NEW SC LAW Requires that all 3rd graders pass standardized test or not pass 3rd grade.  According to WBTW’s report by Maggie Lorenz, this new law applies to over 50% of students state-wide. As a whole this means that over 50% of the students in a classroom are considered scoring in the lowest of the low category with respect to reading. These students are now required to be brought up to grade level comprehension by the end of 3rd grade. I wonder... where will the extra teaching time come from?  Remember this promotional ad for our school where we were noting that if your child has been bored at school that perhaps it is not your child’s fault but that the school just isn’t geared for your already performing child. Look at an estimated school day of 7:40 to 2:40. This is a total of 7 hours or 420 minutes. Most schools offer 180 days of tuition-based efforts. Let’s imagine how a typical teacher might spend those minutes.
standards, and 66% that are not and will need extra help, coaching, etc., we can see a pie chart of how a teacher spends time. By looking at time for full class instruction and backing into time for the performing 44%, we find out that currently, the top 44% of students in a classroom receive about 11 minutes each or around 3% of the teacher’s time.  By taking time away from the Teacher’s preparation time, full class teaching time, the brighter students focused time, we could build up time to spend re-teaching, coaching and tutoring that majority of the class. This raises time for the bottom 66% of students to 195 minutes. This means that these students receive almost ¾ of the time available! Time spent on the 44% of students who are actually at grade level drops to 9 minutes each or 2% of the teacher’s time is actually spent teaching at or above grade level  Basically, the time and attention spent preparing for and grading the modestly bright child’s work has been reduced. The time spent in encouraging this student to push on and continue learning is reduced. The time spent in whole class lectures, which aren’t geared towards the learning level of the modestly bright child or even the average child who simply works hard, is reduced. The time that the top 44% of the class has for learning is reduced to about 28% of the time available in the school day. For a class of 30 students, this means that your child’s share of the teacher’s effort is about 2% of the school day. Yet, the time left for your child to be bored has been increased. This will tend to reduce motivation of the brighter child… why should they work so hard, they can do much less and just get by. Is this the attitude towards life that you want your child to learn?  At The Renaissance Preparatory Academy, your child’s class size maxes out at 15 students and our day is a full 8 hours not 7. Of that time, we have recess where your child learns social interaction and initiative skills. Time spent in teacher-directed time to your child’s learning level is typically 65 minutes or 13.5% of the teacher’s day. Here your child spends time being encouraged to stretch and learn more. Your child, even in the fullest class, will receive 29 minutes of the teacher’s efforts as an individual or 6% of the teacher’s time. Three times as much as in a typical 30 student classroom in a typical public school in South Carolina. The byproducts here are learning initiative, learning to stretch and learn more, and a strong work ethic (which is desired by future employers). Skating by, coasting, or not putting all of one’s effort into a task is actively discouraged.  Yes, we are small right now. Some classes have almost one on one teaching, but your family can come join our family and we’ll grow together! It will take some courage to be a part of a new learning experience. It is worth being part of something brand new when your child can receive focused attention, your family receives a great discount on this year’s tuition AND we’ll commit to capping tuition cost increases to 5% a year for the time that your student is continuously attending the Renaissance Preparatory Academy!  So, ENROLL Today! LOCK IN LOW TUITION, Increase your child’s instruction time… JUST CALL at 843, 800-0590 or drop us an email and we’ll chat. Given the continued price of no more than $450 for a child 10 and above and only $399 for children below the age of 10 (like those in 3rd grade right now), it is a small investment now for a great pay-off in life lessons and learning received by your child!
Think about and then give me a call! Janice Black, Founder, Director of School Board
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  As all who teach know, the time right before school starts and even the first week can be stressful for everybody! This week ran the gamut, but, I am pleased to announce that our first week flew by! It went from the eclipse to last minute preparations to welcoming our students in their new uniforms! You can see a couple of uniform options worn by our students in the above picture. Our office space was carved out of The Commons and an assortment of uniforms arrived for folks to peruse! BUT, it was too hot to use our picnic tables so we lunch in The Commons when the heat index is above 100 degrees.
We still have seats available in our multi-grade classrooms. Remember our Kindergarten accepts students at age 5 within two weeks of the start of a term. Call us at 843-800-0590 or drop us an email at Renaissance.Headmaster@gmail.com! Janice Black Founder, Director of School Board
However, that is not the only aspect of our motto that is receiving confirmation by the larger community. If you have liked us on Facebook, you will have seen a shared posting talking about “old school manners”. That concept of what used to be common courtesy is also embedded in our motto under the heading of “HUMANITAS”.    Grandparents are more and more involved in their grandchildren’s lives. This ranges from raising them, to having the grandchildren (and often parents) move in again. This trend has been increasing for the last 40 years. Grandparents have often been helping their adult children. Sometimes with funds; but, often with other help like watching children, making meals, etc. So we want to acknowledge the value that grandparents provide to our families! Many grandparents live within 50 miles of their grandkids (60%+) while a minority travel more than 400 miles to see their grandchildren. We thank our involved grandparents and provide the following breaks! 1) all grandchildren who attend the school will count as siblings and receive reduced registration and tuition discounts of $500 each. And 2) anyone over 55 who is paying for a child who is enrolled will receive a $500 discount. Furthermore, if a grandparent is a veteran and is paying for the schooling, there is a veteran discount of $500. Contact us today for more information but when grandparents are paying the typical per child costs max out at $377/child with our current two children for 1 promotion (only discount that applies is the senior discount all others covered by the 2 for 1 promotion). Let us help you pass on treasured values along with strong academics for less than kindergarten at other local private schools!
