Write your own story
What will your Riverdale story be?
We create a sense of belonging by asking you to bring your unique self to the Riverdale community so that you can write your own story. We teach students to ask good questions. Here are a few questions we hope you’ll answer for yourself. What inspires you? What will your impact be, and why does it matter?
How will you use what you learn to change the world for the good?
Mission
Riverdale is a Pre-K through grade 12 independent school in New York City committed to empowering lifelong learners by developing minds, building character, and creating community in order to change our world for the good.
The core values of Riverdale are Mind, Character, and Community:
Mind: Riverdale’s approach encourages students to explore activities that motivate them. Experiential education enables students to have an immersive educational journey.
Character: A multifaceted support system provides students with the guidance they need to pursue meaningful opportunities. Learning is a rational and emotional process, where students grow the ability to reflect.
Community: Our campuses are an ideal setting to cultivate community and find belonging. Students learn to understand their role as stewards of our campus, and the local, national, and global community, with the joy and responsibility that implies.
Why Riverdale
Riverdale’s founder Frank S. Hackett emboldened our school with the motto: It is the spirit that quickeneth, instilling in the fabric of our community the drive to seek out what excites us and to pursue those passions. We continue in this tradition of finding what enlivens our students, knowing that it will motivate them to become active in their own learning.
At Riverdale, we know that doing is an essential part of understanding. Our students are provided with dozens of opportunities to participate in their education in unique and challenging ways that ask them to take ownership of their learning, becoming interdisciplinary experts in a variety of fields. They experience a high challenge/high support culture, knowing that faculty members are there to help draw meaningful conclusions from those experiences. There is great joy in talking, hypothesizing, building, exploring, eating—in all that we can do at school. Students learn to work on teams comprised of individuals with different perspectives and appreciate a whole can be greater than its parts. They grow into ethical, impactful leaders by building skills in critical problem solving, communication, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness.
Estelle
Lower School, Kindergarten
How would you describe your teachers?
Ms. Santiago and Mr. Charlie teach me a lot of things like how to read books. Now that kindergarten is ending, I can write books. In math, we learn different ways to get to 10.
What is your favorite thing to do at school?
My favorite thing is climbing trees. My favorite place is the playground with the monkey bars. Explore Time is my favorite subject.
What was your favorite piece of work that you shared with your family in your learning share?
When I was drawing myself a self-portrait.
What is the best thing about school?
I love making new friends.
What do you think makes Riverdale so special?
I’m learning a lot of things… Like how to treat people very nicely, and how to help people. And how to be an upstander.
What are you looking forward to at Riverdale? Next year I am going to be in first grade, and I’m looking forward to doing homework.
What do you want to be when you grow up, Estelle?
I want to be a gymnast and a doctor. Because my grandma is a doctor, and I want to be a doctor too.
“I’m learning a lot of things… Like how to treat people very nicely, and how to help people. And how to be an upstander.”
27.5 acres in the Bronx 2 distinct campuses
Ethan
Lower School, 5th Grade
What do you love about Riverdale?
What I really love about Riverdale is there’s just so many things to do. One of my favorites was the trip to Costa Rica. It was about permaculture where we got to learn about things that we can do to be changemakers like making less waste and not taking things for granted. At Riverdale, we go on lots of trips, and they all have educational value.
What do you think makes your Riverdale experience so special?
All of the teachers here are all super nice and so are the staff. Music was fun this year because Mr. Thomas mixed work and fun and smooshed them together into games that helped us learn. I used to really hate math. Now we have new fun ways of learning like riddles, Kahoots, etc. When we started doing decimals and fractions, I found out that I really like adding and subtracting and there are so many techniques I can use for multiplying decimals. This year, math just started to click. Before, I didn’t understand why we had to do it, but then my teacher showed us how we can actually use it in real life. I usually have two teachers in the classroom, and both of them are really helpful.
I also love studying Spanish. The best part about it is we went to a Peruvian restaurant. And we got to practice our Spanish as we ordered our food. You don’t actually learn much unless you’re in an actual real life situation, which is what we do at Riverdale.
What are you looking forward to about middle school?
It’s going to be a lot more responsibility, but there’s also going to be a lot more free time since I’m getting older and I get more freedom. I’m looking forward to opportunities to plan ahead.
What do you want the new students to know about you and the school?
