Academy Prep Center

Links to : Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg | Academy Prep Foundation | Academy Prep Graduate Support Program

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The Story

Academy Prep Center of Tampa

Transforming Our Communities...
One Child at a Time.

Opportunities to Invest in a Child
For the full brochure, Click Here (

1.0 M PDF)

More Than a School

Academy Prep Center for Education was formed eleven years ago with its first school in south St. Petersburg. The Ybor Center, opened in 2003, replicates the success of our sister campus and celebrated its first graduating class in the spring of 2007.

In the Ybor neighborhood of our Center, less than fifty percent of the adults have graduated from high school. Too many young people live in conditions that expose them to crime, poor health, and strained family situations. They lack sufficient access to educational opportunities and to the life opportunities that will help them become successful adults.

At Academy Prep, we change these young people's lives by providing an education that is decidedly untraditional. Students receive four years of tuition-free, college-preparatory education in 5th through 8th grades. Students attend up to 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, 11 months each year. The school provides a demanding academic curriculum and a multitude of enrichment activities along with emotional support and social guidance. Students benefit from an additional eight years of graduate support that guides them continually through their high school and college careers.

Student hard at work In five years, the Center has seen remarkable results. Students often leap from below grade level when entering 5th grade to academic abilities equivalent to 11th and 12th grade levels even before their 8th grade year! Our students win chess, karate, and debate competitions; speak confidently to business professionals; perform Shakespeare on stage; do volunteer work in their communities; and attend school at the highest rate for middle schools in our county.

The Tampa community is extremely supportive of Academy Prep with over 20 corporate, educational, and non-profit partnerships. Over 7,200 hours of service time is given annually to Academy Prep from our families and community volunteers.

With our second graduating class in spring 2008, we intend to replicate our sister school's incredible success by keeping ninety-five percent of Academy Prep's graduates in high school, college, or careers.

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Student Artwork from Academy Prep Center of Tampa Presented by

The Ybor School of Visual and Performing Arts Gallery

Wednesday, June 17 through Thursday, June 25, 2009

Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 17, 2:30-4 p.m.
RSVP 813-248-5600, Sharon, x1102 or
Email: sjoller@academyprep.org

Come join us and see -
drawing • photography • portraits • masks • ceramic

HCC Ybor Art Gallery, Performing Arts Building
Palm Avenue and 15th Street
Gallery hours: Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
813-253-7674

To see more Click Here ( 380K PDF)

Cover artwork by Imani Smith, Class of 2008

Thank you to our 8th Grade Community Partners!

Mataldi Morris delivers his opening remarks for Mock Trial.

We had several work-based learning classes for our 8th grade through the support of Community Partners Ogden and Sullivan Law Firm, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, and Capital One Auto Finance.

Through this interaction the students learned problem-solving, decision-making applications, hands-on work experience, job skills, and career opportunities.

Brianna Wharton and Volunteer Lawyer Ms. Abraham work on her cross examination for the Mock Mediation.

Students participate in a problem solving practicum. >

< Students learn the different job roles during a Mock ER.

Boy Scout Troop 100 Heads to the Woods

Did you know that Academy Prep’s Boy Scout Troop 100 is lead by the Honorable Chris Altenbernd and other volunteers the Judge has recruited? The troop meets every Tuesday working on projects to reach the rank of Second Class.

The troop spent a full Saturday exploring Croom Trail north of Tampa. The hike was a requirement to reach the rank of Second Class and the boys even prepared a meal together.

Judge Altenbernd shared these thoughts…

“The young men in Troop 100 are model scouts, and the troop has been a wonderful experience for them and for the adult leaders. If these Fifth Grade scouts can stay in the troop through Eighth Grade, I think many of them will reach the highest rank, Eagle, and develop leadership skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.”

Thank you to the great leaders of Troop 100!

Low In Income, But
Soaring In Dedication

The Tampa Tribune
By Marilyn Brown
Published Tuesday, March 4, 2008

TAMPA - Before dawn, students begin pulling wheeled backpacks into their 1.9-acre weekday home wedged between a Cuban bakery and a dry cleaner, a scant block from traffic whizzing overhead on Interstate 4 in Ybor City.

The 10- to 14-year-olds in green or white polo shirts and navy pants or skirts mingle or sit on the walkway, propped up against block walls, reading, writing or chatting.

Daylight sneaks in as they shift to green metal benches under a sprawling oak, downing cereal and milk or just socializing. By the time they line up by grade and sex in front of their century-old schoolhouse, it's nearly 7:30 a.m.

Read Marilyn Brown's article Click Here ( 1M PDF)