By A. JAMES RUDIN
(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee's Senior Interreligious Adviser, is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Saint Leo University)

When you were a fifth-grader did you attend school classes 11 hours a day, six days a week, 12 months a year? Probably not, but that is the rigorous schedule students maintain at the newly opened privately supported Academy Prep Center in Tampa, Fla.

Unlike many private schools, Academy Prep is not located on a bucolic movie-set campus in a charming small town. Nor do its students come from middle and upper middle class homes. Just the opposite is true.

Academy Prep is in the heart of Ybor City, one of Tampa's poorest residential neighborhoods, and its 25 fifth-graders are youngsters who live below the federal poverty line. All but two students are either African-American or Hispanic.

Within three years, Academy Prep will house grades five through eight. This fall marked the entry of the school's first class of fifth-graders, and a new grade will be added each autumn until the school reaches its planned capacity of 120 students equally divided between boys and girls.

Called a "center of hope" by its supporters, Academy Prep seeks to break the tragic pattern of school drop-outs that occur even at the elementary grade level, the lack of personal self esteem among many students, and the cycle of despair that has historically afflicted youngsters who live in poor neighborhoods and among frequently shattered family structures.

Although Academy Prep is patterned on the well-known Jesuit Nativity Mission Center in New York City, the Tampa school is non-sectarian and non-denominational. Indeed, the school's vice president for development, John Erik Savitsky, is Jewish and its principal, Lincoln J. Tamayo, was born in Cuba and came to the United States when he was 6 months old.

The driving forces of this remarkable school are Tampa residents Gail and Paul Whiting, who ardently believe their Roman Catholic faith dictates community service. Academy Prep receives no public funds, and relies upon business and private support for its budget. The Whitings have made the school a top social justice priority, and Gail Whiting has called her involvement with Academy Prep "a life-changing experience."

The red-brick Ybor City Grammar School, built in 1908, was abandoned by the City of Tampa in 1971. As often happens in such situations, the deserted school building fell into disrepair and became an eyesore. The Whitings reclaimed the unused building, and through their extraordinary efforts, two new buildings have recently been erected to form an educational center and neighborhood anchor.

It is a demanding school for both students and their families. A typical day begins with breakfast at 7:15 a.m., followed by an assembly that lasts until 8:30 a.m., when formal instruction commences with a core curriculum including English, history, Spanish, science, athletics, computer skills, fine arts, and mathematics. Classes end at 3 p.m. and students, all of whom wear bright blue Academy Prep T-shirts, are then required to clean the school themselves in preparation for the next day.

There is an extensive after-class activity program between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. with tutoring, mentoring and community service. Students and their families must perform 50 hours a year of such service. Finally, for those students not on the academic honor roll, a study hall takes place until 6:30 p.m.

Besides the core curriculum, students are also required to learn karate and chess, a unique combination to build self esteem for both bodies and brains.

Tamayo believes one of the many problems faced by minority group youngsters is the pernicious epidemic of "low expectations." Many educators have simply given up and demand little or nothing from their students.

Academy Prep is a radical bold attempt to break that widespread pattern. By demanding the highest excellence from its students, the school has committed itself to supporting Academy's graduates throughout their educational careers including high school and college.

That support may include clothing, transportation to and from boarding schools, room and board at those schools, books and travel expenses for families to visit their children. Academy Prep will also provide regular academic updates for its alumni, along with summer job placement and personal networking. The school promises "never to lose sight of its graduates."

Clearly, Academy Prep is not for everyone, but thanks to religiously motivated people like the Whitings, the school has attracted a superb staff and strong support from many members of the Ybor City community.

Academy Prep represents a unique interreligious project that merits not only our prayers for its success, but our support as well.

© 2003 Religion News Service