There is a school in nearby south St Pete that starts every morning with the beginning of the pledge above. Every student stands tall, in formation and respectful. If you have the chance to meet them then every student will look you in the eye, introduce themselves and shake your hand. If you have the opportunity to talk with them, you will learn the big dreams that this school is teaching them that are achievable. This important school is Academy Prep Center St Petersburg and it is creating a transformation and stopping generational poverty one student at a time.

Students attend Academy Prep Center St Petersburg on a needs based scholarship at the rate of $20,000 per year. Every student has received the opportunity to attend this school to empower them to become future community leaders through a rigorous middle school program. This program provides an opportunity that many of these students may have otherwise never experienced.

Just ask Beth England, a Tierra Verde resident that has been involved at Academy Prep for 10 years. “I have seen the changes in scholars’ lives, from 5th grade to those now that have completed college and/or are in Grad school.” Beth continues to say, “You have to experience the Pledge and campus in person to really understand the power and confidence we are instilling in our scholars.”

Take note that these students are raising the statistics bar whereas 98% of the Alumni of this southside school have graduated from high school on time since 2005. In addition, 94% of Academy Prep graduates have gone onto post-secondary education or have served in the United States Armed Forces. To add to these impressive numbers, the opportunities post middle school to high school lead 91% of the Academy Prep graduates to scholarships to private or boarding prep schools on scholarship-based levels. Academy Prep is a community game changer.

The daily morning pledge continues...

The school life of these students consists of attending school 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, 11 months a year, taught in classes separated by gender. Academy Prep is built to be a safe haven for students. When the students are there they are engaged in personal growth, education and building their dreams for the future. Academy Prep has three pillars of education: 1) Rigorous College Preparatory Curriculum 2) Enriching Extracurricular Activities 3) Eight Years of Ongoing Graduate Support.

Many of our Tierra Verde residents are a part of supporting these pillars and the mission of the school. Diane Dewey, Tierra Verde resident and well-known author is part of this supporting community. Diane spends her time giving back in literature lessons at the school. She has witnessed how writing and books like A Hero’s Journey have helped students to identify the high level of obstacles that they experience and begin to tackle them through the literature journey of their personal story.

These students are in a nonprofit middle school from low-income backgrounds and they are preparing for college, heading towards a potential high school scholarship and fulfilled with activities that strengthen their social skills and life paths. They do all of this for less than the cost of a student in the Pinellas County School System.

The morning pledge ends and Beth England states “I have heard this over 100 times and it still gets to me every time.” The room is profound with potential for each student to be the best they can be and it is time to begin the day.

 

Note: The contributor and T.V. resident has served as an Academy Prep mentor for 4 years and visits the campus weekly. If you are interested to get involved at the school or a future event for the school please visit https://stpete.academyprep.org/   and contact: lnashmiller@academyprep.org