Renaissance Charter principal announced

OCOEE  Officials from Charter Schools USA announced on April 26 that Brett Taylor would be the founding principal of Renaissance Charter School at Crown Point -- formerly at Westyn Bay -- on West Road and Fountains West Boulevard in Ocoee.

Amid controversy and various opinions from locals, the Ocoee City Commission officially approved this charter school at a special March 15 meeting and then passed its site plan at the regular April 19 meeting.

“We are very pleased to have Mr. Taylor serve as our founding principal at Renaissance Charter School at Crown Point,” said April Williams, regional director for Charter Schools USA in Central and North Florida.  “His vast experience as an effective leader will serve the students well as we begin this new journey in Ocoee.”

Taylor most recently was the principal at East Paulding Middle School in Dallas, Georgia, and is a native of Fort Lauderdale. He has a bachelor's degree in special education from High Point University in North Carolina, a master's degree in educational leadership from Kennesaw State University in Georgia and an educational specialist degree in curriculum and instruction from Lincoln Memorial University in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

According to CSUSA reports, CSUSA now oversees 77 schools in seven states -- almost 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In the 2016-17 school year, CSUSA will have 84 schools and more than 75,000 students.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].