-free school day.
City River will be phone-free throughout the school day. Students will have the space to give their full attention to what is in front of them: to learn deeply, move with purpose, eat in community, and build relationships that are harder to form through a screen.
Healthy, scratch-cooked meals.
An 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM school day asks students to think, move, create, and stay engaged. City River plans to serve breakfast and lunch prepared from scratch by an in-house kitchen team.
Morning movement
8:00
Movement before first period.
Every student starts the day in motion. Team sports, yoga, dance, strength training, rowing, and play-to-learn activities make movement something every student can enter, not a program only for experienced athletes. Students build energy, practice, teamwork, and a lasting relationship with movement.
Questions families ask
What families want to know.
What happens if a student needs more support?
Every student will have three scheduled Heart and Mind conversations each year. Students who need more will receive more frequent check-ins and a higher level of support. Through planned local partnerships, City River also hopes to connect students and families with counseling, psychiatry, related primary care, and care navigation during the school day.
How will the phone-free school day work?
Students will put phones away throughout the school day so they can focus on learning, movement, meals, creative work, and one another. City River will share the practical procedures with families before opening.
Are meals and movement part of every day?
Yes. City River plans to serve breakfast and lunch each school day, prepared by an in-house kitchen team using scratch cooking and whole ingredients. Every student will also begin the school day with movement at 8:00 AM, with options for different interests and experience levels.
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