March 2016

... and counting!

Overnight, our community contributed another thousand dollars to that amount! There's still time for our entire community to contribute to our fundraising efforts!

At the beginning of this year there was no way for us to anticipate the soaring costs of transportation. Last year, a trip to Camp Elim for transportation was $322. This year, we were charged $960. for that trip.  A year ago, to take our students to Keystone for their Winter Voyage cost us $402. - this year, $1,300.00. Our overnight trips for transportation have increased 300%! We are faced with the same transportation challenges when it comes to the field work we do. 

At Renaissance, we believe it is essential for the learning to extend beyond the walls of the school building. We know that taking our students out to collect data like real scientists and historians, elevates the authenticity, relevancy and purpose of the learning. We do not want transportation challenges to hinder these valuable experiences. 

Having a small fleet of white buses (that seat 14 students) is a first step in meeting this challenge. We will likely have to continue to use the yellow school buses for some of our trips - at least initially.

This also means that a good number of our staff will have to train and be licensed to drive these white buses. It's a testimony to the staff of Renaissance, that their commitment to taking kids out into their world, extends to obtaining bus licenses!

It will be an on-going process to problem solve the ever increasing demands of delivering on our programming, and we are rising to the challenge. The overwhelming support of our community to raise money to help with the challenges, is a testimony to the spirit of Crew. Thank you for partnering with us to continue to offer such a unique and valuable learning experience for our kids.

Choice or Luck?

Open enrollment has been over for awhile, and second round will soon be opening. I want to share with you that Renaissance continues to be a school that has a long waiting list. So many perspective parents, (some are likely friends of yours) are frustrated and disappointed. Parents have a choice now about the school they select for their students, but for many parents seeking enrollment at Renaissance, it doesn't feel like a choice - rather, they hope they are lucky enough to be drawn from the lottery. All perspective parents are required to attend a Parent Orientation to ensure that they have enough information about who we are, to make an informed choice, before open enrolling.

This year 318 students were open enrolled! We currently have an enrollment of 400 students. 142 kindergartners open enrolled. 100 students in grades 1-3, and 76 students in grades 4-6. 

We had 50 kindergarten slots available and 22 of those went to siblings, and 6 went to district employees (who now, as a Board policy, have first option). That left only 22 slots to come from the lottery. In first grade, we took 2 siblings and 1 district employee and had no slots available for the lottery. In second grade, we had 4 slots, one went to a sibling. In third grade we had one slot and filled it with a district employee's student. In fourth grade we had four openings available.  In fifth grade we had 2 slots available. In sixth grade we had two slots available and one went to a district employee. 

As you can see, it's hard to get into Renaissance. I'm thrilled that we have such a stable, unified and strong community. And yet, I wish that we could take the children of all these families who want this unique learning experience for their children. I share this information with you, because sometimes, it's nice to be reminded that we have something that so many others would like to have.

Adventure Education

With the exception of Sixth Grade, who will participate in their Winter Voyage in April, our students have completed their Winter Voyage. Our Adventure Education program is a big part of who we are as a school. The Voyages are the easiest part of the story to tell - and the most obvious. It's important to remember though, that our Adventure Education program is so, so much more than getting kids outdoors, more than teaching them how to be safe in the outdoors, and more than giving them life long skills for enjoying the outdoors. 

Most importantly, it's about creating an experience where students experience FOR THEMSELVES, what it feels like to be empowered by doing something hard - something you weren't sure you could do. It's about knowing that you can support others who struggle. It's about developing the sense of self. It's about reflecting on your experience and how it has impacted you. 

As parents, we tell our children how exceptional they are. We urge them to reach and to grow. But you know, the most powerful teacher - is experience. Nothing empowers you more than knowing if for yourself; from within.

These are young children. So much of the impacts of the experiences they are having at Renaissance are not even clear to them yet. It's so like parenting - you are laying a critical foundation that will shape your children, and you don't see all the impacts of that just yet.

Our Adventure Education program is a key component in shaping students to reach our mission of empowering students to explore, discover and understand the world around them and the passions within them. To be creative, reflective fulfilled individuals, who are active, compassionate citizens. Who can be courageous builders of a harmonious and sustainable world.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Thank you to all the parent volunteers, teachers and staff who give so much so our kids can have this experience!

