From left, Paige Cox, Jeremy Frye, Issac Lopez, Alex Aldridge, and Rockiya Johnson with historic documents collected so far. Photo by Phil Custodio

Renaissance High School students are busy bringing the history of their school to life for their Academic Service Learning Project.
The project to document the history of the building is led by students, with assistance from teachers Luke Denver, Rob Zelinski, Cornelius Godfrey, Lezlie Hallman, and Tony Flores.
“We’re collecting stories, pictures, and artifacts from the day it was erected until today,” Denver said. “We have lots from the ’40s and ’50s, but we’re short on the ’30s. We’re looking for more.”
The building, constructed in 1930, was used as a K-12 building and high school. It’s now used as the Community Education Building as well as Renaissance.
Students are also conducting filmed interviews with residents who attended the school in the ’40s, Denver said.
“They grew up in Clarkston and went there as students, and talk about how it’s changed,” he said.
“It was interesting to see how the school developed into how our school is now,” Hallman said.
The project so far has been fun, studying old pictures of how the school and students looked.
“The girls always wore skirts. We don’t really wear skirts now,” said Paige Cox, senior.
The boys wore plaid shirts and ties, suits, and lots of letterman sweaters, said Issac Lopez, 11th grade.
“The basketball uniforms were very short – not much to them,” Lopez said.
Community support includes help from the Clarkston Community Historical Society, museum and library. Cara Catallo, author of “Images of America Clarkston,” also gave a presentation.
Items will be on display near the entrance to the school by the end of the school year, Denver said.
For more information on how to participate with photos, yearbooks, clothing, memorabilia, and/or interviews, email lddenver@clarkston.k12.mi.us.