Riverside School Board came into being on July 1, 1998, following the creation of linguistic school boards by the provincial government. Located immediately south and east of Montréal in the Montérégie region, Riverside School Board is home to over 14, 300 students registered in elementary, secondary, adult, and career education programs. We operate 19 elementary schools and four high schools, as well as five adult and career centers serving the residents of over 80 municipalities. Our territory of more than 7,500 square kilometers extends from Sorel in the north, along the St. Lawrence River to Sainte-Catherine in the west, south to the United States border, and several kilometers east of the Richelieu River.
Riverside School Board is authorized to provide educational services and programs to all students who meet the provinces eligibility requirements to receive English instruction. We are the birthplace of French Immersion, originally developed on our territory more than 50 years ago. We also have certified International Baccalaureate schools that offer both the Primary and Middle Years Programs.
Riverside places a great deal of emphasis on our students success and their achievements. We take pride in the fact that Riverside consistently places among the top five and has one of the lowest dropout rates of the 72 public school boards and school service centres in Québec, both English and French. This outstanding achievement says much about our school board. Our long history of innovation in education, our focus on bilingualism, the quality of our teachers, all combine to make Riverside a different school board where learning is an enriching lifetime experience.
Much of our strength is drawn from the professionalism and dedication of our staff members as well as from parent involvement. We continue to actively support classroom teachers in meeting the challenges of a dynamic curriculum as well as of an integrated program for students with handicaps and/or learning difficulties. Through a culture of volunteerism where staff give generously of their personal time, we are able to provide a wide variety of complementary activities that add significant value to students learning experience.
Riverside places a great deal of emphasis on our students success and their achievements. We take pride in the fact that Riverside consistently places among the top five and has one of the lowest dropout rates of the 72 public school boards in Québec, both English and French.