Update:

Math Momentum

Over the year we made some adjustments to our math curriculum. We weren’t satisfied with what we were doing building wide and unsatisfied with the level of differentiation we were providing to our student. The changes were purposeful and we are seeing our students growing in math as never before. Professional development, teacher collaboration, risk taking and coaching cycles have supported our success this year.

The criteria we used to develop our math curriculum is:

·      * We want to make sure they have grade level skills because math builds on itself – it’s cumulative.

·     *  If a student is not on grade level, be able to identify where they are and how to fill the holes.

·     *  If a student is above grade level, we want to know what the next steps are to accelerate them.

·      * Along with skills, we want students to have strong conceptual understandings – not just learn the algorithms but know why they work and when to use them.

o   We want kids to have multiple ways to attack problems.

o   We want them to be able to explain their thinking about a problem and justify their answers.

o   When presented with a problem, be able to analyze the problem to identify what it is asking and identify what tools/strategies they will use to solve it.

o   Justifying an answer is being able to solve the problem in more than one way.

·      * Instruction that can be individualized and paced appropriately.

·      * Balance of small group and whole group instruction.

·      * Multiple measures (not just one test).

·      * Teacher to design the instruction using researched based resources such as: Investigations, Every Day Math, Connected Math, Marilyn Burns Replacements Units, Teaching Student Centered Mathematics by Van de Walle.

·      *Teacher to design instruction using best practices for deliver such as; small groups, model demonstrations, manipulatives, conferencing with teachers and peers, feedback cycles.

·      * Teachers/Students share common domain specific vocabulary to talk about math.

·      * Growing teacher expertise as mathematicians.

·      * Using a strong pre-assessment before every unit to ensure that all students are getting exactly what they need.

·      * Created a progression of skills and internal assessments by grade level using the content state standards and teaching expertise.

·      * School-wide math review component to daily instruction for the purpose of filling gaps and continuing to use skills previously learned.

Why not a specific program?

·      * It’s limiting to use only one resource. We will be drawing from many research based programs, not just one.

·      * They are created with the assumption that all students are in the same place and need the same instruction at the same time.

·      * A variety of resources allow for a match between the teaching style and the resource.

Where is the accountability?

·      Daily student work

·      Teacher observation

·      Internal unit assessments

·      iReady assessment

·      Assessments unique to different resources

·      PARCC

·      CDE Growth model

Looking to next year:

Questions are floating about wondering about plans for next year. 

We haven't even begun to think about student placements. Our process to do that is to work collaboratively to make those decisions. Many eyes, voices and lenses are used to make those decisions. As parents, you can have a voice by sending me an email or letter letting me know those things about your student that should be considered. Tell me what your student needs, not what teacher you would like to have. Unless a student is new to Renaissance, through our team approach, we know our students well. We also only have two sections of a class (sometimes less!) and these Crews do lots of collaboration, so students most likely receive instruction from both teachers and interact with all grade level peers.

As for staff assignments, those have not been made at this time either. This year, we will struggle to give a fond farewell to Ms. Josie, our Literacy Specialist and to Ms. Kristen, our school nurse. Both of these ladies are retiring and we are so excited for them and the new things that await them - but we sure will miss them!!!  

Tomorrow, will be Julie Vrattos last day in her role at Renaissance. She is moving on to a new career and she will sorely be missed. All three of these ladies leave a legacy at Renaissance and will forever be part of our school family. 

Behind the scenes of the District Art Show:

I hope everyone will have an opportunity to drop by the Lone Tree Arts Center and view the District Art Show. What you won't know is that this show wouldn't exist this year, if it wasn't for the leadership of Ms. Pam. 
Pam had been leading the charge on this event for years, and coupled with the demands of our school art show, it was just so much that I encouraged her to take a year off from shouldering the leadership. Without her, it fell apart. 
When she became aware of the need, it was not within her to not answer the call. She rallied district leadership and with very little time and support, once again we have a stellar district wide art show. By the way, when you are at the show, you'll notice that the Renaissance art pieces look like they should be displayed with the high school art. Just one more demonstration of what sets Renaissance apart. Lucky, lucky us.

Whew...that was a long post!

Just so much I wanted to share!

Have a wonderful spring!

Ms. Deborah