River Valley School District (RVSD) serves approximately 1500 students on three campuses located in Blairsville and Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. RVSD is dedicated to engaging students in transformational learning experiences, strives for educational sustainability, and is committed to changing and expanding the perspectives of the learner.
The district challenges the passive learning methodology fostered by the current educational system and embraces learners as a whole, realizing that transformational and personalized learning has the potential to enrich and vitalize everyday school experiences.
RVSD recognizes learners as a whole by acknowledging that student learning depends on a combination of instructional, relational, and environmental factors, along with cognitive, social, and emotional processes that influence one another.
In addition, RVSD recognizes that all educational experiences are shaped by a learner’s strengths, needs, and interests, and values the need for instruction to be tailored to them specifically.
Recognizing that these experiences facilitate an all-around better educational environment, the district has assembled a Personalized Learning and Design Taskforce. This task force is dedicated to changing the landscape of professional development for its stakeholders and embraces teacher and student-lead development opportunities. In addition, the district has shifted to web-based platforms such as PowerSchool, a student information system, and upgraded and refined its use of EdInsight.
RVSD finds it imperative to utilize college and career readiness data and utilizes web-based software through Naviance and Neprism. Naviance is a comprehensive K-12 college and career readiness solution that aligns student strengths and interests to postsecondary goals, improving student outcomes and connecting learning to life. Nepris is a web-based solution that connects River Valley educators and learners with a network of industry professionals, virtually bringing real-world relevance and career exposure to all students. In addition, Nepris provides learners with skill-based volunteering opportunities and extends educational outreach experiences.
Paramountly, RVSD considers itself at the forefront of STEAM education, understanding that STEAM education provides learners with skill sets that make them more employable and ready to meet current international and national labor demands. RVSD anticipates the opening of a STEAM Academy in the very near future, which will encompass a wide range of experiences and skills such as Electrical Occupations, Cybersecurity, Early Childhood Programming, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitative Therapy, preparing learners to transform society with innovation and sustainable solutions.