I want them to think I’m a nice, hopefully funny, guy that can support them and teach them along the way. I have been here for six years, and I want to help them. Riverdale is an amazing school that will always help you through anything, and it’s just always there for you. It’s super fun. This campus is in the middle of the forest. You can experience so much fresh air and learn so many new things, like being a changemaker, which is basically being a good citizen.
“You can experience so much fresh air and learn so many new things, like being a changemaker, which is basically being a good citizen.”
1,300 students 5:1 student:teacher ratio
Katie
Middle School, 6th Grade
How would you describe your experience as a new sixth grader?
When I came here, I felt really welcomed. At first I was overwhelmed by the big campus, but a lot of my friends helped me to get to my classes. Once I started to feel more comfortable, I began to explore all of these clubs, which also helped me feel welcomed. My teachers helped me too because they’re really nice and funny. Riverdale is really welcoming and no matter how overwhelmed you’ll feel at some points, you’ll always get through it, and you have really supportive teachers and friends who can help you.
I’m Filipino American. There are many affinity groups that help you feel comfortable. I think sharing where you come from, your ethnicity is really important, because there’s such diversity at Riverdale, and I love learning about other people’s cultures. And sometimes in the cafeteria they serve food from different cultures.
What have been some of your best memories from this year?
One of my best memories was going on the Boroughs trip to Manhattan with my history class because there were so many experiences - we got to taste diverse food in Chinatown, and we went to Little Italy, where we tasted cannolis and ate ice cream. If we just stayed in the classroom and learned about Manhattan, I don’t think we would’ve learned that much. In English, after reading Stargirl, we created a scrapbook, which holds all of our memories. I think making the scrapbook gave me an opportunity to place some important pieces of my life on paper.
I learned how to play the flute this year, and we did multiple concerts with the other class, which I really enjoyed. I was able to be with my friends and play together with them. Being in the musical allowed the sixth graders to bond with other grades and also learn another art, which was really nice.
I also liked learning a language this year because I’m proud that I was able to learn some Chinese. I feel accomplished, and because a lot of my friends speak Chinese, I am really happy that I am able to communicate with them. I was able to become a keynote speaker at our One Big Thing event, sharing my project about traditional Chinese medicine. I went to Flushing Chinatown to purchase some herbs, and I shared them with people who visited my exhibition.
What are you looking forward to?
Next year I’m really excited to be in different classes with different people because I don’t know some of them well yet. And I think next year will be an opportunity to help me learn more about other people. I am already in the debate club, but next year I want to try participating in the tournaments, and debating with other people outside of Riverdale. And I would also like to join the Dance Company because I saw some of my friends joining it.
“Riverdale is really welcoming and no matter how overwhelmed you’ll feel at some points, you’ll always get through it, and you have really supportive teachers and friends who can help you.”
40+
clubs and activities
Roger Middle School, 8th Grade
What do you love about Riverdale?
The community. I came to Riverdale from a different country, and I had to learn new trends and new jokes. As a new student, I easily found myself a place in the Riverdale community and I want to thank all of my friends and classmates for making Riverdale become a home. The fact that people were so eager to talk to me, let me into their friend group, learn more about me, really struck me as different and unique, as something Riverdale has that other schools don’t.
What have been some of your best memories from this year?
I really enjoyed all my classes this year because all of the academics were super interesting, and every teacher has their own teaching style, and that kept me excited.
I enjoy math - having an understanding of math is key to understanding my other subjects. Math can describe a lot of human relationships, and I just can’t wait to keep learning more. I started a math newspaper to help other students find math more interesting and to help them review for tests. Although I don’t plan on becoming a mathematician, understanding math and helping other people understand math is something that I’m really proud of. I love that Riverdale lets us bring new ideas because that is what makes our school evolve.
I enjoy learning languages. I study French at Riverdale, but I also speak Chinese at home. I used to take German, so I’ve known a lot of languages, and I like being able to compare and contrast them. I think I will add Latin next year. I loved the project where we got
to make a French dish and bring it to school, and we ate each other’s dishes. Sometimes the best way to experience a culture is to eat the food.
I loved the eclipse trip to the Adirondacks with my dean and a few other students. Being able to go to a beautiful place to watch this once in a lifetime event was amazing. During the trip, we got to tap maple sap and see it being turned into maple syrup. We got to watch a lamb being born. The eclipse itself was the climax of the trip. I was there snapping away with my camera, and then suddenly there was a hole where the sun used to be in the sky. That image is something that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
I auditioned to join the orchestra. Being able to play with other types of instruments, like the string instruments and also the big percussion section, was great. I think it’s teamwork in a way.
