Ridgeview At-a-Glance

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Phone: 970-494-4620

(College Advising Office ext. 165)

Fax: 970-494-4625

CEEB Code: 060-598

www.ridgeviewclassical.com

Contact information:

Principal: Mr. Florian Hild

fhild@ridgeviewclassical.com

Head of College Advising: Mrs. Paula Petterson

ppetterson@ridgeviewclassical.com

College Advisors: Mr. John Herndon

jherndon@ridgeviewclassical.com

Mr. Tim Smith

tsmith@ridgeviewclassical.com

 

RIDGEVIEW CLASSICAL SCHOOLS

Is a public K-12 Charter School, chartered through the Poudre School District. It opened in 2001, has high school grades 9-12, and has open enrollment through a lottery system.

 

Fort Collins is a city of approximately 131,000 residents one hour north of Denver that is home to Colorado State University and a large technology community.

 

Total School Enrollment: 745

 

High School Enrollment: 200

 

Mission Statement

The mission of Ridgeview Classical Schools is to develop the academic potential and personal character of each student through academically rigorous, content-rich educational programs.

 

Faculty Profile

Teachers: 28 full- and part-time for grades 9-12.

Teachers at Ridgeview are hired based on their mastery of academic disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, and certification is not required. Currently, more than half of the high school teachers have a master's degree or higher, and seven have taught at the college level.

 

Courses: All core courses (i.e. literature, history, science, and mathematics), except for a few remedial courses, are taught at the honors level. Humanities courses employ Socratic discussion. See the back of this page for additional information on academics at Ridgeview.

 

Scheduling: Most classes meet every day for 45-50 minutes or for 5 of every 6 days, with one 95-100 minute period and four 45-50 minute periods, for 5 credit hrs./semester.

 

Grading: (Grade inflation is discouraged.)

A = 4.0 A- = 3.7

B+ = 3.3 B = 3.0 B- = 2.7

C+ = 2.3 C = 2.0 C- = 1.7

D+ = 1.3 D = 1.0 D- = 0.7

F = 0

 

Adjusted and Unadjusted G.P.A.: G.P.A. is based on grades in high-school courses taken at Ridgeview only. Bonus points of 0.002 per credit are added to most core and advanced courses (shown with “1” on the transcript). Both adjusted and unadjusted cumulative G.P.A. are indicated on the transcript.

 

Grade Distributions:

Classes of 2004-2008 cumulative unadjusted G.P.A. upon graduation: 

33% 3.5 and above

34% 3.0 to 3.5

25% 2.5 to 3.0

8% below 2.5

 

Class of 2009 unadjusted G.P.A. for 2007-08 courses at Ridgeview:

34% 3.5 and above

18% 3.0 to 3.5

24% 2.5 to 3.0

24% below 2.5

Students are recognized quarterly for the high honor roll (GPA 3.5 and above) and honor roll (GPA 3.0 to 3.5).

 

Number of graduates expected 2009: 40

 

National Merit Semifinalists 2008-9: 6

 

National Merit Commended 2008-9: 2

 

Class Rank: Because its classes are small and composed of self-selected and highly motivated students, Ridgeview does not publish class rank.

 

Class of 2009 ACT (Colorado exam)

Tests taken: 38

Middle 50% Means

High Low RCS District CO

English 31 23 26.6 20.9 19.4

Reading 32 23 27.5 22.2 20.4

Mathematics 29 21 24.6 21.3 20.0

Science 30 22 25.6 21.5 20.4

Composite 30 23 26.2 21.6 20.2

Annual Colorado School Accountability Report (SAR) Results (state testing): Ridgeview Classical's high school has been ranked first, second, or third in the state of Colorado every year since its opening.

