Renaissance Academy Charter High School students commuted to The Art Institute of California in Santa Monica for classes this week, which marks the third week of instruction held largely at alternate or temporary classroom locations. As of Wednesday morning, total attendance at Renaissance was 337 students, including 63 residents of the 90272 zip code. The school is located in the 881 Alma Real building. According to the school’s charter, presented by founding director and principal Paul McGlothlin, ‘The Renaissance Academy (RA) will enroll 400 students over three years.’ However, because the school was initially scheduled to open last year with 200 to 230 ninth and tenth graders, McGlothlin decided to start with 300 students when the school actually opened early this month. ‘The publicly stated target enrollment for this year was 300,’ said Palisadian Bill Bryan, RA board member, parent and facilities coordinator. ‘Because students are able to ‘double book’ by enrolling at multiple public schools with no financial or other penalty for failing to show up, Renaissance accepted 330 applications, anticipating approximately 30 ‘no-shows.” However, when more than 350 students arrived for the first day of classes September 13, RA prepared to tell about 20 students that they could not attend and ‘we began to search for additional classroom space and part-time teachers to accommodate any permanent enrollment in excess of 300,’ Bryan told the Palisadian-Post. ‘By then, however, we were blocked from using most of our leased space, due to the well-publicized actions of the landlord.’ As a result, some students dropped out. For this week, Bryan says the school made a ‘100 percent voluntary move to The Art Institute’ because holding classes at this temporary location with established classroom space is ‘a more efficient way to conduct school.’ The Art Institute, located at 2900 31st Street in the business park that runs along the south side of Ocean Park Blvd., is a post-secondary educational institution for career preparation in the visual and culinary arts. In a letter posted Sunday on RA’s Web site (www.rahigh.org), principal McGlothlin wrote, ‘We have arranged for the space at The Art Institute in order to best support our cross-grade level programs in Mathematics, Foreign Language, and the Arts.’ Students and parents have been advised to check this Web site for information on class locations and transportation routes. RA has offered special bus service this week from the Palisades to The Art Institute and back for any students who want it. Others have been allowed to travel directly, on their own, to the temporary classroom location. Students did, however, attend some classes in the Palisades, including yoga, dance and surfing’at JIVA Yoga Studio on Sunset, Fancy Feet Dance Studio in the Alma Real building, and at Will Rogers State Beach. McGlothlin added that while the students were away this week, contractors were ‘finishing various life-safety projects and improvements’ at the school’s main campus. Some of these projects include installation of additional fire caulking; relocation of one exit door; additional low-voltage wiring; removal, cleaning and remounting of fire sprinklers; and paint touch-up. The largest project is the conversion of the television studio into one large classroom that could be divided into two classrooms by a portable divider, and also function as a TV studio. These projects were ‘partially complete’ by Wednesday morning, and scheduled to be finished by the end of this week, according to Bryan. Last week, students met at the private homes of parents in the Palisades, under trees at the park, at the United Methodist Church on Via de la Paz, and at Mort’s Oak Room. ‘We knew that the unsettled circumstances would cause some students to drop out, and that has indeed happened,’ Bryan said. ‘Since our survival (at least in our current form) is contingent upon receiving the ADA funding for 300 students, we were afraid to reduce enrollment until we see how long the facilities battle lasts, and how many kids we lose because of it.’ State funding will amount to about $6,000 per student. McGlothlin wrote in his letter, ‘We still retain our lease at Alma Real, and there has been no further limitation to our use there. We have full confidence that we will return to Alma Real within a few days.’
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
