{"id":366,"date":"2015-11-23T12:13:32","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T17:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.wpengine.com\/?p=366"},"modified":"2015-12-03T15:38:32","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T20:38:32","slug":"renaissance-high-different-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=366","title":{"rendered":"Renaissance High: different than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cater Leslie<\/strong>
\nThe Trojan Torch
\nPlainwell HS
\n1st Place
\nDivision 3, News Writing
\nDiversity Coverage<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

By 7:45 a.m. all of the high\u00a0school students in the Plainwell\u00a0district are in their\u00a0desks ready to start the day.\u00a0Well, not really.<\/p>\n

Renaissance High School\u00a0students would disagree.<\/p>\n

Renaissance is the alternative\u00a0high school in the district.<\/p>\n

The students are required\u00a0to be in their building on\u00a0Acorn Street from 9 a.m. to\u00a02:15 p.m. The time before and\u00a0after those hours is for students\u00a0to get extra help from\u00a0the two teachers and one\u00a0paraprofessional, or spend\u00a0extra time working on assignments.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive hours and 15 minutes\u00a0may seem like a much easier\u00a0day, but our students don\u2019t\u00a0have any passing time and\u00a0are looking at a computer\u00a0screen nearly all day. Trust\u00a0me when I say it\u2019s not easier,\u00a0just different,\u201d said Plainwell\u00a0Renaissance Principal, Tammy\u00a0Glupker.<\/p>\n

In fact, Renaissance is different\u00a0from PHS in many\u00a0many ways. It is technically\u00a0a high school and is governed\u00a0by the same board of education,\u00a0and its students are just\u00a0kids trying to get their high\u00a0school education.<\/p>\n

One of the main differences\u00a0is size. It is in a small building\u00a0with two classrooms so only\u00a0about 75 students can be enrolled\u00a0at one time. (Currently\u00a0there are 66.)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing that is WAY\u00a0different is that we don\u2019t have\u00a0any sports, clubs, dances, or\u00a0pep assemblies,\u201d Glupker said.\u00a0\u201cOn the other hand, we do\u00a0have close supportive staff,\u00a0an informal businesslike\u00a0atmosphere\u00a0and the ability to\u00a0work at your own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome and the people\u00a0are cool. The teachers really\u00a0care about you and you\u00a0go at your own pace,\u201d said \u00a0Renaissance student Aaron\u00a0Snyder.<\/p>\n

Snyder does admit that he\u00a0misses the nachos at the main\u00a0campus; however, Snyder\u00a0likes the alternative school\u00a0better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to come here after\u00a0going to PHS for a trimester,\u00a0and since then it\u2019s been treating\u00a0me well,\u201d said Snyder.<\/p>\n

Although he can\u2019t get nachos,\u00a0students do have the\u00a0option of purchasing a boxed\u00a0lunch from the main campus\u00a0cafeteria, or leaving campus\u00a0to get food–although they still\u00a0only have the same 25-minute\u00a0lunch that the regular high\u00a0school has and most students\u00a0remain at the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our lunch time too,\u00a0so we all eat together in the\u00a0largest classroom. It\u2019s kind of\u00a0like lunch at a business office,\u201d\u00a0says Glupker.<\/p>\n

Although most students at\u00a0Plainwell High School would\u00a0envy the option of open campus\u00a0that they aren\u2019t given, \u00a0they also have other thoughts\u00a0about Renaissance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOthers probably look\u00a0down on it, but I don\u2019t. I think\u00a0it\u2019s good that they can go at\u00a0their own pace and even\u00a0graduate earlier,\u201d said Caleb\u00a0Beachler \u201815.<\/p>\n

Although they have\u00a0thoughts about Renaissance,\u00a0some of their thoughts may\u00a0be incorrect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they graduate,\u00a0they probably get a Renaissance\u00a0High School diploma,\u201d\u00a0said Megan Friel \u201815. This is a\u00a0common misconception about\u00a0the Renaissance High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a common misconception\u00a0that this is a GED\u00a0school. That is false. Our students\u00a0have to take the same\u00a0classes that all Michigan high\u00a0schools required to earn their\u00a0high school diploma. When\u00a0they graduate each May,\u00a0our students receive a regular\u00a0high school diploma that\u00a0reads Plainwell Community\u00a0Schools,\u201d said Glupker.<\/p>\n

The way they get to that\u00a0diploma is unique because\u00a0of the environment at the\u00a0school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Alternative is really\u00a0relaxed, but the teachers\u00a0care. I didn\u2019t really like regular\u00a0high school, but I like Alternative\u00a0better because no\u00a0one is really judgmental,\u201d said Macoy Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t say that one way\u00a0or the other is better,\u201d said\u00a0Glupker. \u201cWhat I believe\u00a0wholeheartedly (and my students\u00a0are proof positive) is\u00a0that not every person is the\u00a0same and we shouldn\u2019t have\u00a0to pretend like we are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cater Leslie The Trojan Torch Plainwell HS 1st Place Division 3, News Writing Diversity Coverage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[64,4],"tags":[48,22],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-diversitycoverage","category-nw","tag-48","tag-division3","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kelsey Parkinson","author_link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?author=3"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6K0n6-5U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}