A Message from InsideSchools: The data below is the most up-to-date data available from City and State systems. We are working hard to update the narratives for all schools. We welcome your insights in the Comments section. Questions? Ask us!

The Renaissance Charter School Jackson Heights

Grades: Pre-K, K-12
Staff Pick Staff Pick for Special Ed

Our Insights

What’s Special

Small, close-knit, pre-k-12 school community

The Downside

No outside space, long waitlist

Imagine a large, nearly windowless cube filled with big and little kids playing games together, colorful student murals, and blue jean-clad students on a first-name basis with their teachers. This is Renaissance Charter, a small, unique, super-popular pre-K12 school that prides itself on personalized, relevant, project-based learning for students of all abilities.

Renaissance has a long history of integrating children with special needs in regular classes. Principal Stacey Gaulthier is particularly sensitive to learning differences: Her own son, who has dyslexia, graduated from Renaissance and went on to graduate from law school. Renaissance shares the building with a small District 75 school for children with autism, who have been integrated into the general education classrooms, some going on to colleges such as Pace University.

Teachers stay and build their careers here, and one helped design the interior of the building, which is a former a department store. There are interior windows so you can peer into classrooms, colorful couches, and centrally located tables on each floor, where teens like to gather to eat the excellent breakfast omelets, made by Chef Mo, the school's head cook.

Squarely in the progressive camp, the school works to ensure children take class trips, do hands-on projects, participate in an array of arts, and debate the issues of the day. A highlight is the school's weeklong celebration of learning called "Rensizzle" (named for Dr. Joseph Renzulli, the director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented), which exemplifies the school's project-based teaching style. Some or all the traditional classes are cancelled (depending on the grade), as students explore a topic such as robotics, journalism or animal care, with trips to places like Howe Caverns, Huffington Post, the Bronx Zoo, the Tenement Museum or the Brooklyn Bridge.

Class trips and projects allow students to learn and to show their understanding in a variety of ways. For instance, students who have trouble reading a science textbook may study geology through a trip to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. Global humanities classes use history lessons to create plays about Apollo and Aphrodite or Hindu legends. Children in grades 4-6 take a five-day trip to Lake George where they learn about environmental science and reenact scenes from the Underground Railroad.

As they move through the grades, students take part in dance, fine arts, drama, and vocal and instrumental music. In grades 7 and 9, students rotate different art forms before selecting one arts' major to explore in depth. Anyone in grade 8 and up can audition for the school play.

High school students must participate in a leadership, volunteer or internship program each semester. We saw 9th grade students leading games in a 2nd grade class and a girls leadership group called Sadie Nash. "I was shy at first," said a 9th grader transfer student who found good friends in her leadership group. "Here we have space to talk about our issues as women." The Global Kids group picks social justice issues to explore such as poverty or health.

The school has a nice selection of advanced placement and honors classes ranging from human geography to Spanish literature. Starting in their junior year, students may take college classes at Queens College and LaGuardia Community College.

The school has no outdoor space, but it does have an indoor playground, and pre-kindergartners visit a playground down the block.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school accommodates children with a wide range of disabilities, including autism, dyslexia, visual impairment, and emotional and physical handicaps. They participate in all elements of student life, from student government to the National Honors Society. Many of the school's teachers are dually certified in special education and another subject. We saw adults working one-on-one in the classroom and in small groups in separate rooms.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: There is a well-designed college advisory course. Nearly all students are accepted into colleges, including CUNY and SUNY colleges and some very selective schools like Wellesley and Barnard.

ADMISSIONS: Renaissance accepts one incoming pre-kindergarten class of 18 students. Each year, about half-a-dozen spots open in kindergarten and there is one class of new 5th graders. There is one class per grade in PK-4 and two per grade in 5-12. Priority is given first to siblings of enrolled students and then to residents of District 30. All available seats are awarded by lottery throughout all the grades as they come available. Applications for these grades are automatically wait listed and will be considered if openings occur; however, the waitlist is generally over 2,500 students long. (Lydie Raschka, March 2016)

Get more from InsideSchools

School Stats

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
95%
Average daily attendance
 
89%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
39%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
71%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achive the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
80%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

673
Number of students
875 Citywide Average

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
77%
Students with disabilities
 
15%
Multilingual learners
 
14%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
95%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
21%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
10%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
84%

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
80%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
90%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
81%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

35-59 81st Street
Queens NY 11372

Trains: 7 Line to 82nd St-Jackson Heights; E Line, F Line, M Line, R Line to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave

Buses: Q29, Q32, Q33, Q47, Q49, Q53, Q70-SBS


Contact

Principal: Stacey Gauthier

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? No

This school is in its own building.

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

Get more from InsideSchools

Comments

  • Is this your school? Please post any news, updates, events, changes, or other information!
  • We welcome questions, open discussions, and disagreements but comments with personal attacks, rude language, or those with seemingly malicious intent will be deleted.
  • Very long comments, those that contain links, or repeat comments may be blocked by our spam filter.
  • Problems? email us at [email protected].
  • Users must comply with our Terms of Use.

×