Renaissance High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Renaissance High School is a public high school located within the city of Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in 1978 on the previous site of Catholic Central High School. Its first senior class graduated in 1981. A new building for the school, on the site of the former Sinai Hospital, was dedicated in 2005.
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[edit] Admissions
Part of the Detroit Public School system, Renaissance is one of three magnet high schools in the city. It is ranked as the top high school in the city of Detroit and as well in the state of Michigan. As originally envisioned, a test was administered annually to eighth grade students from public and non-public schools in the area. A combination of the student's grades in junior high school and the score the student received on the test determined admission into the school. That policy continued into the early 1990's. Transfer students were not allowed to attend Renaissance either. These policies have been somewhat relaxed, however, and transfer students are allowed to attend the school, although they must abide by the same graduation requirements as other students.
When Renaissance was initially founded, community members were concerned that reliance on a standardized test would result in the school's admitting too few Black students. Quotas were established such that at least 40% of the school's students were Black. In 2006, more than 90% of the student body is African American.
[edit] Academics
Renaissance High School has been awarded numerous awards for its excellence. The school has consistently been the benchmark for academic standards in the city of Detroit. In 1999 in an article published by US News and World Report about America's top high schools. Renaissance was also awarded the Michigan Blue Ribbon and the National Ribbon of honor in 2002. Renaissance has world renowned choral and instrumental music departments, and has been internationally recognized for its academic programs. Also, nearly 100% of Seniors attend a 4-year college or university every year (with the few exceptions coming in the form of Military enlistment).
Among the school's most recent international recognitions is the success of the instrumental music program at the Festivals of Music 2006 in Toronto, Canada. Directed by Willie J. McAllister, Jr., Renaissance won first place with superior ratings in all four divisions it competed in, with each group competing at AAA level, the most difficult available. In addition, the Jazz Band achieved a perfect score of 100, a first in competition history, along with the saxophone section being recognized as the best section and soprano saxophone player Jessica Robins being recognized as the best soloist. Renaissance also won the trophy for the overall best school bringing their total to thirteen.
[edit] Athletics
Renaissance High School's mascot is the Phoenix. In the school's early years, the Phoenix saw limited success athletically. It wasn't until the early 1990s that the tide turned.
The school’s first State Championship was won by the girl’s track in 1997. The girl's track team has since won nine of the last 10 state championships as of the end of the 2006 season. The varsity softball team has been a perennial City Championship Contender since the early 1990s as well.
The school has turned into a basketball powerhouse. Starting in 1998, the boy’s basketball team has produced 4 City Championships and 2 State Championships (2004 & 2006). In 1995, the girl's basketball team won its first City Championship, followed in 1996, by a state finals appearance and, in 2006, a State Championship). Thus, in 2006, for the first time, a Detroit public school housed both the Men's and Women's State Champions in basketball. The school also produced great young basketball talents in this time period, starting with Rickey Paulding, who became the school's first All-American. He went on to star at the University of Missouri and became the second Renaissance player drafted into the NBA when he was selected by the Detroit Pistons in 2004. Renaissance has also produced current Kentucky player Joe Crawford, Oregon players Malik Hairston and Tajuan Porter. Crawford and Hairston were McDonald's All-Americans while at Renaissance.
Renaissance started its football program with a junior varsity team in 1994, providing immediate success on the field. The varsity football team has earned 9 straight state playoff appearances, has had many players named to the All City, All Region and All State honors, and has been invited out of the state to play in Indiana. Chris Archie (Class of 1997) was the first Renaissance High School athlete to sign with a major professional sports franchise when he signed a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Darvin Lewis (Class of 1998) had a short stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. Ronald Bartell Jr. (Class of 2000) is the first former Phoenix football player to start in an NFL regular season game.
The baseball team has also had success, reaching the city Championship in the 2006 season.
[edit] New campus
In 2005, the school moved into a $100 million+ campus complete with 600-seat auditorium, state-of-the-art language and computer labs, a 2,000 seat, multi-level gym, and state-of-the-art football field. The building has been recognized as the first Silver-LEED certified building in the city of Detroit for meeting high environmental standards. Features include solar collectors, a rainwater harvest system, and innovative cooling systems.
