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 non-traditional high schools in the nation. It is a community of learners who hold each other to high standards of behavior, school culture, and academics. Students are expected to excel in rigorous academics, as well as complete performance-based assessments rather than participating in high stakes testing in all subjects leading to a Regents diploma. Our name is derived from the idea that learning doesn’t only take place within the classroom but in the community as well. We expect our students to do extensive community service each year and to learn to utilize community resources to enhance their learning. Seniors complete a yearlong senior project, 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 does not participate in the NCAA clearinghouse. 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.