Curriculum
WHAT IS A RENAISSANCE EDUCATION?
Founded in 1999, Renaissance School has already earned recognition from admissions staff at many of the nation’s top colleges. A Renaissance diploma is highly valued and is the result of a student’s completion of a minimum of thirty to thirty-three credits in a well-rounded curriculum balancing the arts, humanities, and sciences. By comparison, area public and independent high schools require completion of nineteen to twenty-four credits. The program of study is both rigorous and enriching, asking students to engage on a daily basis their higher level thinking skills, their role as a social being, and their artistic creativity.
AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
Renaissance School offers an integrated curriculum, weaving together coursework across the disciplines. As John Hermsmeier, Dean of Academics, put it, “Renaissance School commits to an interdisciplinary, interconnected and integrated learning and teaching experience through conscious intent.”
A BALANCED CURRICULUM
The three academic disciplines – arts, humanities, sciences – are equally valued and central to the curriculum, just as a three-legged stool sits properly without tipping. From Mr. Hermsmeier, “For our school to even be able to function in an interdisciplinary way, each discipline must be given its proper respect. Against a general backdrop where various arts (visual art, media, music, etc.) are often underrepresented, Renaissance School provides a balanced alternative by providing rigorous experiences in the arts while also preparing students for college in the varied disciplines required for a successful professional and personal life.”
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS & CURRICULAR CHOICES
Visual art, music, performance arts, language arts and literature, history, foreign language, science, mathematics, and athletics…all of these are required during the first two years of study. Such exposure prepares students by junior year to choose a curricular emphasis, allowing them to focus and direct their educational efforts as they consider the future, evaluate strengths and interests, and prepare for college.
Three choices, or curricular streams, are available, and graduation requirements vary depending on this choice. A description of each stream is provided below, and detailed graduation requirements can be downloaded using the link that follows the description:
“Renaissance” Stream – Traditional Emphasis: Includes a minimum of thirty credits, balanced across the arts, humanities and sciences. This is the original Renaissance curriculum on which the School built its reputation. A highly competitive program, it is an excellent choice for any student.
“Michelangelo” Stream – Arts Emphasis: Includes an emphasis in the arts and a completion of a minimum of thirty-two credits. With a portfolio course for visual art students or audition preparation for performance and music students, this is an excellent choice for students pursuing a college experience in the arts.
“da Vinci” Stream – Arts/Science Emphasis: Includes an emphasis in both the arts and sciences and a completion of a minimum of thirty-three credits. The most rigorous of the curricular options, this is an excellent choice for students pursuing a particularly competitive, yet well balanced, program. “da Vinci” students often pursue dual enrollment, taking college classes at either PVCC or UVA.
Click on the following link for graduation requirements:
INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM
Complementing the curriculum and required for all students is our Independent Study Program during junior and senior years. Working closely with an academic advisor, juniors select a topic of interest and prepare a proposal of study, including research, interviews, writing, and class performance, all leading to a detailed presentation before the entire school community. Seniors take independent research one step further. Whether they continue their research or select a new topic, they prepare for the culminating academic experience of Renaissance School: the preparation and presentation of a Senior Thesis. The Senior Thesis is given as both a research paper to faculty and “oral defense” to the entire school community. For details and photos, select “Independent Studies” from the “Students” menu above.
COLLEGE COUNSELING
College Counseling is a two-year course at Renaissance School. It includes a program of research, reflection, and evaluation, as students consider their talents and interests and match them with college offerings. The personal attention students receive in this class is locally renown, and likely contributes to the overwhelming success of the program. Most seniors are admitted to their first choice college. The average scholarship and grant offers in recent years has exceeded $100,000 per applying student. More important than the numbers, seniors comment that they learn from the process and enjoy the opportunity to reflect and consider, to research options, and to be effective at navigating what can otherwise be a difficult and stressful stage.
CONNECTING THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORLD
Our outstanding instructors bring many years of education, experience, travel, and community work into the classrooms. As crucially, they bring their classroom work back out into the world. Whether taking river readings in Environmental Science, sketching artwork in the park across the street, or attending a local theater performance, students learn that education does not begin and end in a classroom.
For one week each semester, called Ninth Week, the School takes experiential learning even further. Faculty and students leave the familiar environs of the School and take advantage of the educational opportunities present in the world at large. Camping at the Outer Banks…exploring Mountain Lake Biological Station…visiting NYC. Students participate in the planning and the trips are interdisciplinary in content.
Our excellent location supports our mission to connect curriculum to community. From Mr. Hermsmeier, “Our internal physical space and location at Court Square in downtown Charlottesville combine to create unlimited opportunities to merge learning with community interaction. A Renaissance Education means moving beyond the physical and metaphorical walls of standardized education to embrace a vibrant alternative that connects learning to life.”
