Distinctions
TRCS Recognized Among Best Schools in America
We are pleased to announce that we have been recognized as a National 2022 Standout School in all grades by Niche! Our High School and Elementary School ranked in the top 15%, and our Middle School ranked in the top 10% nationally.
According to Niche, National Standout School rankings recognize public schools that make a positive impact in their community:
“The ranking is based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Ranking factors include school diversity, graduation rates and state test scores for economically disadvantaged and minority students, SAT/ACT scores, and the quality of colleges that students consider.
The list is limited to only schools with 1) at least 50% of students identified by the school as economically disadvantaged and 2) a Niche Overall Grade of B or higher. We have earned this ranking by scoring highly in many factors that aim to capture what it is really like to attend The Renaissance Charter School.”
While we have always known that TRCS is an exceptional place for youth to develop into future leaders of NYC and beyond, we are so proud of our students, faculty, staff and families for earning this national distinction.
Thanks again to our community for working hard every day to make TRCS worthy of this national accolade.
Achieving Outstanding Results. Since 2005, we have maintained a 92-98% graduation rate, and for many of those years 100% of our graduates have been accepted into college… prestigious colleges, too, such as Macaulay Honors at CUNY, Brandeis, NYU, Swarthmore, Barnard, Colgate, Wellesley and Trinity, to name a few.
Experience. While many charter schools are one or two years old, Renaissance began in 1993 as one of New York City’s first “New Visions” schools. In May 2000 the school converted to become one of the city’s first charter schools. Renaissance was awarded charter renewals in 2005 and 2010, 2019 and has been renewed again until 2024.
A Greater Impact. Renaissance mentors dozens of schools, as well as hopeful charter operators and educators, including several groups of international educators who are investigating the charter movement and progressive school models. One of the founding members of the Coalition of Community Charter Schools, and the nationally recognized Coalition of Public Independent Charter Schools, Renaissance has become a leader and mentor to many new independent charter schools by virtue of its experience, its reputation for teacher-led decision making, and its outstanding results.
The majority of our students come from northwestern Queens County, which includes the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, North Corona, Astoria and Long Island City. These communities are characterized by rich economic and ethnic diversity and haunting economic disparities. Jackson Heights is a pocket of upscale cooperative apartments surrounded by low-income immigrant communities.
Despite the sometimes harsh realities that our students are exposed to, Renaissance students have consistently performed above district level in attendance, graduation and standardized exams. We have maintained a school attendance rate of 95% for several years. We have an exemplary college-bound program and Renaissance students are recognized year after year for their leadership skills with scholarships and internships.
- Renaissance was awarded a second NYS 2016-2019 Charter School Dissemination Grant to share best practices in College and Career Readiness, partnering with Scholars’ Academy in Rockaway.
- Renaissance was awarded a NYS 2013-2016 Charter School Dissemination Grant to share best practices in Global Humanities Education, and was chosen as a panelist at NYSED’s Power of Collaboration Symposium in April 2015.
- Renaissance was the lead school in a consortium of NYC charter schools to receive a 2008-2010 federal Charter School Dissemination Grant to establish a model program for generating and implementing peer-reviewed learning experiences.
- Renaissance was awarded the 2008 Partnership Award by the United Federation of Teachers Officers and Executive Board to honor a successful partnership forged between administrators and educators
- Renaissance won the 2008 Imagination Award in the middle and high-school category from the Lincoln Center Institute to honor imaginative thinking in the teaching & learning practice of New York City public schools. ImaginationAward2008
- Renaissance received one of only three 2009 competitive grants from the National Geographic Foundation to lead a consortium of educational institutions across the country, both charter and regular public schools, in creating and implementing a model program for K-12 geography education.
- Renaissance co-sponsored a consortium between The College of Saint Rose and the Center for Integrated Teacher Education that provided principal certification for educators who specifically hope to lead small and charter schools, 2005-2006
- One of New York’s first five schools granted charters in the year 2000