I like being able to try a bit of everything. I signed up for debate. I tried the math team and joined the student council. I also tried an affinity group, and it was cool to be able to learn so much about other Asian cultures. It made me think about who I am as a person, and it helped me develop that identity.
Riverdale isn’t just a school; it’s a community where everybody’s learning from each other, and everybody is getting ideas from each other. That’s what makes Riverdale different from other schools.
“As a new student, I easily found myself a place in the Riverdale community and I want to thank all of my friends and classmates for making Riverdale become a home.”
70+ nationalities
Ella
Upper School, 9th Grade
What have you loved about being at Riverdale?
The teachers here are better than anywhere else. They don’t just know me as a student; they know I enjoy running and playing saxophone, and that’s special to have someone who you can talk to, not only as a teacher, but also as a friend. My experience in high school so far has been easier than I expected. I was worried about the jump from eighth to ninth grade, but my teachers have shown me that being independent means knowing when to ask for help. I really found a community of people who I will be friends with and enjoy hanging out with for the rest of my time at Riverdale and hopefully after Riverdale. The campus is amazing and it’s definitely helped me de-stress and come to love nature. Even though there are some things Riverdale doesn’t have, if I were to say, “Oh, I want to do this,” everyone agrees, “let’s do it.” Kids’ ideas here matter a lot.
What academic experience have you enjoyed this year?
In English class, we had to do a multi-genre project, and I got to combine a bunch of different genres and different aspects of what we were learning into one big project, which is something special that this school does - combining multiple disciplines into one helps you understand how different topics relate. Teaching it in that way helps you understand the world better.
Tell us about some of the activities you have enjoyed. In dance, I can just let loose and have fun with my class. I participated in the dance concert and watched the 10th and 11th graders and saw what I can become. I’m taking two arts classes, which is a great thing that Riverdale allows us to do. I play the saxophone in the
jazz ensemble and have enjoyed working on my soloing and sight reading. I’ve also been part of the musical. We learned a bunch of dances and songs, and they don’t seem to have any correlation to each other until you get on stage and you’re putting them together and you think, “wow, this is amazing!” I ran cross country in the fall and rowed in the spring, and the team aspect of the sports is great. I’m not the fastest runner, but I get to meet new people that I don’t normally interact with and wave hi at them in the hallways. I had not rowed before, and I ended up falling in love with it.
Can you share some of your favorite Riverdale memories?
I went on a backpacking trip in the Adirondacks that was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life so far. I didn’t have my phone or access to a computer, but I was with a group of seven kids in nature, and I learned a lot about myself and how I’m able to be independent and about the other people I was with. It made me feel connected to the world around me in a way that is difficult to achieve when you’re at school or home. Riverdale allows you to do so many things, even with people you don’t know, which makes you open up your boundaries and ask questions.
“Riverdale allows you to do so many things, even with people you don’t know, which makes you open up your boundaries and ask questions.”
70+ athletic teams
Joel
Upper School, 12th Grade
What have you loved about being at Riverdale?
What’s made Riverdale special for me is the one on one relationships I formed with faculty and students. The first thing that comes to mind is how much of a mentor Mr. Kildahl has been. I got to spend a year in Constructing America and then took an independent study on New York City government with him. And he’s also guided me on the value of a liberal arts education.
I loved working with a faculty member on the solar installation. She really took me under her wing, and showed me how the school works from an administrative perspective and how the real world works. I got to work on getting electric school buses and with bus crew software that lets you enter any address in the city and find out which bus to take. I had fun working on that in the maker lab. Other projects I’ve worked on are connecting New York City street vendors to the grid, as they currently use gas generators. I also created a number of software apps that students use, like homework checker.
Over the years, there have been many great trips, like the DC trip was a highlight. It was very cool to go to the capital and see the different parts of the federal government and also just hang out with friends.
As you think about graduating this year, what will you take with you from Riverdale?
I’ve really enjoyed ILS, Integrated Liberal Studies, which is a required 12th grade course. We’ve looked at a bunch of texts and analyzed them in class, and it’s also about philosophy. I got to see the connection between literature and the real world. I also took an elective on mass incarceration, and we got to meet with a public defender and look at different prosecution cases and also learn about the criminal justice system.
