For families considering City River
Prospective Families
Get admissions dates, application information, family events, and enrollment updates. Admissions information will be available October 15.
The City River Model
A High School for the Whole Student
City River is a secular, co-ed, college-preparatory high school in Cleveland designed around academic excellence, artistic expression, healthy bodies, and sense of self and community.
Prospective Families
One Integrated Education
The whole student belongs in the school day.
Teenagers are more than a transcript. They are thinkers, creators, teammates, neighbors, and people still discovering what they can become.
City River is designing the school day around that full reality. Rigorous academics matter. So do movement, artistic practice, reflection, relationships, and the habits that help students participate fully in their own lives. These are not competing priorities or extras reserved for after school. They are parts of one college-preparatory education.
Academic. Artist. Athlete. Fully themselves.
A balanced school day
A fuller school day.
The four pillars come together in the planned school day through challenging classes, creative practice, movement, reflection, and relationships. These everyday experiences give students room to grow.
AI-generated illustrative imagery. These are not City River students or facilities.
Belonging + High Expectations
Caring and rigor belong together.
Families should not have to choose between a school that knows their student and a school that challenges them.
At City River, belonging is not the alternative to high expectations. It is part of what makes ambitious learning possible. When students are known, supported, and responsible to a community, they are better positioned to ask questions, attempt difficult work, receive feedback, revise, and keep going.
The aim is a culture where adults care deeply about students and take their growth seriously—where warmth does not lower the bar and rigor does not require anonymity.
Read the Founding ReflectionDiverse by Design
Learning from different perspectives.
City River is being designed as a school where students learn alongside peers who share parts of their background and peers who do not.
The school’s goal is to build a community diverse by race, gender, income, religion, neighborhood, and lived experience. That diversity is not a demographic footnote. It is part of the education: an opportunity for students to understand themselves more clearly, listen carefully, test assumptions, and take responsibility for the community they are building together.
City River’s work with Facing History & Ourselves reflects the importance of knowing yourself and your neighbor, engaging history thoughtfully, and learning how identity and choices shape communities.
City River is in its founding stage; this describes the school community it is intentionally working to build.
Race
Gender
Income
Religion
Neighborhood
Lived experience
A Fuller Day With a Purpose
8–5
More time, used intentionally.
City River’s planned 8:00 AM–5:00 PM day begins with morning movement and creates room for academics, tutoring and support, the arts, Spanish, meals, and community to be daily parts of school.
The longer day is designed to reduce the competition among a student’s priorities and help students finish their work at school before heading home. The goal is to give evenings back to families for rest, connection, and life beyond an unfinished school day—not to make an absolute promise that students will never have homework.
See the Renaissance ModelSliding-Scale Tuition
Accessible by design.
A school built for families from across Cleveland must be financially accessible.
City River plans to use sliding-scale tuition, with every family contributing toward their student’s education. The goal is shared investment and access for families across the income spectrum. Amounts and calculation criteria have not yet been finalized.
City River is finalizing the tuition structure and will share specific amounts and the financial-aid process as they are approved.
Read Admissions InformationFinding the Right Fit
Who may thrive at City River?
01
Are curious and ready to engage with challenging ideas.
02
Want to grow as learners, movers, creators, and people.
03
Are open to feedback, revision, and productive struggle.
04
Want to know classmates from different backgrounds and perspectives.
05
Are willing to contribute to a community that works hard and cares for one another.
06
Want a fuller school day designed around learning, support, movement, and creative practice.
Students do not need to arrive fully formed. City River is for young people ready to participate in the work of becoming.
Questions Families Ask
Frequently asked questions.
What are the four pillars of a City River education?
The four pillars are Academic Excellence, Artistic Expression, Healthy Bodies, and Sense of Self and Community. City River is designing one integrated education in which challenging work, creative practice, movement, reflection, and relationships reinforce one another rather than compete for a student’s time.
Is City River a college-preparatory high school?
Yes. City River is being designed as a rigorous college-preparatory high school. Students will engage challenging material, build strong habits of thinking and communication, and receive support as they grow toward college and adult life.
How can a school be both caring and rigorous?
City River believes students can take greater intellectual risks when they are known and supported. Care does not mean lowering expectations; it means creating the relationships, feedback, and responsibility that help students persist through difficult work.
Will every student participate in movement and the arts?
Yes. Morning movement begins at 8:00 AM, with team sports, fitness, and informal play-to-learn options. Students also explore art forms in their first two years, then choose a pathway, share work in annual showcases, and build a portfolio by graduation.
Why will the school day run from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM?
The planned longer day creates time for academics, support, movement, arts, meals, and community within school. It is designed to help students finish their work before heading home and give evenings back to families.
Will students have homework?
The day is designed so students can complete most academic work at school, with access to teachers and support. City River does not promise that students will never have work outside school.
What does “diverse by design” mean?
City River intends to build a school community diverse by race, gender, income, religion, neighborhood, and lived experience. The goal is for students to learn with people who share parts of their experience and people who bring different perspectives.
How will sliding-scale tuition work?
City River plans to use sliding-scale tuition, with each family contributing toward its student’s education. Amounts, calculation criteria, and financial-assistance details are still being finalized and will be shared when approved.