 

USNWR Ranking: #15 high school, #4 charter school in US

Academics:

Within Ridgeview's culture of classical academic rigor, students:

 read complete works of classic literature slowly and closely

to ensure a profound understanding and thus become well

equipped to write and present a formal analysis of each text.

 study the history of Western Civilization through

examination, discussion, and written analysis of primary

sources.

 are taught mathematics using a classical Socratic

philosophy, including: (1) an emphasis on the search for

truth and beauty as the motivation for 'doing' mathematics;

(2) the primacy of logic, especially deductive reasoning; (3)

the need for historical perspective; and (4) an attempt to

capture the interest and curiosity of students by introducing

them to famous unsolved problems in mathematics.

 maintain, cumulatively through all their science courses, a

standardized lab notebook containing data, results, and

analysis of their lab activities.

 take at least a semester of Latin and often pursue it to the

advanced level as an elective.

 get maximum exposure to a modern language and real

world proficiency through small immersion classes.

 in a required Moral Philosophy course, are introduced to

traditional visions of virtue, friendship, duty, work, love,

and the good life.

 read a biography of an American founder each summer and,

as juniors, pursue a unified study of American government,

history, and literature in order to gain a deep knowledge and

understanding of the events, philosophical foundations, and

literary traditions of their country.

 as seniors, compose and orally defend a 25-page thesis

before faculty, students, and parents.

For additional information, please see the Course Offerings list,

available at

http://www.ridgeviewclassical.com/pdfs/hs_courses.pdf .

Graduation Requirements: RCS offers two diplomas,

Proficient and Advanced, reflecting course credits.

Course Proficient Advanced

Mathematics 20 30

Literature 40 40

Science 30 30

History 40 40

Latin 5 10

Additional Foreign Language 0 20

American Government 5 5

Economics 5 5

Technology 10 10

Health 2.5 2.5

PE 12.5 12.5

Moral Philosophy 5 5

Electives 55 45

Total 230 255

College Attendance and Acceptances

2004-2008 College Acceptances: 93 students have graduated, of whom 73 matriculated at 4-year colleges and universities.

Students from Ridgeview's last five graduating classes have been accepted at the following colleges and universities. (The number of

students who matriculated at that institution is in parentheses.)

Ashland University (1)

Augustana College – Sioux Falls (1)

Baptist Bible College – MO

Baptist Bible College – PA (1)

Baylor University (4)

Beloit College

Benedictine College

Bethany College (1)

Boston College

California Polytechnic State

University (1)

Carleton College (1)

Case Western Reserve University

Christendom College (1)

Coe College

College of the Holy Cross

Colorado College (2)

Colorado School of Mines (3)

Colorado State University (23)

Colorado State University – Pueblo

Cornell University (1)

Creighton University (1)

Davidson College

Dickinson College

Doane College

Duke University (1)

Duquesne University

Fordham University

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Franklin College - Switzerland (1)

Franklin W. Olin College of

Engineering (1)

Front Range Community College (9)

Georgia Institute of Technology

Gettysburg College

Gonzaga University

Gustavus Adolphus College (1)

Harding University

Harvey Mudd College (1)

Hawaii Pacific University

Hillsdale College (2)

Houghton College

Indiana University – Bloomington (1)

International Academy of Design and

Technology – Tampa

Luther College (1)

Michigan State University

Michigan Technological University

Montana State University – Bozeman

Northern Arizona University

Occidental College

Ohio University – Athens

Reed College

South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology (1)

St. John's College - NM (1)

St. Olaf College (1)

Smith College

Stanford University (1)

Syracuse University (1)

Thomas Aquinas College

Trinidad State Junior College (1)

University of California – Berkeley

University of Chicago (1)

University of Colorado – Boulder (3)

University of Colorado – Denver

University of Colorado – Colorado

Springs

University of Dayton (1)

University of Denver

University of Evansville

University of Idaho

University of Kansas (1)

University of Nebraska – Lincoln

University of North Carolina – Chapel

Hill

University of Northern Colorado (5)

University of Notre Dame (1)

University of Oregon

University of San Diego

University of Sioux Falls (1)

University of Wisconsin – Madison (1)

University of Wyoming (2)

Wagner College (1)

Western Michigan University –

Kalamazoo

Westminster College - UT (1)

Wheaton College

Whitworth College