I was part of the Riverdale Sustainability Club and also Students for Electric Buses, and those clubs helped me take a deep dive into sustainability. I definitely want to continue that in college. I was able to try many different things over the years to see what stuck. Riverdale gives you a lot of freedom in how you shape your education. It’s not like some other schools where there’s a set curriculum. Riverdale has been great about supporting me taking on new initiatives and getting beyond just doing schoolwork and actually doing something interesting that I like.
Riverdale prepares you to write a lot and quickly and to read a lot and quickly. I will definitely be prepared for the workload in college. My teachers have encouraged me to annotate, and they’ve given me writing tips on my essays. I’m also curious about the why behind things. I’ve learned to try to understand why things are the way they are. That’s helped me a lot with math comprehension.
I hope to have as close relationships with professors in college as I’ve had with the teachers here. I’ll be forever grateful to Riverdale.
“Riverdale has been great about supporting me taking on new initiatives and getting beyond just doing schoolwork and actually doing something interesting that I like.”
~140 annual graduates
Vanessa Vazquez
Lower School, Faculty
What do you love about Riverdale and what makes your Riverdale experience special?
The people are wonderful, and I think it is a wonderful environment that allows you to grow and thrive. We were just talking about possibly using a drone, and said, “Well, that would be awesome. Can we consider that?” And then we were told, “Well, let’s figure out what that looks like and bring it into the classroom.” I’ve grown so much at this school. It was always a dream for me to do the work that I do now, and no other school has given me that opportunity.
What have been your best memories from your time at Riverdale?
Our students in first grade are learning about urban, suburban, and rural communities, and they’ve been talking about compass roses, north, south, east, west, and directions. We talked about how we could integrate technology, and we made a Google Earth virtual field trip so they can actually fly from Riverdale to different parts of New York to see different communities. We also talked about the math unit that was happening in first grade at that same time. They were studying estimation and multi-digit addition. So what better way for us to continue to practice estimation and addition than to have the kids actually use estimation and addition in a community? Then we spoke to the art team, and the project continued to grow. The best part in building these different thematic units is having all the people in the room when you’re having the conversation. The kids got an opportunity to be creative with their designs as far as their communities units go. They’re actually seeing all of these things come together and they’re seeing
some real-world applications to them. Learning this way creates a memory. Building that through-line of robotics, technology, and computer science is a big goal for us. I want to see us keep those projects that are tried and true, and as the world progresses and things come up, like AI and the use of drones, I want to see it come to the school. The world is shifting and changing every day, and we need to help students adapt and change with that shift.
How have you made Riverdale your own?
We have committed to threading technology through the core curriculum so the kids see technology as a tool, kind of like a pencil. Riverdale’s given me that opportunity to grow by building this interdisciplinary curriculum, and they’ve let me ride with it. Separately, I’ve been able to work with our students of color in the SOCs affinity program. It’s really nice to be able to build camaraderie with those kids and actually watch them go through their lower school journey. I’ve gotten to experience so much with Riverdale. I’ve learned more about the Northeast by being here at the school, joining the overnights with the kids, and doing the Costa Rica trip was amazing too. We’ve developed the children while also developing ourselves.
“The world is shifting and changing every day, and we need to help students adapt and change with that shift.”
117 different zip codes represented
48% students of color
Andrew Kingsley
Middle/Upper School, Faculty
What comes to mind when you think of Riverdale?
Riverdale has believed in me and pushed me to grow. I have the freedom to teach what I want and talk to kids in a way that feels natural. The school has been a champion of the ideas I’ve brought, most evidently with the electives I’ve created, and continues to give me the green light.
What have been some of your best memories?
When I arrive on campus, I go to the faculty room and see my favorite people, not just at Riverdale, but in the whole world. My colleagues bring me so much joy. I love going to my students’ sports matches and making posters for them. In my Queering America elective, I always give the students free rein to do a project that’s close to their hearts. I noticed a kid doodling and encouraged him to make his own fashion line. Only at Riverdale could I model the T-shirt that one of my students designed.
How would you describe Riverdale to someone who doesn’t know it?
