I don't like this school, This school is honestly not good at all and there are many reasons why it is bad and makes people not like going there every single day. First of all the school acts like it cares about students but it really doesn't because if it did then things would actually work and people wouldn't be tired all the time. The rules don't even make sense half the time and they change stuff randomly like one day it's allowed and the next day it's not and nobody explains anything so everyone just gets in trouble for no reason. The teachers say they want students to succeed but then they give too much homework like actually insane amounts and expect people to finish it even when students have lives outside of school. Some students have jobs, families, responsibilities, or are just mentally exhausted but the school does not care at all. They just say "manage your time better" like bro that is not fixing anything . And some teachers are cool but others clearly don't want to be there and it shows because they get mad easily and don't explain stuff and then get surprised when nobody understands. The school environment is also bad because it feels stressful all the time. The hallways are loud and crowded and people are pushing and the bells are annoying and too loud like why does it sound like an alarm every time. The bathrooms are sometimes gross and half the time stuff is broken and nobody fixes it until way later. The classrooms feel boring and dull and it makes learning feel like a chore instead of something interesting. Another big problem is how the school handles students' problems. If students are struggling mentally or emotionally the school pretends to care but doesn't actually do anything helpful. They say stuff like "talk to a counselor" but then the counselor is always busy or just gives generic advice that doesn't help. It feels like the school only cares about grades and test scores and not actual people. If you're not doing well academically they make you feel dumb instead of helping you improve. The food is also bad like actually bad. It barely tastes good and sometimes it doesn't even look edible. Students are expected to focus and learn while eating food that makes them feel worse. And lunch time is way too short so people are rushing and don't even get to relax. It's like the school wants everyone to stay stressed 24/7. Overall this school is bad because it doesn't listen, doesn't care enough, and doesn't make learning enjoyable. It feels more like a system than a place meant for students. People leave school feeling drained instead of inspired and that says a lot. School should help students grow and learn and feel safe but instead it just feels like something everyone is trying to survive until the day ends. And honestly that's why this school is not good at all and needs to do way better fr read more

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Went to this school for the full 4 years and never had a problem the teachers suck but don't most teachers we all have teachers we don't like. Anyone rating this school lower then 2 stars is a parent that couldn't keep their child under control and blames the school for their poor parenting skills. This school had so much to offer when I was there I don't understand how it could go down the drain in a matter of a two-three years the only explanation is y'all don't watch y'all kids and they are the reason this place is "so bad". Stop crying about it and get your kids in line. read more

I see many negative posts about Riverdale High School Ft Myers, does anyone do the research on the programs the school offers? All school's have drugs at the if you don't think that is a true statement then perhaps more research needs to be done. Not all kid's do drugs not all fall into the category of followers, some are actually leaders and qualify for the advanced placement programs which tends to keep some of the student's too busy to be followers. Before someone makes a decision to go to any of the school's they need to ask around ask teachers, other student's or parents of present or past student's. read more

If I could rate lower than 1 star I would. Staff could are less about students. Teachers blatantly giving students wrong grades, no emails answered and all staff is extremely rude. read more

It's aight, i've had my ups and downs, some highs and lows, it was truly a rollercoaster

Went to Riverdale the full 4 years. Boy what an experience. There where good things. But the bad things are hard to ignore. Here's a rundown of my worst experiences throughout the years. Freshman year- In my English class Freshman year we had a substitute teacher for a week. He was a tall male known for having an attitude. On the second day he was substituting in the class he told a student, and i quote, "You want to go outside? Because guess what, out of those gates i can beat your smart ass." Everyone in the class was baffled by his aggressiveness. We reported the incident but he was allowed to come back after to sub for other classes. Sophomore year- Didn't have a permanent TECH teacher throughout the whole year. The teacher at the time didn't know ANYTHING about TECH. Said the only thing he wanted to do was "Teach gym class or weight training." His lack of knowledge in the class wasn't helpful and i failed. Had to retake the class the next year, not getting any credit since taking a class a second time doesn't give you any, and barely passed. Had a student talk to me inappropriately how he wanted to "do things" to me. Reported it and was told to ignore him and he'll leave me alone. They never told him anything and he kept going for 3 months until he was removed from campus for other behaviors not related. Junior Year- New principal... Tried to make things better but oh, was it so bad. The school was bad as it was but he enforced new rules that made the experience even worst. In the mornings he didn't want students in the hallways or outside of their calssroom. As soon as you got to school grounds you where forced to go to the cafeteria, which couldn't hold all of the students since riverdale had too many students to handle. That was also an issue. You where expected to get to class when the high school wasn't that big and had wayyy too many extra students. After December the students just stopped caring about the stupid rule and would ignore any higher up that forced them to the cafetera. Juniors and Seniors who drive to school would bring their friends to stay in their cars to avoid going in. Made an appointment with my counselor to ask some questions about senior year and how to apply for colleges. A month later finally got to see her only to be told that "you actually did qualify for honors and AP/IB classes freshman year why didn't you take it?" No one ever told me i qualified. A lost opportunity there. She also said that she didn't have time to help me apply for college. Thankfully Ms Ribinski (i think tahts how you spell her name) was nice enough to help me out. Senior Year- At this point i ignored everything negative. Well tried. I took AP Spanish the year before. Passed with flying colors yet never got my AP cord for my cap and gown. All of the senior teachers are amazing. All are nice and had great experiences. But administration was even worst. Was sent to ISS for the first time in my 4 years for "walking around without a pass" when in reality i had the pass in my hand and had done the pass thing on the computer. I was told that the money i paid for gradbash wasn't in when i had paid it full months before the due date. Was called a liar because "you think you can try and go for free?" It got to the point where my mom personally went. I don't know how but she got them to agree the money was there and they "apologized". Students who had gym classes weren't allowed to stay inside the gym. Gym teacher also thought it was ridiculous since it was always hot outside. The vending machines wouldn't sell you any snacks after 7 am. To "keep students from going out of class". It was one of the most ridiculous things they enforced that year. Which sucked for students who didn't like the school lunch. And worst of all. They didn't have a school nurse for a good portion of the year or she would only show up on certain days. Now what where the good things? Dr. Obrien was an amazing teacher. I wouldn't be where am at without her and many students can testify to this. She pushed you to do better and was always there for you if you needed it. Ms. Favia an amazing art teacher. Always a good experience. Mr. Newman one of the nerdiest teachers with a great heart. Always had a new way to teach and made reading in class a fun/funny experience. Mr. Gerardy, great math teacher. Goes easy on you and won't give up until you understand the topic. All of the senior classes teachers where amazing. Made my senior year feel easy and less stressful than the previous years. The food wasn't too bad. Go here if you have friends or want to be in IB/AP classes. Why IB and AP? Because if you read the Neach reviews of the school are all positive because those students attended in those programs. They feel they get the better education but feel they where excluded from the from the "general students" and didn't have the opportunity to be around other students that weren't in IB. read more

