A Boost for Academic Effort : Renaissance program rewards students for good grades

One of the more welcome bumper stickers in recent years proclaims, “My child is an honor student” at school.

The accolades demonstrate the importance a parent attaches to education and the desire to give a student a deserved reward. If there’s a touch of braggadocio involved, well, this is the type of boasting that is easily forgiven.

A program that is catching on in Orange County schools adds to the message that school is important and that academic success warrants support.

More than a dozen junior high and high schools in the county have adopted a national program called Renaissance, which provides incentives such as academic pep rallies, free T-shirts and fast-food lunches for those with good grades.

For years, conclaves in which football or basketball players burst onto the gym floor to the thunderous applause of fellow students have been school staples. But those more adept in class than on the field also need a pat on the back.

So Renaissance features rallies in which the A student bursts through a paper banner and into a decorated gym, passing beneath arches of balloons to cheers from students.

Esperanza High School in Anaheim began the program in September. School Principal Bert Raiche says the intent is “to make academics just as important as extracurricular activities.” That’s a worthy goal. Activities outside the classroom, whether football or chess, are important to a student’s development. But the primary emphasis must be inside the classroom, with students free to try for high marks without being stigmatized as geeks or nerds.

Individual schools customize the Renaissance program, but most reward students who keep their grades above a B average or, if they slip below it, improve their marks. That’s realistic recognition that not everyone is an A student, but everyone needs to be prodded to work up to their potential.

Another good part of Renaissance is the enlistment of local businesses to provide rewards. That emphasizes the stake of private firms in good schools and reminds students that the wider community cares that they receive a good education.