Who We Serve
Renzi Students
The Renzi Education & Art Center serves students in grades K-12 from Shreveport-Bossier. We know that having a diverse student body benefits students’ educational, artistic, and personal development, we welcome kids from all income, racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds as well as of all sexual orientations. However, we seek out and recruit K-12 youth from low-income, high-crime neighborhoods in Shreveport. Approximately 80% of our students are from these areas.
Many of our students:
Go to underperforming schoolsStruggle to keep up in schoolLive in substandard housingLive with relatives – adults and children – who suffer from mental illness, drug addiction, and often bothLive with relatives or family friends who have been in and out of prisonLive in transient families, who move multiple times within a year, without warning, and under the radarLive in households headed by a single female parent or guardian
Why Renzi Kids are Amazing
What amazes us is how positive and resilient our at-risk students are, despite their tough circumstances. They don’t always start out that way at Renzi, but we see time and time again that after being here for only a week -- sometimes for just a day, they are more upbeat, energetic, and confident. If there is anything we’ve learned from working with and serving the kids of Highland and Stoner Hill, it’s that they are special, amazing people.
They can do so much -- and will do so much -- if they can just have some of the same opportunities their peers from higher income families have: one-on-one assistance with their homework, the space, materials, and freedom to express and discover themselves, and lots of encouragement and positive attention from caring adults.
