Renaissance Elementary Charter School’s generosity helps the less fortunate.
Generosity leads to additional 640 book donations to Downtown Miami Charter School
Renaissance Elementary Charter School (RECS) is no stranger to success. Scholastic Book Clubs identified RECS as the top school in the nation for parental participation in the month of April. As a result of this honor, Scholastic planned to give every child in the school a free book; a total of 833 books. Instead, Principal Ana Cordal requested the books be donated to a sister school – Downtown Miami Charter School – that serves in excess of 95 percent free and reduced lunch to students because the need was far greater than at her school. Overwhelmed by her generosity, Scholastic refused her offer. Instead of allowing Cordal to donate her books, they chose to supply 640 free books to all of the students at Downtown Miami Charter in addition to the books they are giving to RECS.
“We were so impressed by the parent participation at RECS in the month of April that we decided to award them our Summer Reading Spectacular award which includes giving every child a book to read through the summer,” said Scott Capriglione, vice president of operations at Scholastic Book Club. “But when Ana told us that another school had a greater need, we were moved by her willingness to forego her award to help those less fortunate.”
Cordal’s gift on behalf of RECS was to be part of the Giving Tree program initiated earlier this month. Now, both schools will benefit.
“We know that students who read over the summer tend to retain more so we wanted to do what we do best,” said Capriglione. “By providing books, we are really providing summer reading opportunities to children who may not have the advantage of having books at home of their very own.”
Clifford The Big Red Dog™ accompanied Capriglione as he hands out the books at each school.
RECS, which also received the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon award in 2008, is part of the Charter Schools USA Inc. (CSUSA) family of schools. Miami-Dade school district is the largest in the state of Florida and includes 68 charter schools. RECS was the second charter school to open in the district 10 years ago. CSUSA is one of the nation’s leading charter school management companies, serving kindergarten through 12th grade. CSUSA provides comprehensive management services to corporations, government entities and non-profit organizations. CSUSA schools are individually developed to meet the unique needs and requirements of the community. CSUSA educational advantages include integrated technology, parental involvement contracts, student uniforms, enforced discipline policies, highly qualified and motivated staff, community focus and high academic performance.