Charter public schools are an important part of Massachusetts public school system. They are tuition free and have an enrollment process that treats all students equally. Charter public schools operate under five-year “charters” granted by the Commonwealth’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. These agreements allow charter public schools to operate independently from the local school district in order to have greater flexibility in how they approach key areas of school life, including: curriculum design, staffing, teacher leadership, professional development, and school culture.

Charter public schools are accountable to a range of stakeholders. They are managed by public boards of trustees, abide by all the same laws and rules that district schools do, and are overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which renews their charters every five years. Charter public schools are often proposed and established by teachers, school leaders, parents, and other members of the community.

In Massachusetts, charter public schools are focused on: teachers and classrooms, the unique learning needs of children, achieving results on behalf of kids, and ensuring educational equity for all students.

To learn more, please visit http://masscharterschools.org.

Rising Tide Charter Public School (Rising Tide) is a college preparatory public school for students in grades 5-12. There are approximately 620 students in grades 5-12.

Rising Tide accepts and serves all grade-eligible residents of Massachusetts. Preference in the enrollment process is given first to siblings of current students and then to residents of towns in the school’s designated region: Barnstable, Bourne, Carver, Duxbury, Falmouth, Freetown, Halifax, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Sandwich, Wareham.

Enrollment at Rising Tide is determined through a blind lottery process. Applicants need to submit an enrollment application (a one-page contact information sheet) by the end of the enrollment period. The enrollment application can be found on the school’s website. If there are more applicants than available spaces, a lottery is held. Spaces available in each grade level are filled according to the order of the lottery drawing; once available spaces are filled, remaining student names will be placed on a waiting list in the order in which they are drawn. Please see the Enrollment Policy for more detailed information.

As a public school, Rising Tide is open to all students who reside in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In admitting students, Rising Tide does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or in a foreign language, or academic achievement.

Yes. Please see the Notice of Rights for Students with Disabilities.

Yes. Please see the Notice of Rights for English Language Learners.

Rising Tide is tuition-free for students and families, like all other public schools in Massachusetts.

For each child that a Commonwealth charter school enrolls, it receives a tuition amount from the state equal to a per-pupil amount calculated by the Department’s school finance office. The state then deducts the same amount from the sending district’s state aid account (the sending district being the school district in which the student resides). Like other public schools, Commonwealth charter schools are eligible to receive federal and state grant funds. Commonwealth charter schools may apply for private grants and receive contributions. For more detailed information about how the state calculates tuition payments for Commonwealth charter schools, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/tuition/ or the MassBudget’s website: http://children.massbudget.org/charter-school-reimbursement

For additional information about charter public school financing, visit the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association website: http://www.masscharterschools.org/myths?field_issues_tid=4.

Funding for all public schools in Massachusetts is dependent upon a combination of local, state, and federal revenue. For an overview of how the funding works and how Massachusetts compares to other states, please visit the MassBudget website: http://www.massbudget.org/report_window.php?loc=ed_census_2012.html.

Chapter 70 education aid is Massachusetts’ primary program for contributing to public school funding. For more information about Chapter 70 education aid, please visit the MassBudget website: http://children.massbudget.org/chapter-70-aid.

Rising Tide’s founders were a group of Plymouth community members who sought to build a small, community-based middle school. They wanted to create a school focused on high academic achievement and project- and skills-based learning. The founders felt such a school would provide parents with a choice in public education.

Rising Tide first opened in 1998 with 162 students in grades 5-7. The school expanded in September of 1999 to 216 students in grades 5-8. By September of 2004 the school had expanded to 250 students and in September of 2006 the school grew to its current middle school capacity of approximately 320 students in grades 5-8. Over the next few years, Rising Tide expanded to include grades 9-12.

Latin is offered in the Middle School program in grades seven and eight. The classical language is valuable to gaining an understanding of language as well as to establishing a foundation for learning any Romance language. Spanish and Latin are offered in the Upper School program, through level five, providing students with an opportunity to gain foundational skills as well as reading, writing or speaking fluency in a world language. In the Upper School electives program, introductory courses for German, Ancient Greek, and French have been offered.

