Lindhurst High School students celebrated their success in the classroom, kicking off a new program with a Renaissance fair in the campus quad Thursday.

The Olivehurst school had its first of many planned events as part of its Renaissance program. The school has seen an almost 100-point gain in its Annual Performance Index scores over the past three years.

Guidance counselor Joanna Alvarado is also acting as the counselor for Renaissance. The program grew out of a class and became an incentive for students to bring up their grades and keep them high.

Before this first year of Lindhurst’s “renaissance,” Alvarado researched some of the more successful programs in the area, including Bear River Middle School in Wheatland. The first step was taken Thursday with a lunch-hour fair.

“This lets them know about the new club and gets them interested in learning more,” Alvarado said.

Throughout the year, the club will help celebrate success in the classroom through a series of events, including scholarship assemblies and naming a student of the month. Students won’t be the only ones celebrated, as teachers and staff members will also be honored each month.

For their efforts in the classroom, students were treated to a fair filled with plenty of opportunities for students to celebrate success.

The Marines brought in a chin-up bar and the Army had a climbing wall for students to pull themselves to new heights. Free cake was served to encourage hard work to keep the school’s API score closer to 700.

Principal Bob Eckhardt is excited to see the push for students to keep improving in their studies because it adds to what he sees as a hidden pattern of excellence at Lindhurst that extends beyond the classroom.

The school’s sports teams also took home seven league titles, including a section champion football team and champion soccer, track and softball teams.

“We are riding a wave of success, and we don’t see an end in sight,” Eckhardt said.

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