Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts

Hello RA Families, PANDEMIC EBT: EXTRA FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN Pandemic-EBT provides money to families with school-aged children to cover the cost of meals that students would have received at school during the pandemic. Every family in the state with eligible school-aged children will receive $420 in food assistance per child. These funds can then be used at most supermarkets, corner stores, bodegas, and farmers markets to buy groceries for up to a year. For more information, please refer to RA's website or Facebook page to view the flyer.

Hello, 5th and 6th-grade Families,  Ms. Emily Nichol, the Coordinator of RA's Safety Patrol Program is asking any 5th and 6th-grade students that have a safety belt at home to drop it off at school when you return your Chromebooks and Library books. More information regarding when to return these items will be forthcoming. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Have a safe and fun summer!

Hello RA Families, I hope this message finds you and your family well. I just wanted to share with you a great opportunity for parents and school leaders at your school of PLTI, in partnership with East EPO and the U of R, will present an online discussion, where parent leaders will share the strong practices implemented at K-12 schools & districts that support parent empowerment. Our parent-leader panelists will also share perspective on building trust for a safe return to school beyond COVID-19 and anti-racism work inside of schools. Parent leaders will represent urban, suburban, charter and private schools. The event will be on Wednesday, June 17th at 5:30 pm on Zoom. Please RSVP Here! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RSXVR7H. Regards, L. Alvarez

Hello RA Families! The end of the school year is nearly here and summer vacation is calling! But before we head into summer, would you kindly have your students check around carefully at home and locate all their missing library books. There are many books still checked out to students since mid-March when we had to suddenly leave our wonderful school building. Please gather them up and return them - when you return the chromebooks to school would be the perfect time. Thank you so much! I hope everyone has been able to thoroughly enjoy these books leisurely at home! Enjoy your summer! Mrs. Maltzan P.S. Remember to send in your letters of support for RA's Charter Renewal. Please refer to RA's website and Facebook page for more information. Thank you!

Good Afternoon RA Community, Please complete this brief survey regarding the re-opening of charter schools. Thank you

Good Morning Families, Just a kind reminder that we will continue to provide meals on Mondays and Thursdays until June 25th. Have a great rest of your day!

Hello RA families and friends! There will not be a town hall meeting this evening. We will communicate when the next meeting will be held. Have a great day and stay safe!

Dear RA Families, As the end of the year approaches RA needs to plan for the opening of school in the fall. We are not sure if we can reopen fully therefore a group of parents, staff members, and community members have been working to create options for opening school in the fall in two different formats. The first format is 100% virtual, similar to what we have been doing since March 16th. The second option is a hybrid program where half the students come to the school building two days a week, the other half attend the other two days and one day a week is all virtual from home. We are hopeful that by using all open areas in our building we will be able to service half of the school following the CDC guidelines for social distancing. The committee is eager to hear your thoughts on each option and will use your feedback to continue to plan. We feel that these two plans will best meet the needs of our students. As has been the case since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, the actions that we take will be based on the guidance provided by Governor Cuomo’s office which should come by the end of June. Please take a few moments to respond to these survey questions by Wednesday, Jun 10th at noon. Please access the survey via this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Renacad Thank you, Donna Marie Cozine, Ed.D.

Rochester Youth, Come together with youth across our city to talk about the events of last week. Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 4 - 5:30 pm ZOOM INFO: Meeting ID: 915 9238 9509 Password: 820342

RCSD Offers Crisis Support Resources RA Families: Below is a listing of social/emotional supports that the Rochester City School district has to offer in wake of the events that occurred in the city of Rochester this past weekend. RCSD believes that each individual school is supporting families during this time in their own ways, but RCSD wanted to ensure that all have the resources provided by RCSD as well. The RCSD Crisis Support Line, accessible for all city residents, is 262-8700. The support line is available for any questions pertaining to the events that occurred this weekend along with COVID-based questions. Emotional supports are available at each of the Rochester City School District Food sites. Support will be provided in shifts by Trauma Practitioners from 8:00 to 2:30 Monday through Friday. CDC recommendations regarding social distancing, masks and safety precautions will be utilized. Click on the link below for a list of Rochester City Schools that will provide emotional support as well as grab-and-go meals. https://www.cityofrochester.gov/coronavirus/ Center For Youth and RCSD Team members will attend the next “Black Lives Matter” rally on Friday June 5, 2020 to provide emotional support to youth as needed. Telephone support line for students and families with resource connection 262-8700 Monday through Friday 8:00-5:00.

Dear RA families, Please see the attached letter from Dr. Cozine. Thank you.

Greetings RA Community: Sending my best to you and your families for your safety, health, and wellness. During these challenging and uncertain times, Renaissance Academy and all charter schools are facing a new obstacle. Please read below. New York Charter Schools are in a State of Emergency. A high performing charter school in Buffalo New York, BuffSci, was voted down in May by the New York State Regents after being recommended for a 5 year approval by the State Education Department. In making its decision to close BuffSci the Regents cited concerns about the impact the school has on the local district’s finances. BuffSci is not being forced to close its doors because of poor performance, it is forced to close because it is a charter school. This was an unprecedented decision by the NYS Board of Regents. In a stand of solidarity for BuffSci Charter School, and all charter schools, we are asking RA families and staff to write a letter to their state legislators who appoint the Regents. Click on the link below to register and send your pre-populated letter to your state legislator. https://nycharters.quorum.us/campaign/26555/. This process will only take two minutes of your time. Please take action by this Saturday, June 6, 2020. No school is safe. Charter schools are at risk. Don't let the Regents take away your school choice. Act Now! Thank you, as we come together to ensure that charter schools remain an option for our children. #WeStandWithBuffSci Sincerely, Kimberly M. Felton Family Services Coordinator

Hello RA Families: The New York State Charter Schools Association is launching the first-ever parent-led education advisory council that will empower and embolden charter school parents to advocate for their children and the great schools they have chosen for them. This council will meet monthly and we hope to have at least one parent from each charter school in the State. Please assist us in advocating for your students by joining us on June 3rd, 2020 at 6 pm for our first New York State Parent Council meeting. This meeting will feature testimonials from parents of MESA Charter HS, Young Women's College Prep and Academy of Health Sciences. Also during this meeting, we will talk about voter registration and connect with charter parents across NY state. Please refer to your email or RA's website, and Facebook page to view the flyer for more detailed information on how to access the meeting via link or by phone.

Join us today at 5pm for RA’s town hall meeting. Click the link below to join. Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/wah-umjd-zsa

Good morning RA friends and families. Today is the RA Town Hall meeting. Join us via Google Meets at 5pm. The link will be shared prior to the meeting via Facebook and student emails. We hope you will join us tonight. Have a great day and stay safe.

Our friends from 2barnfarm are hosting a free drive through zoo on Saturday, May 30th from 11 am - 4 pm and would love to see some familiar faces!

Due to the holiday on Monday, next week meals will be served on Tuesday from 12-1 only.

Please join us for RA's Town Hall Meeting on May 26, 2020 at 5 pm on Google Meets. Prior to the meeting, a link will be sent to all student email accounts.

Due to the holiday on Monday, next week meals will be served on Tuesday from 12-1 only.

Congratulations to our raffle winners from last week! You will be contacted about receiving your prize! K-2: Tyasia Holford 3-6: Nalis Miller Family Prize: Stacey Jernigan Jr. We can't wait to see who wins next week! https://youtu.be/1Ih4AqV6iMY