Founders

Renaissance School was founded in 1999 by Patterson Cunningham, Head of School, and Nancy Knorr, Financial Officer. On the occasion of Nancy’s retirement, Pati described the early story this way:

“It is no exaggeration to state that there would be no Renaissance School without Nancy Knorr. Renaissance School was initially conceived of by a group of Village School parents who expressed interest in establishing a high school with the same high academic standards as the middle school program at Village. Nancy formed the exploratory committee that would eventually lead to the establishment of Renaissance School. She recruited Lou Tanner to help on the initial committee and to serve as the first Renaissance teacher. Nancy persevered and never faltered in her commitment to the idea of Renaissance School. She convinced me to become a part of this extraordinary enterprise. She also recruited Miki, and this early team has been with the School ever since and has played a crucial role in the School’s success. She secured the grant that lead to our start-up funding and she worked tirelessly to realize the dream that was to become Renaissance School. “

Pati Cunningham joined Nancy to co-found the School and to serve as the first Head of School, a position she held for ten years until her retirement in 2008. Her contributions cannot be overstated. She helped to forge a path for the School, carving out its unique niche in the Charlottesville educational community, leading it to a beautiful new location on Court Square, building an excellent and creative faculty, and developing connections to the larger Charlottesville community. Borrowing her description of Nancy, it is no exaggeration to state that there would be no Renaissance School without Pati Cunningham.