HIGH SCHOOL UNWRAPPED

MARCH 4, 2015

DRAFT

“Renaissance is committed to graduating individuals who are competent, powerful thinkers, engaged citizens, and life-long learners

who will create the renaissance of New York.”

This line from our mission statement sums up our high-school in a nutshell. We want our HS students to be leaders who challenge the status-quo, people who care about the world around them, and want to make their communities, both in and out of school, better places to live and learn.

We strive every day to teach students to be proficient writers, readers, artists, critical thinkers, geographically literate, imaginative problem solvers, scientific analysts, physically and emotionally healthy, and proponents of social justice.

We care about your child’s character as much as their academic rank.

A word about small…

Renaissance HS is a small school.

No doubt about it. We have about 220 students 9-12.

And that’s just the way we like it. Why?

We know you – from teachers to office staff to school safety officers to…

Your teachers know how you learn, what your strengths are, where you need help.

We have the flexibility to add experiential learning to your plate whenever the opportunity arises--which means more artists and other experts in your classes, more trips, more leadership opportunities and internships.

Students in small schools perform better academically, graduate at higher levels, are more likely to attend college, and earn higher salaries later on in life.*

You heard about that BIG fish in the small pond? That could be you.

*Raywid,“Small Schools: A ReformThat Works,” Educational Leadership, 55(4),p.34-39

We can prove it, too. For the last several years …

The percentage of Renaissance high school students meeting standards on Regents exams exceeded the district levels by 6 to 19 percentage points.

We have maintained a school attendance rate of above 95%.

We have maintained a 92-98% graduation rate.

97-100% college acceptance rate, with 100% happening more often than not.

We received an A for college & Career Readiness from the DOE

We were the only charter school named as one of NYC’s top high schools by Daily News, AM NY and US News & World Report

Not to mention some of our fantastic alumni. They are … Artists - Cathy Messier (class of 2007) a graduate of Brandeis, playwright & actor. Lisette

Lopez (class of 2010) won a prestigious internship with the art department of the Museum of Natural History.  Daniel Sanchez (class of 2006), working in the film industry in NYC as a production assistant, and writer/producer of documentaries. 

Health Professionals – Samantha Aaron (class of 2006), working as a research scientist at the NYC Department of Mental Health after finishing her master’s in Public Health.

Law Professionals – Sam Gauthier (class of 2008), getting his law degree from CUNY Law after graduating from Trinity College, Hartford.

Engineering Professionals - Jonathan Rivas (class of 2008), working as Engineer’s Assistant at Hazen & Sawyer Environmental Engineers;

Education Professionals – Claudia Martinez (class of 2006), got her Master’s in Education from Harvard. Jose Mane (class of 1999) is teaching Global Humanities at Renaissance, and is doing post-graduate work at Columbia. Pierre Dizon (class of 2005) is teaching MS Social Studies and has his education degree in Special Education. Alex Smith (class of 2000) is our Sports coordinator and teaches recess here at Renaissance. Girelle Guzman (class of 2002) developed our Leadership & Internship program at Renaissance, now working for a global construction firm.

Entrepreneurs – Deep Patel (class of 2005), owns a chain of convenience stores in upstate New York, AND the fuel company that supplies his gas stations!

Innovators – Luvana Chowdhury (class of 2009), was a Fulbright Scholar finalist for developing a micro-chip to detect Dengue Fever; Tsechu Dolma (class of 2010), received a Brower Youth Award in recognition of her efforts to create a model for sustainable food security in Nepal.

And more… alums like Brandee Williams (class of 2005) who is here tonight, is a public relations professional; or Conor McCoy (class of 2004), an investment broker, is talking to us about giving back to his alma mater, by joining the Friends of Renaissance board.

ACRONYMS!TRCS (RENAISSANCE)

CSG (COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE)

ELL (ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS)

ELA (ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

TLC (THE LEARNING CENTER)

ICT (INTEGRATED COLLABORATIVE TEACHING)

AP (ADVANCED PLACEMENT)

SAT (SCHOLASTIC APTITUTE TEST)

ACT (AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST)

TREA (TEENS FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC AWAKENING)

• Staff and Curriculum

• Advisories

• AP Courses

• College and Career Office

• Leadership Program

• College Now

• Extracurricular Activities

• College Acceptance

• Student Government

• Individual Attention

• Your Student Has a Voice!

Why TRCS?

English Language Arts (ELA)

Miyo Tubridy, ELA Coach

Ariel Sacks – 9th Grade Humanities (ELA)

Miyo Tubridy – 10th Grade ELA, 12th Grade ELA

Sandra Fritz – 11th Grade ELA, AP English Literature

Vincent Chen – 11th Grade ELA

Ellie Shrier – ELA ICT

Nicole Jollon – Literacy

All the above staff also teach writer's workshops—small groups of students working on targeted writing skills based on students' needs. Additional writing workshop teachers often include Jose Mane — Humanities, Tammy Park – ELL and other literacy teachers as needed.