The Arts are a priority of the educational program at Rising Tide, along with English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages. During their time at Rising Tide, all students participate in foundational courses in Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Art, and students in the Upper School have the opportunity to participate in continued offerings in each discipline. There are also a large variety of elective courses in the Arts available to students. Additionally,  students have many opportunities to participate in our after school Arts program which includes Band, Music Ensembles, Chorus as well as regular Theatrical performances. 

Teachers at Rising Tide are required to pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) and Rising Tide hires teachers who are highly qualified.

Rising Tide students residing in Plymouth have benefited from Plymouth Public School bus service since the school opened in 1998 and will continue to do so. In the fall of 2020, the school began offering bus transportation to the additional 19 towns within the school’s designated region. These  towns include Barnstable, Bourne, Carver, Duxbury, Falmouth, Freetown, Halifax, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Pembroke, Plympton, Rochester, Sandwich, and Wareham. All students residing in one of these designated towns will be eligible for bus service free of charge at one of many community bus stops. Regional bus stops benefit a great number of families and make Rising Tide more accessible. 

Rising Tide offers boys’ and girls’ soccer, cross-country, golf, basketball, baseball and softball, and tennis teams that compete against other local schools. Recently, the school added girls’ volleyball. Rising Tide is a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and is a part of the Cape and Islands League.

Students may participate in after-school sports, after-school theater productions, or clubs. Upper School clubs may include Chorus, Dance, Debate, Community Action, Gaming, Instrumental Ensembles, Junior Classical League, Math, Model UN, Music, Newspaper, Rising for Equality, Science, Student Government, Volleyball, and Yearbook.

Middle School Discover courses are designed by teachers to help students build skills while exploring academic, artistic, and athletic topics of interest to them.

Rising Tide faculty and staff view homework as essential to the learning process and to high academic achievement. Individual work helps students to build on the skills and knowledge they gain in the classroom, and provides opportunities for students to gain deeper understanding through practice, reflection, and synthesis; in addition, homework assists students in developing organizational skills and the ability to follow directions. Homework is an important part of student assessment and is required for high learning standards.

Students should expect to have homework assignments in several courses each night; all students are expected to regularly complete assignments. Depending upon the grade level, homework should take approximately 45 minutes to two hours each night.

In the Middle School and Upper School, students are scheduled for Academic Support time each week, during which they will have an opportunity to get support from teachers to review skills and concepts. If a student is consistently taking more than the expected amount of time per night to complete homework, the student should speak to his or her Advisor.

The Advisory Program is central to the structure of supportive relationships at Rising Tide. Each Rising Tide student has a faculty Advisor, who is also a teacher at the school. Each Advisory group acts as a small community within the grade level and the school, and each grade level has a team of Advisors who work together throughout the year to support the personal and academic growth of the students. Each grade level Advisory team works collaboratively to implement an Advisory curriculum that includes Community Building, Future Planning, and Wellness programming. 

The Advisor is the primary advocate for each student at school. The Advisor works to help each student become responsible for his or her own learning. If a student has any concerns or challenges – academic, extra-curricular, or social – the student should communicate with his or her Advisor.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and related regulations provide eligible special education students with access to services in order to make progress in the general education program of the school. Massachusetts has incorporated the IDEA standards within its General Laws.

Rising Tide Charter Public School provides special education services in accordance with the Massachusetts regulations and federal law. We implement a program that ensures students the right to a free and appropriate education within the least restrictive environment.

The Rising Tide Charter Public School community is a close and caring group of students, advisors, teachers, staff, and families. We value our relationships with each other and strive to develop an atmosphere of trust, respect for differences, support, and understanding. We expect that students will behave responsibly and with consideration for the feelings of other students, teachers, and staff. We are proud that Rising Tide is a safe space in which students can grow and learn.

Yes. Students at Rising Tide perform well on MCAS tests in comparison with students across the state; however, we focus on engaging students in activities that encourage critical thinking and help them build skills for life-long learning.