Renaissance School

Renaissance School is a small public high school serving grades 9–12 in the Appleton Area School District, located at 610 N Badger Ave in Appleton, Wisconsin, with 151 students — one of the district's smallest high school programs and roughly one-tenth the size of the city's comprehensive high schools.

Academically, the school ranks in the top 2% of Wisconsin high schools — 11th of 533 in 2025–26 — and six of its ten reported years are 5-star, top-5% performances. That places it far above its own district, which ranks 253rd of 432 districts statewide, and above every comprehensive high school nearby: North High sits at the 60th percentile, East High at the 34th, and West High at the 24th. In 2025–26, 10th graders reached 90% proficiency in ACT English Language Arts, 70% in math, 75% in science, and 71.43% in social studies — roughly 39 points above the district and 42 above the state in ELA, and about 23 points above the state in social studies. Only two nearby schools perform at the same tier, both small specialized programs: Tesla Engineering Charter School, which is stronger in math, and Fox Cities Leadership Academy.

Graduation has been 100% for five straight years with a 0.0% dropout rate, and the school ranks 3rd of 446 statewide for its low-income students — a standout result. It achieves this on $8,204 per student, about half what West High spends. The clearest weakness is chronic absenteeism: 28.5% in 2024–25, about 11 points above both the district and the state. Because the school is small, a single year's scores can swing noticeably, so the multi-year pattern is the better guide.