Before coming to Riverdale, I thought of the disciplines as very modular. English was English, history was history, and you weren’t supposed to intermix them. Then I started teaching Constructing America, one of our required interdisciplinary courses, and it broadened my horizons as to what was possible. Every year, the junior class goes to Washington DC, where we go to museums and visit advocacy groups. Getting an audience with world leaders who are at the cutting edge of American progress is enriching. Students see that their knowledge is readily applicable in today’s world.
Interdisciplinary teaching and experiential learning show the students that we acknowledge that their world is increasingly interconnected and complex. In my climate change course, we start with a Margaret Atwood quote that says: “it’s not climate change, it’s everything change.” In order to teach the kids about climate change, I teach art, politics, economics, psychology, science, literature, history, and I merge these disciplines together. It makes class much more dynamic and prepares students to leave Riverdale as more engaged citizens.
What impact do you hope you’ll have on your students?
Riverdale welcomes discourse about contentious topics. What I love doing in my climate change class is exposing the kids to articles from today’s news. I love showing them both sides, showing them people actively engaged in debate and showing them that they really shouldn’t pick sides that might be biased, overlooking or cherry-picking evidence. They can triangulate for themselves between these ideas and ultimately settle on the most informed opinion. This is how you stay informed, and this is ultimately how you can take effective action in the future.
What do you think you’ll take with you from Riverdale? I came here loving word games and crossword puzzles. A few years ago, a student said, “I hear you make crossword puzzles for the New York Times. Could you take a look at my puzzles?” And I said, “Get in here. Let’s talk about this.” Since then, we’ve published several puzzles together in the New York Times. It’s been touching to find students who are so hungry to share that passion with me.
“When I arrive on campus, I go to the faculty room and see my favorite people, not just at Riverdale, but in the whole world. My colleagues bring me so much joy.”
350+ teaching faculty
Elvira Castillo
Class of 1999, Alumni
What made your Riverdale experience special?
There were a couple of teachers who really changed my life. Mr. Mike (Michelson) is the first one that comes to mind. He stepped in and was a father to a lot of us. That’s just who he was. He was the dean of my class. He sees the best in everyone and brings out their best. Having that influence and that person who just taught me to see the best in myself at a time when maybe I wasn’t inclined to do so was very transformative and highly impactful for me. My teachers, like Mr. Doerfler, challenged the way I thought and expanded my views of the world. These individuals give another meaning to what an educator is. It’s not just someone who teaches you things; it’s someone who can change the way you look at yourself in the world and offer support and guidance that go far beyond a lesson in a classroom. And now, years later, I can see very clearly that you meet those one or two people in your life if you’re lucky. It doesn’t happen in every institution that you go to. I didn’t have that experience in college, and I didn’t have that experience in law school. That’s something that has stayed with me throughout my life and is one of the most important things I got from Riverdale.
What memories do you have from your time at Riverdale?
Mr. Sipp was the admissions head when I applied, and he was the one who saw me, and then convinced me that Riverdale was a place where I could thrive. He took it as a personal duty to ensure that I would find success at the school. I was on financial aid, and the financial aid was so comprehensive that it actually facilitated my ability to go to a mock trial competition
in Washington, DC. The financial aid director heard I was considering this, and I said, “It’s expensive, and there’s a lot involved in it.” She responded, “If this is something you really want to do, we can help you.” It was such an amazing experience because I was able to be immersed and meet other kids who were similarly situated in terms of their interests. It was one of the most fun experiences of high school, and the fact that the school was so willing to make that happen really stayed with me and influenced my trajectory. There were people who joined the mock trial team who were from really different walks of life. Someone on my team had a dad who was a big time lawyer at a New York firm, and there were people who were interested because of the acting component, and others who liked the legal component. It’s kind of interesting to work as a team; you have to be a cohesive team to be successful. That influenced and facilitated what I did in my career. Giving me access to experiences that made me feel like the legal field was the right path for me was really helpful.
I also remember ILS (Integrated Liberal Studies). In my first semester in college in all of the foundational courses, whether it was Plato or Rousseau or Hobbes, nothing felt intimidating to me because I had already read those works, analyzing them and pushing myself as a high school senior to engage with what they meant. That was really empowering. I was well prepared to enter an academically demanding environment.
