Pepin Academies Opens Riverview Campus; Open House Set

This school year, Riverview and Lithia parents will have several new charter school options for their children, including a school that caters to children with an array of learning disabilities.

After operating a successful school in Tampa since 1999, Pepin Academies is expanding to Riverview. Opening this month, the academy at 10522 Lake St. Charles Blvd., Riverview, initiall will serve about 150 students in grades three to seven. Next year the school will add an eighth grade followed by ninth through 12th grades.

Pepin Academies is the vision of Tampa mother Chrisha Scolaro, who was seeking an alternative school for her son, Anthony, who has learning disabilities.

“Children with autism and other health issues that prevent a child from being successful at school receive specialized services in elementary school,” said Scolaro. “However, those services stop after the fifth grade and the children are mainstreamed into the regular classroom.”

But mainstreaming isn’t always in the student’s best interest, said Scolaro.

“They can feel frustrated as they fall behind. They’re teased and they lose their confidence,” she said. “This inability to success can be very devastating for a child.”

In addition, the student suffers from the lack of specialized services such as speech therapy and individual instruction.

So, in 1999, Scolaro opened Pepin Academies at 3916 E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa,. as a nonprofit charter school for students in grades nine through 12. Over the years, the only such school in the state. Pepin Elementary School for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, Pepin Middle School for students in sixth through eighth grades and a transitional school that provides employment skills training for students who have completed the 12th grade. The four tuition-free academies now serve 520 students.

Scolaro is especially proud of the fact that nearly 80 percent of Pepin’s students graduate with a regular diploma and 20 percent with a special diploma for students with learning disabilities. In addition, more than 50 percent of all Pepin graduates move on to post-secondary educational institutions.

"We are the only school that does what we do," she said. "We have all services from speech and language pathology to mental health counselors and a registered nurse."

At Pepin, there is one teacher for every 12 to 15 students, allowing more individualized instruction, which Scolaro said is crucial for children with learning disabilities, whether the child has Asperger’s syndrome or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

"One size does not fit all," she said. "

Scolaro said the expansion of Pepin Academies into Riverview was driven by parents in south county who wanted Pepin’s services for their children closer to home.

“Right now, we have parents in FishHawk and Riverview who drive their children  all the way into Tampa because they believe so strongly in the services we provide for their children,” said Scolaro. “The school has become so popular, we now have a waiting list to get in.”

The new Riverview campus initially will rent an existing building in the Lake St. Charles subdivision. However, Scolaro said the school’s board of directors hopes to either purchase a building or purchase 10 to 12 acres of land and build a school.

The Riverview school will open with 145 students.

An open house will take place at the Riverview campus Aug. 16 from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Pepin board members and parents will then gather with members of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. Also planning to attend are state Rep. Ross Spano, R-Riverview, and Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham.

For information, call 813-677-6700 or visit www.Pepinacademies.com.