NEWS: Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy Proudly Announces Earning the Highest Rating from the Florida Department of Education

The Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy proudly announces earning the highest rating from the Florida Department of Education based upon Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores for 2011. We want to thank our teachers and students for their tireless effort to succeed in the classroom.

We have a recipe for success and it starts with our Board of Directors’ vision for the Academy. The vision is reaching struggling children early and teaching them positive values connected with the game of golf, such as patience, discipline, determination and respect for others is paramount to their success.

“We utilize golf as the cornerstone of a program that builds self-esteem, instills a strong work ethic, and stresses the importance of a good education in the lives of disadvantaged children,” said Tom James, Chairman of Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation.

The Academy is also unique in that it integrates a shadow program into the student’s education.  Students spend time with adults in each department of our campus Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club and Sports Complex, seeing firsthand how management, marketing, retail sales, landscaping, and agronomy apply to real life. While learning about the various jobs at our campus Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club and Sports Complex, the children see how basic educational skills like math and reading are used on an everyday basis. Our teachers feel that students are much more enthusiastic when they see how the things they learn are involved beyond the classroom.

Theses living classroom experiences mixed with our small-school atmosphere, with individual attention given to students, counseling, availability of student services and special instructional components have fostered a desire in Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy students to succeed.

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores are just another indicator of how successful our educational model is, but that model would not be as successful as it is today, if it were not for our amazing teachers and staff. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to making a difference in the lives of our students.