Engineering Program Participation

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• My student is interested in the engineering program at Riverside.  How can they get in?

The PLTW engineering program at Riverside is a stem pathway in the DPS lottery.  The lottery opens in early January each year and closes near the end of the month.  Students in the Riverside district will receive priority admission if they enter the lottery and list the engineering program as their first choice.  Second priority goes to those outside of Riverside's district who list the engineering program as their first choice.  For more information on the lottery process, see the Magnet Program page on the DPS website.

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• Are there any math prerequisites for the engineering program?

There are no math prerequisites for the engineering program.  Teachers are expected to meet students where they are.  One third of our students start in Math 1, one third start in Math 2 and the other third start in Math 3 or higher.  The key criterion is this - if your student likes math, is good at math, or both, they should have no problems with the math in the coursework.  If they don't like math AND aren't good at it, they are not likely to meet with success in the engineering program.

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• My student is already in the engineering program.  Do I need to reapply each year?

Once your student is in the program, they do not need to reapply each year.

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National Technical Honor Society

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• What is the National Technical Honor Society?

The National Technical Honor Society honors the achievements of top CTE students, provides scholarships to encourage the pursuit of higher education, and cultivates excellence in today's highly competitive, skilled workforce.

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• What are the criteria for NTHS selection at Riverside?

There are four criteria considered when selecting students for the Riverside High School chapter:

1. Teacher recommendation

2. Overall GPA of 3.0

3. Student has taken three CTE classes

4. Average of 90 in combined CTE classes

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Community Service Requirements

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• Are there any community service requirements associated with the engineering program?

The engineering program does not have any community service requirement for students.  We do believe, however, that participating in community service activities enriches the life experiences of students, broadening their exposure to the greater community and helping to make them more well-rounded individuals.  To that end, REPAC organizes several community service projects each year in which students may participate.

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Durham Technical Community College

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• I've heard that students can take class at Durham Tech.  What is that all about?

The Career and College Promise program at DTCC provides an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to take college classes at no charge.  For more information, please see the College and Career Readiness page.

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Grading Scale and GPAs

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• What is the grading scale for Durham Public Schools?

DPS uses a 10-point grading scale, which means:

• A (90 - 100%) = 4.0

• B (80 - 89%) = 3.0

• C (70 - 79%) = 2.0

• D (60 - 69%) = 1.0

• F (59% or lower) = 0.0

 

• How do you determine your unweighted GPA?

A student would apply the above scale to the final grade in each class to determine their total quality points.  That number is then divided by their total number of classes to determine their average, or unweighted GPA.

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• How do you determine your weighted GPA?

A weighted GPA takes into account whether your classes are Honors or AP/PLTW level courses.  For honors courses, one-half (0.5) point is added to the value of each grade percentage.  For AP and PLTW courses, one (1) point is added.   For Example:  a student making a 94% as a final grade in Introduction to Engineering Design (IED), would receive 4.00 points for the 94% plus 1 point for the PLTW class, giving him/her a 5.00 for the course.  A 94% in an honors course would earn a student 4.00 points plus 0.5 points for honors, giving him/her a 4.50 for the course.  After the extra points are added, simple averages are computed (scores from all courses taken are added together and divided by the total number of courses) to determine GPA.

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