Renaissance Real World High School Academy (RWA) is a small school environment where everyone is connected. This feeling of community creates a safe learning environment where academic rigor is evident and students can pursue their interests and passions. The school is founded on respect for individuality and diversity. Students, parents, and staff support and learn from one another. This innovative partnership is giving Real World Academy students the tools they need as they advance through high school to college and to the world of work.
Mission
The mission of Renaissance Real World High School Academy is to prepare students for college and the workforce through active learning, academic rigor, and community involvement. Relationships, relevance, and rigor provide a unique opportunity for students to excel in a nurturing yet challenging academic environment which is closing the achievement gap for our students.
Vision
Renaissance Real World High School aims to empower students to take charge of their learning, to gain skills and knowledge necessary to achieve success beyond high school, and to become life-long learners. We are dedicated to educating one student at a time. Renaissance Real World Academy enrolls families, not just students. Our diverse student body are all encouraged to apply to college, whether they choose to enter after high school graduation or after gaining work experience.
Personalized Learning
How do we personalize learning for each student?
Our Personalized Learning model embodies flexibility, inclusion, collaboration, and innovation. RWA recognizes the value of parent involvement and participation in their student’s education and learning process. We support a collaborative relationship between parents, students, teachers, and the school in creating an optimal learning process. RWA recognizes a variety of learning choices and opportunities, both within and beyond the classroom, to address each student’s individual learning needs and optimize each student’s learning potential.
Why personalize learning
Personalized Learning provides:
- Accountability structure for students;
- Objective accountability for staff in assessing student growth and issues regarding habits of work and learning;
- Partnering with students, parents, and teachers to facilitate successful learning for each student.
- Communication to students that positive values are critical to leading productive lives;
- Clear and consistent expectations for the values students will need to be successful;
- A culture based on rigor and high expectations;
- A common understanding and language around what we want students to know and be able to do
Goal Setting
Students, parents, and teachers create learning plans with goals for each semester. This plan articulates individualized goals built on the student’s passions, interests, goals, skills, and needs, and is created in collaboration with the student, teacher/advisor, parents, and workplace mentor. An example of a learning plan may encompass the following:
- Internships
- Community Service Learning Opportunities
- Advisory-based activities to introduce and strengthen academic skills
- College classes
- Community and school-based workshops
- Individual research projects
POP- Personalized Options Program
At Springs Charter Schools, students are taught to use strategies that help them build their future. Our primary purpose is to ensure that all students are independent learners, capable communicators, analytical thinkers, and noteworthy citizens when they graduate from Springs Charter Schools.
Offering students choice in their learning is one of the most powerful ways to increase intrinsic motivation and affect student learning. We know that when students have energy and passion for their work, they can accomplish great things. When learning doesn’t have personal relevance or connect with a student’s strengths or interests, it becomes a meaningless struggle. Student choice builds ownership in learning.
Traditional schools let schedules dictate, but we let choice and personalization lead the way. High School students will choose from OPTs (options) per sprint. Students will concentrate on three courses at a time during each sprint. Fewer courses and longer time blocks encourage hands-on group learning and allow students and teachers to delve more deeply into their subjects. Research on the teenage brain has found that students learn better when they get to dive deep and focus on fewer courses at a time. Our new POP schedule is a more brain-friendly approach than the traditional 6 classes per semester schedule.
