Work Program

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to take the student to set up bank accounts at the beginning of the school year. Students can open a bank account at local banks in Healdsburg. There is Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and many local banks and credit unions that are familiar with international and boarding student accounts. Parents can transfer money and monitor spending through most banks online. To set up an account, the student needs a government-issued ID (passport), their I-20 form, and cash to deposit. Also, if the student is under 18, a parent/guardian must sign the account application form.

We do not recommend students keep large amounts of cash in their rooms. Please see the dean to lock up cash, passports and valuables for safety purposes.

Verizon, AT&T and other cell phone companies all work on campus. Both Wal-Mart, Verizon and the AT&T store (both located in Windsor, about 15 min away) have flexible deals and phones for students to use. Plan prices can range between $30-$60/month. The best option is to get a pre-paid plan so you don’t have to sign a 3-year contract.

The cafeteria serves three nutritious meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and two meals (brunch and dinner) provided on Sunday. Based on our vegetarian principles the cafeteria provides a delicious, healthy, well-rounded meal for our students, essential for growing minds. Most food is organic, prepared fresh, and has options for students with special dietary needs, such as gluten-free or vegan.

Rio is a Christian school and worship is an important part of Rio’s school program. Rio respects all backgrounds and many of the worship services are led by students. Every morning, students attend a school-wide assembly, and in the evenings they have a short worship in the dorms before study hall. On Friday nights, the school holds a worship service and again on Saturday mornings at 10:00 am until noon. All students are required to attend all worship services.

The school takes a bus to town each month and students can shop at the supermarket, Wal-Mart, or the local mall in Santa Rosa. If a student has an urgent need to buy something, he or she can speak with a faculty member during the week and try to find a ride into town that way. There is no public transportation from the campus to town. Students can receive packages from Amazon and order food from food delivery services such as UberEats and GrubHub.

Rio has a block schedule, which means students will not have every class on every day. We have a two-day rotation cycle, called “A Day” and “B Day”. Students attend their “A Day” classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and their “B Day” classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays alternate between A and B days. This information is listed on the school calendar.

Rio in an official standardized testing site and regularly administrators the SAT, and ACT tests as well as other annual achievement tests to track student learning. Students can obtain information about TOEFL testing from the ESL teacher or school counselor.

Rio does not provide medical insurance for students. The student’s family health or international travel insurance plan is the primary coverage for school activity-related injuries. Students are covered under a 24-hour accident insurance plan which provides secondary coverage, if needed, for school activity-related injuries. If you have not made arrangements for medical coverage for your student, you may want to consider obtaining appropriate coverage. You may visit www.sevencorners.com for examples of the types of coverage for students studying abroad.

If your child wakes up in the morning and is feeling ill, he/she inform the dean that they don’t feel well. The dean will monitor the illness and contact parents and medical personnel if the illness is severe. While sick in the dorm, students must stay in their rooms and rest. Food will be brought to their room for them. If necessary, deans will take students to a doctors office with parents permission. The closest hospital for emergencies is 12 minutes away by car.