Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg

Academy Prep Center of Tampa is a tuition-free, independent center for education for middle-school aged children who qualify for need-based scholarships. In the atmosphere of an extended family, Academy Prep encourages and teaches students to excel in academics, ethical and moral understanding and judgment, and life skills. Opening its doors in 2003, it is modeled after its predecessors, Nativity Mission Center, which opened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York, in 1971, as well as the Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg, in operation in south St. Petersburg since 1997. The school is dedicated to educating economically-disadvantaged students by providing an academically challenging, enriching and structured environment followed by eight years of support and guidance through high school and college. Academy Prep admits students who demonstrate the ability to handle a rigorous and demanding academic program designed to prepare them for success in secondary school and college. Through its year-round program, the school promotes the intellectual, athletic, and social development of its students. Academy Prep students and graduates are expected to act as mature and responsible individuals who contribute to their communities and demonstrate charity and concern in all their actions.