I look forward to hearing from you. Call 843-800-0590 or email us at Renaissance.Headmaster@gmail.com. Janice Black, Founder  As was talked about in earlier posts, it is really important that we step up and ensure that our children have the opportunities to learn and grow so that they can be come the best possible individual. JFK commented that for our country, “the human mind is our fundamental resource.” Once we recognize that, can we really justify not doing something. This something is a private non-profit school that is structurally set up to help child blossom. We invite you to join us in this adventure. You can donate for a scholarship; you can volunteer; you can apply for a position, you can send your children or grandchildren. Contact us with your idea to help and support this outreach!  It is not too late...  As we come to the end of open registration week, two things are important to know:
1. This special can be reserved for you if you send an email of interest to renaissance.headmaster@gmail.com. This means that you don't have to complete the application, just indicate an interest in the school and you can still take advantage of this special. 2. Along with the special, the discounts means that children up to age 8 will be assured of tuition of no more than $520/month and children between 9 and 14 top out at $620/month. This is less than $3/hour for tuition. Is your child's education worth it? Additional discounts include: Parent or Guardian who is a Veteran, Bright Children (those reading at age 4, those whose standard test scores indicated higher grade levels than enrollment, those tested for G&T), Sibling Discount, Students with a Minority or International Heritage, and Single Income Households. If you have ALL of these qualities in your family, a student's tuition drops to $370 and $470 respectively. Find out your family's costs by emailing renaissance.headmaster@gmail.com for an appointment! Did you see that 2016 article* with over 6 million reads by Victoria Prooday, an Occupational Therapist working with children? She said,
intentions, we unfortunately remold our children’s brains in the wrong direction.” She suggested that 5 things are causing this shaping: 1 Use of Technology as a Babysitter because we are busy which results in kids not learning how to process things at lower levels of stimulation. 2 Giving kids everything they want at the moment they want it so that they never learn to function under stress and delay gratification. 3. Pandering to our kids every whim without their learning that there are some necessary things that they simply need to do whether they want to or not. 4. Letting our kids live in an artificial world of “fun” without learning basic monotonous work (like picking up their toys and putting them away) that trains the brain to be workable and function under boredom. 5. As busy people, we often will give our kids digital gadgets so that they can be busy without our interacting with them and this takes away unstructured outdoor time as well. She offers solutions to these problems as well.
Private School Enrollment & a Week's Worth of Uniforms for Under $950!  As I've meet with parents this week, talk inevitably moves to the question, "What is the total cost of enrolling my child at The Renaissance Preparatory Academy?" To a large extent the answer to this question depends upon your family and the set of discounts that it qualifies for... but one thing that I've found out, even the least amount of discounts can still see a 4th to 9th grade student enrolled with a week's worth of clothing (you still have to get underwear, socks & shoes) for under $950! There are no additional school supplies to purchase. There are no books to buy. And, during this week, there is no August tuition to pay... just the security deposit (i.e. equal to the tuition for the last month of the school year). A week's worth of uniforms including both the official school uniform and the optional uniforms are from French Toast! I posted about this sale about earlier which provides both free shipping if the discounted amount is at least $99 and a discount of 20%! It is interesting to note that the uniform costs are just $3 apart for the boys and the girls for a week. FYI, it comes to about $37/day for both a top and a bottom, a sweater and a belt. Uniform shoes per the page on uniforms can be purchased from Belks as can the various underwear and socks.
After August, for the next 10 months, you would pay only $729/month for a child in grades 4 to 9 (a reduction of $83.50 and your family may qualify for even more discounts!) The best discount is the one if your child was tested for gifted and talented. The child does not need to have passed the test, just taken it; and, you can get $500 off the annual tuition! That is almost a whole month free. There are discounts for industries in which family member work (including the military), discounts for veteran (in addition to the industry in which someone works), discounts for multiple children, discounts for single paycheck households, and the diversity encouragement discounts which include gender and any non-majority ethnicity per the City Data page for Myrtle Beach. There are even a company or two which has a special discount. So check it out and enroll your rising intermediate/middle school student this week for an enriching and challenging program that will build their readiness for high school and college! Janice Black, Ed. Sp., Ph. D. Founder & Chair of Board of Directors Back to School Sales Abound! School supplies litter the aisles of most large discount stores, the tax free weekend is coming up AND uniform sales are on too! The neat thing with our current promotion... the only back to school supplies you need are uniforms! Talk with me about uniform shipping coupons! Email Renaissance.Headmaster@gmail.com.  |
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We are an independent non-profit private school in the Myrtle Beach area that operates with rigorous academic standards, a commitment to developing all aspects of a child, an orientation that is respectful of religious organizations, and has a strong honor code.
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