Riverside Elementary School
8410 Old Mt Vernon Rd, Alexandria, VA 22309
703-799-6000
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LaRonda Peterson
[email protected]

School Summary

Beautiful and historic Mount Vernon is the setting for Riverside Elementary School.  Built in 1968 on land once owned by George Washington, Riverside serves a culturally rich and economically diverse school community.  The staff is committed to helping all children achieve high academic standards.  Support is provided for students who demonstrate difficulty meeting those standards.

The vision of Riverside Elementary is "to foster self-efficacy and a growth mindset in our school community. We will develop ethical and responsible citizens who demonstrate superlative effort and attitude, engage in lifelong learning, and effectively contribute to the global community."  At Riverside, we nurture a safe and supportive learning environment that promotes high academic and social achievement for all students.  We meet the needs of all learners through meaningful instruction, and work collaboratively with colleagues and parents to support student learning.

Riverside teachers offer a balanced instructional approach to ensure student learning.  Lessons and activities are differentiated to meet the needs of all our students, while maintaining appropriate amounts of rigor with an emphasis on critical and creative thinking.  Students are assessed regularly so that teachers can use those assessments to plan instruction based on the specific needs of each child. We believe in the growth mindset, where we celebrate the learning process and individual student progress toward specific learning goals.  We know that all students can learn, but we do not expect them all to learn at a set pace.  Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies, such as individual and small group instruction and team teaching to meet each child's needs.  Working together, parents and staff individualize learning objectives for students with disabilities or for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

Students are challenged by high expectations, a wide variety of learning opportunities, and helped to develop positive self-images in a safe, comfortable atmosphere that encourages community support and involvement. We believe in "Effort and Attitude" as two driving factors for success that we know each of our students has complete control over.  The Riverside staff models and integrates the following character traits throughout the school day and within the curriculum: respect, responsibility, caring, cooperation, honesty, perseverance, resiliency, and community. 

Opportunities for students to develop leadership skills are encouraged through participation in the Student Council Association, After-school Student Leadership Academy (SLA), Men's and Women's Leadership Lunches, Safety Patrols, and our Peer Mediation program.  Many classes have established relationships with buddy classes, where older students mentor younger buddies.  Students in grades 4-6 also have opportunities to participate in chorus, band, and strings classes and to work on the WRES morning news team.

The active PTA provides support for the instructional program through volunteer efforts in the school. The PTA works to provide the students with enrichment activities to complement our after-school program, as well as sponsoring family fun events and community outreach activities throughout the year. The Riverside staff works together with parents and the entire school community, to maintain a culture of pride and positivity where we use our diversity as an asset to achieve academic and social goals for all of our students.


Last Updated: 2019-02-01

Enrollment Enrollment as of February 202324: 719
 
Grades Preschool, K-6
 
FCPS Programs Last Updated: 2022-10-19
 
Special Features
  • 15 mobile laptop computer carts; Interactive SMARTboards in every classroom
  • African Heritage Early Literacy Program
  • After-school Academic Enrichment and Remediation Programs
  • After-school Extra-curricular Programs
  • Character Education Program
  • Collaboration with Men w/ Vision and Purpose (MVP) program at Mt. Vernon High School
  • Full-time Reading, Math, Science, Technology, and Advanced Academic Resource Teachers
  • Guided Reading and a Balanced Literacy Program
  • Highly qualified status for all teachers (Title I Provision)
  • Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)
  • Home-School Compact and Family Engagement Policy
  • Mentoring program
  • PAC-Preschool Autism Classroom (Ages 2-5)
  • Parent Liaisons
  • Parent Teacher Association (PTA)/Community Outreach Committee
  • Partners in Print
  • Project Momentum
  • Reading Recovery
  • Reduced-ratio classes in grades K-6
  • Responsive Classroom, Positive Behavior Approach (PBA)
  • STEAM Lab; Mount Vernon Pyramid STEAM School (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)
  • Student Council Association (SCA)
  • Student Leadership Academy (SLA)
  • Teachers Certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
  • Waterford phonological computer program in FECEP, kindergarten, and grade 1
Last Updated: 2019-02-01
 
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Attendance Area This school is part of Region 3 and the Mount Vernon High Pyramid. Enter your street address in the boundary locator to determine which schools your student should attend.