Ariel

EllieNicole

Vincent

Miyo

Sandra

MathRam Buenaventura, Math Coach

Erin Chae – Pre-Calculus, Integrated Algebra, Algebra 2/Trigonometry

Tara Gangarossa – Calculus, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry

Edward Tan – Algebra and Geometry ICT

Yianna Vasiliou – Geometry

All the above staff also teach 9th grade math skills classes—small groups of students working on targeted math skills based on students' needs.

Ram

Erin

Yianna

Edward (ET)

Tara

ScienceDan Fanelli, Science Coach

Richard Doherty – Physics

Riaad Etheridge – Living Environment, Agriculture

Dan Fanelli – Earth Science

Yaacov Levy – Chemistry, AP Biology

Danielle Randone – Science ICT

All the above staff also teach science skills classes—small groups of students working on targeted science skills based on students' needs. Riaad

DanYaacov

Richard

Danielle

Social StudiesJose Mane, Social Studies Coach

Jose Mane – 9th Grade Humanities (Global History & Geography)

Jason George – 10th Grade Global History & Geography, AP World History

Thandi Guimaraes – 11th Grade US History, 12th Grade Economics, AP US History

In addition to the above core classes, we offer 10th grade Global Labs; small group, project-based learning experiences that support the content in Global History & Geography. Global labs are taught by various staff members who come with a variety of content knowledge from the arts, science, language arts and social studies. Current Global Lab teachers are Curtis Anderson - TLC, Lisa Burns - TLC, Robert Evangelista – Art, and Everett Boyd – Music.

Thandi

Jose

Thandi

Jason

ArtsEverett Boyd, Arts Coach

Everett Boyd – Music

Robert Evangelista – Art

Rebekah Slotnick – Drama

9th grade students take an introductory course in all three HS arts classes before choosing an Arts major to follow through 11th grade.

In addition, there is an arts elective for 8th-12th grade students that meets once a week during the Wednesday Leadership program time that offers students the opportunity to explore another arts medium or get involved in a multi-media project. Teachers: Curtis Anderson - Drama & Stage Direction; Lisa Burns - Singing & Songwriting; Robert Evangelista – Art, Costuming & Set Design; Everett Boyd – Music & Sound Design.

RobertEverett Rebekah

Curtis

Lisa

Foreign LanguageMarta Bolivar, Coach

Marta Bolivar – 9th, 10th, 11th Grade Spanish; AP Spanish Literature

Lisjane Gaviria - 9th, 10th, 11th Grade Spanish

In addition to helping students gain fluency and preparing students to take the Spanish Comprehensive Regents exam, Renaissance often offers advanced Spanish Honors courses in Spanish Literature and Language, culminating in students taking the AP Spanish Literature and AP Spanish Language exams.

Each year we schedule Honors or AP classes depending on the demand.We have also facilitated individualized online learning courses in other languages, such as French and Arabic. Students interested in pursuing another foreign language should speak to their Advisor.

Marta

Lisjane

Physical Education

Vinny Garelick – PE Teacher; Boys Varsity Baseball and Basketball Coach

Alex Smith – Sports Coordinator

PSAL (Public School Athletic League) and Charter School Athletic League team sports offered at Renaissance include Boys Varsity Basketball, Boys Varsity Baseball, Girls Varsity Volleyball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer and Girls Softball. Teams are formed depending on student interest and commitment.

Vinny Alex

9th Grade: • Algebra (Erin)/Geometry (Tara)• Global Studies/Humanities

(Jose)• Living Environment (Riaad)• ELA (Ariel)• Spanish (Lisjane/Marta)• Health (Suzanne)• College Bound (Maura)• Arts• Advisory• Physical Education

(Vinny/Raymond)

CurriculumTypical program:

10th Grade: • Geometry (Yianna/Tara)• Global Studies (Jason)• Global Lab• ELA (Miyo)• Chemistry (Yaacov)• College Bound (Maura)• Spanish (Lisjane/Marta)• Arts Major• Advisory• PE (Vinny/Raymond)• AP Classes (various)

CurriculumTypical program:

11th Grade:

• Algebra 2/Trig (Tara)• US History (Thandi)• ELA (Sandra/Vincent)• Spanish (Lisjane/Marta)• Physics (Richard) or Agriculture (Riaad)• College Bound (Ana/Maura)• Arts Major• Advisory• Physical Education• AP Classes (various)

12th Grade:

• Senior Seminar• Pre-Calculus or Calculus (Tara/Erin)• ELA (Miyo)• Government/Economics (Thandi)• College Bound (Ana/Maura)• Advanced Agriculture (Riaad) or

Physics (Richard) or AP Bio (Yaacov)• Spanish (Lisjane) or AP Spanish

Literature (Marta)• Additional AP classes • PE (Vinny/Raymond)

❖ Support Students In Monitoring Academic Goals

❖ Support Students’ Social-Emotional Development

❖ Promote Community Service Through An Advisory-Developed Project or Initiative

HS Advisors are drawn from the entire middle and high school staff, in order to keep the size of the groups small. Students in 9th and 10th grades start every day with an advisory. 11th and 12th graders meet with their advisory groups weekly, and seniors have Senior Seminar and College Bound to address senior-specific issues, plans, college applications and scholarship essays, among other things.

