Type Charter NCES School ID 360005904803 Grades K–12 Phone +1 718-803-0060 Student to teacher ratio 13.91 | Established 1993 Principal Stacey Gauthier Enrollment ~550 (2011–12) Founded 1993 Faculty 39.39 (on FTE basis) | |
Address 35-59 81st St, Jackson Heights, NY 11372, USA |
The Renaissance Charter School in New York City opened in 1993 and is authorized by the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. It houses 550 students in grades kindergarten through high school. It started as a first-generation "New Visions School" sponsored by New Visions for Public Schools. It is located in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights. In 2000 it converted to charter status, one of the first charter schools in New York City. The current principal is Stacey Gauthier.
Contents
History
In 1991 New Visions for Public Schools (originally named "The Fund for New York City Public Education"), in conjunction with then-Chancellor Joseph Fernandez, issued an RFP asking community groups to submit proposals for innovative schools. The proposal for The Renaissance School was submitted by "The Committee of Concerned Educators" and Community School District 30; it was one of 16 accepted proposals from nearly 300 submissions. The proposal for the school was written in fictional narrative form chronicling a tour of the school by prospective parents.
The school opened with 130 students, grades 4–7, in September 1993, in one wing of JHS 204 in Long Island City. In 1995, it expanded to grades K and 6–9, and moved to the site of the St. Patrick's parish school which had closed the prior year. In 1996, it expanded to grades K–10 and moved into a permanent leased space on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, then became the Renaissance Charter School, one of the first five charter schools in New York, in 2000.
Model
The Renaissance Charter School was chosen as the site for a 2003 press conference held by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg announcing and expansion of charter schools, in which he labeled Renaissance as "a charter school that works." The Renaissance model has several components.
Recognition
Geography Education:
School Leadership in the New York City School Reform Movement:
Education for Global Citizenship: