A safe space for self-discovery
Riverside School is a MA 766-approved, non-profit, therapeutic day school designed to meet the academic and therapeutic needs of middle and high school-age adolescents.
The Riverside School mission is to help adolescents coping with mental health challenges feel safe and included as they discover their identity, voice, and community while pursuing academic achievement.
Leadership
Riverside School is led and staffed by masters-level clinicians and administrators who are dedicated to the education, health, and well-being of each Riverside student, individually.
Amanda Arnst, PhD, M.Ed
Program Director
Amanda M. Arnst, PhD, M.Ed is Riverside School’s program director. She has an extensive background in special education, social/emotional learning, and trauma-sensitive care. Most recently, she taught at the Cotting School and Boston College Campus School. Describing herself as a life-long learner, Amanda works closely with Lesley University and focuses her academic research on trauma-sensitive education. Amanda embraces diversity and firmly believes that everyone has something to contribute to the world and that with the right tools and support, students can recognize that they have the ability to do anything. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Amanda has called Boston home for a dozen years, where she enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with her family and friends.
Meg Ritter, M.Ed.
Program Assistant Director
Margaret (Meg) Ritter (She/Her/Hers) is the assistant program director for Riverside School. Her long and diverse career in teaching encompasses ages from preschool to high school and places from the inner city to western reservations. She has been an educator in reading recovery, remedial elementary academics, computer literacy skills, severe special needs, and emotional and behavioral challenges in a therapeutic setting. Apart from work, Meg’s wide variety of interests includes drawing and painting, gardening and reading, hiking, and horseback riding. And she adores her two cats (both deaf) and many grandchildren!
About Riverside School
Riverside School is a MA-766 approved, non-profit, therapeutic day school designed to meet the academic and therapeutic needs of middle and high school-age adolescents. We specialize in educating teens with mental health diagnoses, including severe anxiety, depression, and trauma, that impact their social-emotional well-being and academic environment and are underserved by the public school setting. With small classes year-round, a low student-teacher ratio, and an emphasis on clinical wellness, scholastic achievement, and personal growth, Riverside School offers students and families an individualized approach to learning and therapy in a small, safe, inclusive environment. With two locations in Needham and Milford, Massachusetts, Riverside School is a subsidiary of Riverside Community Care, which provides more than 40,000 children, adolescents, and adults with a broad range of behavioral healthcare and human services. Riverside School is an accredited member of the Massachusetts Association of 766-Approved Private Schools and the Council for Exceptional Children.
Our Connection to Riverside Community Care
Riverside School is part of the non-profit parent organization, Riverside Community Care, and benefits from their vast resources and programs.
Riverside Community Care makes a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities through innovative and compassionate behavioral healthcare and human services.
A community-based non-profit organization serving more than 40,000 people a year in Massachusetts, Riverside Community Care offers a wide range of mental healthcare, developmental and brain injury services, early childhood and youth programs, addiction treatment, trauma response, and more. And Riverside’s behavioral health consulting, screening, and suicide prevention programs for schools, communities, businesses, and organizations are extending its reach to more than 3.5 million people around the globe.
“Riverside School has impacted me in many ways but the main way it has impacted me is now I find the joy in things I may have missed when I didn’t know how to manage symptoms. I appreciate everything and everyone around me.”
– Catie