Outside the Box – d’Amileau Baulk
2012 Renascence School International™ Campus Academic Excellence Awards
Renascence School InternationalTM presented the Renascence School InternationalTM Orange County Campus with two awards for academic excellence. These commendations were in two categories and highlight the academic success at the Costa Mesa, California campus during the 2011 – 2012 school year.
Renascence School InternationalTM offers a unique K-12 learning experience that brings students to international academic levels and teaches them to fluently communicate in the world’s three most spoken languages. It is the only program of its type in the United States.
In a standing room only ceremony, the Orange County campus received the 2012 Outstanding Academic Campus award for achieving the highest combined scores of all the Renascence School International™ campuses. In addition, they were awarded the Academic Excellence Award for a campus wide average of 90% of all students in all subjects.
Ms. Juliann Talkington, Chief Executive of Renascence School InternationalTM, presented the commendation to Campus Directors Carrie and Thomas Mizera. The Mizeras asked students, parents, staff to join them in accepting the award, recognizing the importance staff members, parents and students in the learning process.
Before the ceremony, students from the campus recited poems and sang songs in Chinese, English and Spanish. Some of the older students made more formal presentations that highlighted their learning from the prior year.
After the student presentations, Talkington spoke about US education, how it compares to what is available in other countries and what is necessary for US students to survive and succeed. She spoke about how the US ranks in international tests like the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), noting that the US is not performing well compared to other nations on either test.
Then Talkington spoke about what Renascence School InternationalTM is doing to help students acheive a better level of academic preparation. The corporation is focused on improving learning outcomes using several techniques. A critical component of the Renascence School International™ philosophy is making learning interesting. To make learning fun, teachers have a strong understanding of and passion for the subjects they teach. In addition, students need to be encouraged to think creatively across disciplines.
Another pillar of learning at Renascence School InternationalTM is the integration of foreign cultures and languages into the curriculum. Mandarin Chinese and Spanish are fully integrated into the program to make learning interesting, prepare students for the global workplace and maximize brain development.
Talkington continued her discussion on brain development with a discussion of handwriting. Many schools, she said, abandoned traditional handwriting lessons, because technology allows students to move directly to a computer. In has been retained at Renascence School International, because the manipulating of a pencil stimulated thousands of nerve endings in the fingertips and research suggests that additional areas of the brain are stimulated. So education models need to carefully consider what “old school” skills are necessary to help children maximize their learning potential.
Academic Excellence Blog Post ©RSI 8-20-12.