“TRCS fosters intellectual initiative and cultural awareness through dynamic approaches to education and student/teacher/parent interaction.”

Shelley Brevda, co-director of instructional support at The Renaissance Charter School, believes in the institution’s “lifelong” goal of “raising leaders for the Renaissance of New York” and says it can be a “microcosm” of Jackson Heights and New York City at large. 


In its 11th year as a “New Vision” K-12 school, and its fourth year as a NYC Charter school, Renaissance stands firm and lively on 81st Street, an educational meeting ground for students, faculty, and parents of “different ethnic backgrounds.” “You name it,” says Brevda, “we’ve got it, which is what’s really good.” Before it became a Charter school, Renaissance was “able to ethnically balance” its student body, but since then, it has been enrolling students “on a lottery basis.” The small number of students (500 in total) and teachers in the school, as well as the school’s conscious objective to reach every student and establish “more [of] a family feeling,” are what foster close, constructive relationships among students and faculty. “Every teacher is every student’s teacher,” quotes Brevda, recalling a motto and sharing how everyone in the school knows each other. With an all around “sense of belonging,” students call their teachers, and even their principal, by their first names. It is “very hard here to feel lost.” Teachers give out their home numbers and “parents are in here all the time,” as TRCS tries to encourage a “collaborative” kind of learning. With an 85% graduation rate and 80-90% regents passing rate, according to Brevda, the school’s approach seems to be working. Asked about conflicts, especially along ethnic lines, among the students, Brevda says, “We do not have issues of any violence.” With innovative programs constantly in the works and personalized attention given to every student in a friendly, accepting, and encouraging environment, ethnic, racial or other tensions seem quite out of the picture.


A part of the TRCS family, Brevda believes that the school is “a wonderful microcosm of New York.” It is “a city where people respect each other” and “understand each other,” where they “keep celebrating differences.” Just like TRCS aims to be, it is “a leader city.” Brevda’s view may be influenced in part by her living in Jackson Heights since she was five years old. She loves Jackson Heights and calls it “home.” Regarding the ethnic diversity in Jackson Heights, Brevda says she likes the “mixed neighborhood,” and she adds, “I feel safe here.” Where she lives on 35th Avenue, it’s nice and “quiet;” she can “go for walks” in the evening without any fears. She also has easy access to transportation and a myriad of stores nearby where “I can get everything I need.” Brevda is certainly not alone in this appreciative feeling towards Jackson Heights’ attractions. But she goes on to add that with the example of TRCS and the surrounding community that it reflects, the intercultural thriving “will spread.” Looking back to the tragedy of Sept. 11th and “how we pulled together,” Brevda feels “we could do anything."

In one of his Sunday messages, Dr. Ronald Tompkins, senior pastor at Community United Methodist Church, talks about the thread of unity in diversity that he sees the Church and the power of prayer weave in the community of Jackson Heights.

Since the birth of the Community United Methodist Church about 85 years ago, it has worked to bring the ethnically diverse population of Jackson Heights closer together. The Church conducts services in many different languages, ranging from English and Spanish to Chinese and Korean. One can see signs all over the Church in various languages, giving a sense of the multiethnic attendees at the institution. Jennifer Arango, the current receptionist at the Church, excitedly tells me that for the first time, there was a gathering of all the ethnic groups associated with the Church with service carried out in all their respective languages in the April, 2004. This was a historical event as services were offered in different languages but they were conducted separately or in segments previously. The Hispanics, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Indians, the Pakistanis – all of them were present in the same room and heard prayers in their respective languages, rather than the groups splitting up and praying with their own pastors.
The Church also offers academic programs to the youth, with their largely successful pre-K, after school and summer school programs. Weddings are common affairs at the Church, but they are given meticulous attention and regard. Arango also says that through these programs and services, the Church has created a community out of the diverse ethnic groups and connected them through the common bond of prayer and God.

A former resident of Jackson Heights, Arango moved from the neighborhood about 3 years ago. She really liked the neighborhood for its cheap and diverse commercial institutions. “Everything is very close and cheap,” she says immediately when asked about her reason to have been a long time resident of Jackson Heights. Being Hispanic herself, Arango expresses her appreciation for the diversity of the neighborhood.

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