During between school hours of 11:40 am and 12:00 pm on December 4. I was offended by homophobic stereotyping and slams, with disturbing comments and the kind of behavior that the school that I have been attending since my freshman year is nowadays allowing from their staff. While I was dressing "girly" as one of the administrators claimed and showing a small part of my belly off. One teacher must have had complained to the administration about my dressing choice of the day when I was in the gym. So they sent one of their administrators to check that out, and while a man approached me, in a distance he said to me "to cover" my belly off, because "nobody wanted to see that". I did what I was asked because I knew somehow I would get in trouble, a boy using a tank-top wasn't something you could ignore in the school hallways, especially when it shows the most feminine side of a boy. Going on, while I was putting the shirt that I had around my hips to cover part of my naked belly he makes another bias comment stating that I, a "boy," should not be dressing as a "girl". Of course, I found that really offensive, more with the tone it was said to me. I was never expecting such hatred comments and bias. I responded feeling aggravated in the situation "Done, I hope you are happy now". And he responded to me that I didn't have to get too "smart" and because of that, I was giving a rude comment (which I was not, but he said so. And his opinion is the one that matters the most). So I was taken to ISS. In our way there, he's changed his tone into a sarcastic but humiliating one while saying "I'm gay, I'm happy," making a girly "yay". He continued by saying "or isn't that what it means" insinuating that I'm gay and girly. I, therefore, got a tone, which for him was me being "disrespectful" and giving "attitude," again. I was thrown into ISS like noting, I was there and he didn't bother to give an explanation of why I was there for to the person taking charge of ISS at the time, which it bothered me he didn't want to give me one either. I asked several times for an actual reason why was I have been detained and being taken away from my learning environment; I spent almost two hours with no responses or questions from this school member. I stopped asking questions once he yelled at me "I don't have to explain nothing to you and I won't argue that with you." After that, I stop talking and waited for someone else to see me. What bothered me the most is that I was obviously not sent to ISS for me "breaking "the school dress code. Because if it was actually for that I would have been just fine with wearing the t-shirt I had around my hips over my tank top and covering the blank spot. And I thought of this because three students were sent there for look g worse than me but they three were given out shirts to cover their parts off while I wasn't given even a warning. I was taken to another room to "explain the situation", and in there I filed a complain, explaining the best of my knowledge of what happened to me. I was taken to another room to "explain the situation", and in there I filed a complain, explaining the best of my knowledge of what happened to me. Is not shocking that our old society members and senior staff (specialty men) of the school have still the same mindset as they were raised back in their time, and as an educator they apply this same concept, perspective and close-minded negativity to too many young students in our learning classes, and especially the place we try to feel the secure the most. And it is really concerning that the school is not really preparing adults for this new time period and changes in our society and I got more concerned that when I asked (twice, to two different administrators) if this kind of behavior from a male instructor from a school, who should be an influence in our life, since we already spend 8-9 hours of our week (not counting after school hours with clubs) as well as they do, too, to express themselves with like to a student. This is an issue, and staffs still steaming from old traditions that the school seniors have had followed their entire childhood, and school should be by now able to educate their staffs, and have a way to deal with this kind of negativity such as the one that was demonstrated towards me, especially with the way society is becoming and evolving. Is time to stop repressing students from being themselves and having an own persona that they can stand and be their own example, and creating individualism between. Riverdale High, you should be ashamed of your administration. read more