480 Broadway, Rochester, NY 14607
Phone (585) 546-6732
Email/Text swwinfo@rcsdk12.org
Website www.rcsdk12.org/sww

School Without Walls is a Secondary School.

School Without Walls is one of the oldest alternative high schools in the nation. It is a community of learners who hold each other to high standards of behavior, school culture, and academics. Learning is a lifelong endeavor in a community that supports academic excellence and social-emotional well-being. The community we use for learning and we expect our students to do extensive community service. Additionally, students are expected to excel in rigorous academics, as well as complete performance-based assessments in all subjects leading to a Regents diploma. Seniors complete yearlong senior projects, hold public exhibitions of their work, and defend their work to a rating/review panel that includes community experts, teachers, and other students. School Without Walls courses are not recognized by NCAA. Students anticipating a Division I or Division II athletic scholarship should take this into consideration before selecting School Without Walls.

• Emphasizes critical thinking andresponsible citizenship with a focus on social justice issues.
• Practices a learner-centered interdisciplinary philosophy in which the needs and interests of students, as well as the demands of society, form the school curriculum.
• Supports graduation-by-exhibition in which students must prove, through project presentations and oral defenses, that they are competent and ready to enter college or the world of work.
• Encourages students to pursue independent study projects and collegiate classes.
• Requires students to give back to the community through 2.5 hours of volunteer service each week.
• Provides opportunities for all students to be involved in the management of the school and in the decision-making and problem-solving of important schoolwide issues.
• Requires all students to have an advisor who conducts personal student conferences every two weeks.