It is a privilege to welcome you to Renaissance Academy, and an honor to serve as its Principal. Since 1994, this school has prepared international students for American and global universities, and I am grateful to help carry that work forward. I come to it as a teacher first — you will find me in a classroom every morning — bringing years in Los Angeles classrooms and international academic programs, and a steady conviction that students rise to the level of what we ask of them.
What we ask here is real. Our classes are small and personal, so that no student is anonymous; our program pairs a rigorous on-campus core with a global catalog of college-level and Advanced Placement courses; and we teach students to work with new technology thoughtfully and with integrity. Yet the aim beneath all of it is an older and simpler one. As Laozi wrote, “Knowing others is wisdom; knowing oneself is enlightenment.” Our work is not only to help students understand the world, but to help them come to understand themselves — to grow as careful thinkers, as learners who meet difficulty with a growth mindset, and as global citizens at home anywhere.
I have spent my career in service of that idea, and it is a joy to continue pursuing it here. I remain a lifelong learner myself. Our school’s work sits at the bleeding edge of innovation in data-driven student personalization. I look forward to coming to know our students and their families, and to building, together, a school worthy of their ambitions.
Michael Loeser Principal
Principal