AdvisoriesThe advisory program focuses on creating a safe space where advisors can enhance students’ social-emotional development and work on team -building. Three major goals guide the work of Advisory:

AP Courses

Advanced Placement Courses:

Students are encouraged to take AP classes, to challenge themselves and develop a competitive transcript that will attract the college of their choice.

Advisors will inform students when there is an option to do higher level work in a particular class. Because classes are weighted, a student’s rank in the graduating class will reflect the level of difficulty of his or her coursework.

● Biology

● World History

● Human Geography

● Psychology

● Spanish Literature

● Spanish Language

● U.S. History

● English Literature

● English Language

Literacy Skills/Senior Seminar

Teacher

Leadership Program Coordinator

College and Career Office

Ana Falla Riff Maura Malarcher Vacant

College/Career Counselor/HS Coordinator

We strive to help students create an academic and career portfolio that reflects her/his aspirations, goals, dreams, and skills.

How?

● Create curricula that reflects our students’ needs.

○ 9th Grade

○ 10th Grade

○ 11th Grade

○ 12th Grade

● Engage parents as partners in their children’s education.

○ Grade meetings

○ Financial Aid Workshops

○ Individual meetings with parents/guardians

● Work with faculty and staff to create individualized student plans.

College and Career Office: http://trcscollegeoffice.blogspot.com/

College and Career Office

Exposes students to academic and extracurricular leadership opportunities:

● City University of New York (CUNY) College Now Program

○ Queens College■ Bronx Community College■ School of Professional Studies

○ John Jay School of Criminal Justice

● The Opportunity Network

○ OppNet Prep○ OppNet Fellows

● The Posse Foundation

○ Lafayette○ Trinity (CT)○ Brandeis

● Sadie Nash Leadership Project

○ Saturation Model○ Role Models Mentoring Program○ Summer Leadership Institute

● Social Justice Day● Career Day

College and Career Office

• Sadie Nash Leadership Project

• Move This World

• Students Care

• Engineering for Kids

• Global Kids

• Culinary Arts

• Teens for Racial and Ethnic Awakening (TREA)

• Staff Assistants

Check out the video below, about ourLeadership Program:

College and Career Office

https://vimeo.com/82225260

On-site Leadership Programs

• Ace Mentor Program• NYPD Explorers• READ Alliance• YMCA• Super Kickers• Children’s Big Apple• Zany’s Furry Friends• Faith in New York• Ins and Outs Music• Queens Library• NORC Roots & Branches

Program

College and Career OfficeOff-site Leadership Programs

• Jamaica Hospital

• Possibility Project

• Police Athletic League

• 82nd Street Academics

• NYU High School Law Institute

• Good Guides Mentoring

• Urban Arts Partnership

• Cerami and Associates

• Corona Vision

• Michael Cervini Law

• Noguchi Museum Teen Board

• Robotics Club

• Tech Crew

• Rensizzle

• Sports Teams

• Student Government

• Peer Mediation

• Yearbook Committee

• Future Farmers of America

• National Honor Society

• Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

• Curtain Up! Drama Club

• Jazz Band

• Photography, Graphic Novel, Computer Animation…

• or… got another idea? Let us know!

Extracurricular Activities

START YOUR OWN CLUB

Rensizzle Week

There is nothing like it: it's a Renaissance original! Over a dozen years ago, founding teacher and current Board of Trustees Chairperson Sandra Geyer came up with the idea of a full week of immersion experiences. "Rensizzle Week" was born!  It has grown to an average of 20 groups who spend a week out of traditional classes engaged in an in-depth exploration of one subject, with an emphasis on its' relation to New York.  

Last year we had groups investigating Asian culture, cultural impacts on cuisine, culinary arts, dance, music, drama, human rights through arts, geology & astronomy, the graphic novel, Lego robotics, journalism & media, water & nature, science, art and NYC-themed museums; NYC landmarks, nutrition & fitness, survival skills, and permaculture (Urban Farms).

• City University of New York (CUNY)• Macaulay Honors at Hunter College• Baruch College Honors• Brooklyn, Queens, Hunter, City, BMCC, LaGuardia

• State University of New York (SUNY)

• Binghamton, Stony Brook, Albany, Buffalo, Fashion Institute of Technology,

Cobleskill

• Private• Barnard• College of St. Rose• Cornell• Hofstra• Juniata• Wellesley• New York University• Swarthmore• Union• Syracuse

College Acceptance