100 Reasons for $100 Million
A school built on strengths, not standards.
Academy of the Renaissance is a future California private school for economically-disadvantaged students from underserved communities — where apprenticeships, the arts, the sciences, and humanism come together the way Renaissance learning once did.
One million people giving at least $100 each. Funds go toward building, programs, and the endowment that keeps the school sustainable.
See progress →A different kind of school
We believe every student has unique strengths and talents. Our mission is to help students discover and master their own strengths — and to show them how to use those strengths in a field of their interest, so they feel empowered to lead in their communities and beyond.
Students will eventually become part of a unique academic enterprise, working with industry experts who help them apply what they've learned. Success isn't just what you know — it's the impact of how you use it.
Founded April 20, 2018. 501(c)(3) status granted April 15, 2019.
Six pillars
Community
Students, teachers, families and industry experts learning side by side.
Learning
Mastery-based, hands-on, and grounded in real applications.
Strengths
Every student discovers and builds on what makes them unique.
Intergenerational
Older students teach younger ones; the academy becomes a family.
Accountability
High expectations met with high support, for everyone.
Character
Integrity, perseverance, and humility are taught as deliberately as math.
Latest reasons
All reasons →- Reason #23
Content is Secondary
Former student Ajani Sanders remembers Question Mondays and a Quote of the Week — and why teaching math (or any subject) was always secondary to building a community of learners.
- Reason #22
High Expectations with Support
Setting the bar high only works if the safety net is wider than the leap. How high expectations paired with real support turn 'I can't' into 'I just did.'
- Reason #21
Motivation
What pulls students into learning when nothing in the syllabus will — and how AotR plans to build motivation into the curriculum, not bolt it on afterwards.
- Reason #20
Proactive vs Reactive Education
Sandra Angle's advice to a first-year teacher: call every parent in month one. A short comparison chart of proactive vs reactive teaching, and why one beats the other in every category.
- Reason #19
The Art of Explaining
Seven different ways to explain the Nash Equilibrium before the lightbulb finally clicked. Why 'teaching' and 'explaining' aren't the same thing — and why every great teacher learns to do both.
- Reason #18
Having the Right Mindset
A Vietnamese morning ritual involving tofu, peanuts, and a pun-translation that doubles as a pre-test mantra. Why mindset is part of everything we do.