Rooted in Queens, growing with purpose.
Our story
In 1993, a group of educators and parents came together with a shared belief: every child has unique and valuable potential—and public schools should be designed to nurture it. Committed to reimagining public education, this founding team spent nights and weekends developing a proposal while continuing to teach full time across New York City.
Their efforts were rewarded with a New Visions start-up grant, and The Renaissance School was born. From the beginning, Renaissance stood apart. It was intentionally designed to be small, at a time when the small-schools movement was just emerging. It was built as a K–12 school, an approach many believed was impossible in a public school setting. And it embraced a collaborative, democratic governance model, valuing shared leadership over top-down management.
“When I first came to Renaissance, I was a bit confused and extremely thrown off. Why do students call the staff members by their first names? Why is it so small? How come we can go out for lunch? ”
As demand for a Renaissance education grew, families across Queens expressed a desire for more seats and greater access to the school’s proven model. In response, educators, parents, and community leaders collaborated to establish a second campus—one that would replicate the core values and academic approach of TRCS while serving a new community.
In 2020, The Renaissance Charter School 2 opened its doors in Elmhurst. Launching during the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, TRCS 2 provided live, synchronous instruction from day one, combining in-person and remote learning to ensure continuity, connection, and academic rigor. Built deliberately on the successful TRCS model, TRCS 2 emphasizes strong academics, personalized support, project-based learning, and whole-child development.
In 2000, Renaissance converted to charter status, recognizing that the autonomy granted under the New York State Charter Schools Act—paired with increased accountability—would allow the school to better support its growing student body. That May, it officially became The Renaissance Charter School. Since then, TRCS has been successfully renewed every charter term and is currently operating under its fifth charter, reflecting consistent academic achievement, strong governance, and fiscal sustainability. For this work, Renaissance received the Blackboard Award, recognizing excellence in public charter education.
Since opening, TRCS 2 has met all New York State Education Department performance benchmarks, demonstrating strong student growth, effective teaching, positive school culture, and sound governance—even as a young school serving a high-need, diverse population. The school continues to expand grade by grade, bringing the Renaissance approach to more families in Queens.
Replication, not duplication
Replication at The Renaissance Charter Schools is not about copying a program—it’s about extending a proven educational model with care and intention.
Over decades, The Renaissance Charter School refined an approach grounded in strong academics, personalized support, project-based learning, and whole-child development. That model—tested over time and across generations of students—became the foundation for expansion.
When The Renaissance Charter School 2 opened, it was built directly on that foundation. Curriculum, instructional practices, intervention systems, and leadership structures were adapted from TRCS, with ongoing collaboration between both campuses to ensure consistency and responsiveness to community needs.
Replication works at Renaissance because the model is clearly defined, educators are supported through coaching and collaboration, and decisions are guided by what has already been shown to help students thrive.