Renaissance Arts Academy in Glassell Park, recently named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, is an unconventional public charter school serving largely Latino, Black and Asian students.
Most of the students come from working-class neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area and they know it’s a big deal that their school has been named a National Blue Ribbon School. That honor acknowledges the students’ significant progress toward college readiness, above-average test scores and academic prowess.
Renaissance Arts Academy opened in 2002 with 60 students and now touts 454 students in grades from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade who thrive in a school with a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1 — in a city where 20 students per classroom is the norm.
According to state test scores and its website, 76% of its students are proficient in math and 79% are proficient in reading. But unlike most successful schools in L.A., the classrooms themselves are dramatically different.
Children of all ages are taught together in huge mixed-grade classes held in a spacious renovated warehouse with exposed overhead industrial heating and air-conditioning ducts, track lighting and audio equipment.
Junior Morgan Hubbard-Bennett, a 16-year-old cello scholar, was apprehensive about starting at Renaissance in sixth grade.
“Being in the sixth grade with 12th graders in the same class was daunting and scary, and I felt I might fall behind,” he said.
Hubbard-Bennett, who lives several miles away in La Crescenta, settled in quickly when older students began mentoring him in humanities and helped him on his road to playing the cello and his weekly composition classes.
“Long-term engagement with the arts supports life and academic achievement,” explained academic director Sidnie Gallegos on Oct. 1. The students graduate from high school and while most attend college some pursue other avenues such as the military and blue-collar employment.
Students aren’t allowed to wear jeans according to the dress code, but dance students can be found in comfortable attire including hard-sole slippers since they remove their footwear several times a day as part of their daily dance routines.
National Blue Ribbon Schools are recognized for their overall academic performance in closing the opportunity gaps among student subgroups, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Every year since the program was established in 1982, the federal department has sought out and highlighted schools who demonstrate that all students can achieve high education levels. The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families and communities who create safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.
At Renaissance the students, who are called scholars, refer to teachers as advisors and call them by their first names.
Ninety-five percent of the student scholars attending Renaissance Arts Academy don’t have training in music or dance. But all of the students must choose between classical music or modern dance once they reach third grade. They can change their decisions later on.
No sports are offered, and no proms, but an annual theatrical performance makes up for it, students say.
Ani Swensen, a 16-year-old junior and a double major who plays the stand-up bass and is in the dance program, remains after school Monday through Friday until 5:30 p.m. to perfect her crafts.
“I (like) how (Renaissance) is heavily based on arts education and at the same time how they integrate the academic education as well,” said Ani, a Pasadena resident who commutes 45 minutes to school where she started as a fourth-grader along with Morgan.
All “RenArts” scholars participate in accelerated academics, mixed-age instructional groups, integrated curriculum and disciplined arts training in the converted warehouse made up of three separate sections, one of which has concrete flooring covered with large, attractive oriental rugs.
The school has tuition-free admission and serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks prepared onsite.
“Everyone comes in by a random lottery,” said Executive Director PK Candaux, the Emmy award-winning producer of the 1980s television hit Cagney & Lacey, and who has overseen the school for 20 years ago with Gallegos.
Renaissance has been named a Career Technical Education model demonstration site by the California Department of Education and the school’s lobby wall has dozens of accolades in framed certificates.
This year 30 schools in California including Renaissance made the Blue Ribbon Schools list, joining 326 other schools around the nation. This is the National Blue Ribbon School Program’s 41st year. It has bestowed 10,000 awards to nearly 9,800 schools.
“It’s an honor to recognize our exceptional Blue Ribbon Schools, where academic excellence and support for every student truly shine,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in a Sept. 25 Southern California Newspaper Group article. “Their commitment to creating an inclusive and outstanding learning environment embodies our mission for education here in California. Their dedication is an inspiration to us all, and we proudly celebrate this remarkable achievement.”
