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Academy Enjoys Renaissance At New Location

Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

Students walk the hallways between classes at Renaissance Academy's new facility. The private school that focuses on the arts has moved into the Unity Truth Center at 5844 Pine Hill Road. The school was formerly located in New Port Richey.

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By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 31, 2008

PORT RICHEY - With Renaissance Academy's five-year lease set to expire, head of school Janine Caffrey scouted about to find a new home for the private school that focuses on the fine arts.

The old location at the corner of Corporate Way and Little Road in New Port Richey had served the school well since it opened in 2003, but the busy intersection presented drawbacks.

"There was constant concern about who was walking down the street," Caffrey said.

The school also was looking for a different kind of space, something with a tranquil setting that would be more conducive to learning.

Caffrey tracked down a location that provided the positive vibes she was looking for.

Renaissance Academy is now at 5844 Pine Hill Road in space leased from Unity Church. The church sits in a parklike setting, back a bit from the road, which Caffrey said provides a more secure place for the students to learn.

"It just feels good," she said.

Caffrey found the Pine Hill Road location just 10 days before the Aug. 18 start of school, meaning the move had to be quick.

To complicate matters, Caffrey and her husband lived above the old school and had to find a new home for themselves at the same time. In addition, their daughter was getting married in New Jersey, so they needed to travel north for the wedding at the height of the move.

Luckily for Caffrey, plenty of parents and others pitched in to help.

"We had an army of volunteers," Caffrey said. "I lost track of how many people were involved."

A few things still are being unpacked, but on opening day, Renaissance Academy was ready.

The school is serving 90 students in prekindergarten through high school this year.

Inside Renaissance Academy, at the reception area, visitors are greeted by the school's lively office manager, Mary Valderrama, who jokes that she's Queen Mary. She keeps a crown hidden beneath the desk to prove it. She also has a heart-shaped plaque that reads, "All Hail the Queen."

On the wall behind her also is a plaque that reads: "Don't forget to breathe."

Valderrama's sons attend Renaissance Academy. Richard, 15, is an 11th-grader, and Ryan, 10, is a fifth-grader.

She is a fan of the academy's new location.

"It's a definite upgrade," Valderrama said.

Valderrama has worked for the school for four years.

"I volunteered one day," she said. "Never left."

With the new look, the school also is embarking on new programs.

On Wednesdays, the school will have the "Wednesday Symposium." The regular curriculum will be set aside that day as the students and teachers focus on such elective fare as orchestra, chorus, world religions, Ping-Pong, chess, bridge and film studies.

There also is a kitchen where students can delve into culinary arts.

"We've really ramped up our academics," Caffrey said.

Helping to widen the academic offerings is Peicong Yang, a guest teacher from China who is teaching the Mandarin Chinese language, world cultures and Ping-Pong.

Already the students are learning greetings, other basic communications and a song in Chinese. The song is to the tune of "Frere Jacques," but in Chinese, the lyrics are different. They deal with tigers, not a sleeping Brother John.

Yang is part of a guest teacher program sponsored by the Chinese government and The College Board, the not-for-profit association that administers the SAT and other standardized tests.

China is providing 127 such guest teachers across the United States, Caffrey said.

If Caffrey had any second thoughts about moving Renaissance Academy, the sofa she spotted in a hallway at Unity Church erased the doubts.

The sofa looked familiar.

It was a perfect match for a sofa she and her husband once owned but left behind when they moved from a house in River Ridge in 2001.

Caffrey wondered. The odds seemed long, but could this be the same sofa?

Her husband reminded her there was one sure-fire way to tell. Their daughter once took a marker to the couch, just underneath the middle cushion. They could never remove the stain.

Caffrey lifted the middle cushion. There was the stain.

"My furniture found its way home before I did," Caffrey said.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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