Riverdale instilled a discipline that served me well later in life. The coursework was demanding and asked us to bring our best. You can be a brilliant
“Riverdale laid the groundwork and provided me with a framework on how to approach things so that I would be successful.”
lawyer, but if you don’t prepare substantially and know the facts of your case, you’re not going to be successful, and you’re not going to convince others to agree with what you’re saying. Riverdale laid the groundwork and provided me with a framework on how to approach things so that I would be successful. I could look at what I did and feel proud of the effort that I put forth.
20% of Riverdale students receive financial aid, which includes generous “extras” support $12M+ financial aid budget to support the full experience for financial aid students
Max Horne
Class of 2019, Alumni
What do you love about Riverdale?
Riverdale is committed to teaching people how to be critical thinkers and good people. It’s not just about giving students skills that help them become successful professionally, but also teaches them to be ethical and kind. Teachers have deep personal relationships with students, mentoring them as people. It’s such a trusting community that people are willing to open themselves up. Graduates can leave having had vastly different experiences, but each of those paths was enriching, and they got what they needed when they needed it. Kids and families customize the Riverdale experience for themselves.
How did Riverdale help to ignite passion in you? We had a unit on the Silk Road in our 4th grade history textbook, and I was totally fascinated. I wanted to know about China, and I wanted to learn Chinese. Fast forward to 6th grade, I switched into Chinese class, and Ms. Li brought so many aspects of China into the classroom that were not related to the language - the culture, the history, the government. It was woven into the curriculum. During free periods, l chatted with my Chinese teachers, and I spent every summer from 8th-12th grade in China. My teachers recommended that I participate in a Chinese competition hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Education. I won the United States competition and then went to China to compete. My teacher flew over to help me. It was an unbelievable level of encouragement. Years later, I was in China during the summer riding on an overnight train to a rural town. I texted my Riverdale Chinese teacher when I realized that the train was going through her hometown at
3:00 a.m. She prepared an entire dinner for me with everything I could have wanted. During the two minutes the train stopped, she delivered the food and hugged me on the train platform. It was the most surreal moment of my life that she just appeared out of nowhere. It doesn’t get any more caring than that.
I majored in East Asian studies at Harvard and wrote my thesis on Rural Development in China. I was co-president of Harvard College China Forum, the largest and oldest summit on China in North America. That led me to doing the Schwartzman scholars program, a one year masters in global affairs. I was president of the student body and worked to build a new program, an experience for American college students to better understand China.
I left Riverdale knowing that I got a really nuanced perspective on modern China, inspired to learn more and seek out a complex understanding of the place.
Now I’ve helped to create this program to hopefully provide the same thing to a future cohort of American students. That unit in my 4th grade history class completely changed the course of my entire life.
Besides Chinese, what other pieces of your Riverdale experience stood out?
Almost all of my closest friends continue to be my Riverdale friends. In the lower school, we played in a little stream. Getting covered in mud and turning over rocks and finding worms was such a great part of my Riverdale experience.
I loved being on the cross country team, running in Van Cortlandt Park every day after school. It’s great being at a campus school that’s so close to nature. I
“Riverdale understands that everything’s more intense when you’re young, and kids just want to be affirmed and loved in addition to being challenged. Riverdale provides that affirmation in spades.”
made so many nice friends on the team, and it was a wonderful way to debrief after the school day.
Debate was helpful in terms of teaching me to listen closely. Riverdale gives kids in a highly polarized America a great grounding on how to have respectful disagreement, how to engage in civil discourse.
How would you describe Riverdale to someone who doesn’t know it?
Riverdale is rooted in the past while being very dynamic, and I love that. Academic excellence is the number one priority, but the next biggest thing is empathy. The school taught kids to be empathetic toward people of different backgrounds, and that didn’t necessarily just mean the color of your skin but
5,000+ active alumni
also political viewpoints or the way you grew up. I got a great education on understanding an opposing viewpoint, and that’s also an exercise in empathy. Riverdale understands that everything’s more intense when you’re young, and kids just want to be affirmed and loved in addition to being challenged. Riverdale provides that affirmation in spades. Riverdale is a real community. The alumni community is strong, and it’s great when you run into someone who went to Riverdale. Riverdale is so engaging for every single person involved.
One last thing… everyone worries about the bus ride. Someone said to my parents, “It gives the kids time to wind up at the beginning of the day and wind down at the end of the day.” I found that to be so true. It was so good as a young kid to have this transition period. I spent so many hours looking out the window and learning about New York. I’m an advocate for that bus ride.
