A-Rated Charter School to Move to New Location in August

Valrico Lake Advantage Academy, an A-rated charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade students, will move to its new, state-of-the-art charter school facility located at 13306 Boyette Road at the northwest corner of Boyette and Bell Shoals roads for the 2011-2012 school year.

The new charter school facility will include large, child-friendly classrooms, a multipurpose room/cafeteria, library, computer lab, art room, science lab and age-appropriate play areas for students in grades kindergarten through seven (expanding to eighth grade in 2012-2013).

According to Bonnie Guertin, principal of Valrico Lake Advantage Academy, the students, staff and parents are all very excited about the new school facility.

"Demand for our school is tremendous," said Guertin. "Word-of-mouth interest alone has resulted in a rush of applicants for the new school and we expect to open at 100 percent occupancy in August 2011. We have created a wonderful family-oriented learning environment for the past two years at our current location and the new facility will give us room to grow our program and provide many new opportunities for academics and sports."

"We are proud of the rigorous academic program that Bonnie and her staff have provided to the students currently attending Valrico Lake Advantage Academy (VLAA)," said Mike Strader, president of Charter School Associates Inc. "VLAA students and staff have already demonstrated that high-quality teaching results in high-quality learning. Elementary students at Valrico swept the recent Hillsborough County Regional Science Fair by taking home first-place honors in third, fourth and fifth grades. The new charter school facility has been designed to facilitate small learning communities and promote student safety. The classrooms are spacious, the multipurpose room will serve as the cafeteria and general meeting area and the new science lab will be a wonderful place for students to further explore enrichment activities in the areas of biology, physical science and environmental sciences."

Strader also stated, "The school will reach out to all students in the surrounding community who have an interest in math and science. In order to make travel to the new school site more convenient to families, free bus service will be provided to eligible students."

VAA was rated as an A+ school for the 2009-10 school year and continues to provide students with an excellent education in the core subject areas of reading, math, science, social studies and language arts with an enrichment focus in science and math. The school offers remedial, regular and advanced classes for students and continually strives to meet the academic needs of each individual student. Middle school students will have the opportunity to complete coursework resulting in high school credit in the areas of foreign language, algebra, and physical acience.

VLAA has established an excellent reputation in the community and provides students with a wonderful array of enrichment opportunities. VLAA participated in the Hillsborough County Science Olympics with two fifth-grade students placing as finalist in the competition. In addition, 15 students in grades three through six received superior awards for their entries to the Hillsborough Science Fair. The school has partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at Eckerd College to research the cause of death to manatees. Students witnessed the necropsy of a manatee and analyzed the data resulting from the procedure used to track the changes in the mortality of the animals from one year to the next.

VLAA provides grade-specific field trips designed to provide instruction and awareness of the natural resources found in the Tampa area.

Beginning in third grade, students are introduced to a series of field studies by visiting Tampa Bay Watch Estuary in Tierra Verde. Students participate in two activities per year, each building upon the other as the students progress from grade to grade. Students seine the waters with nets, canoe through private habitats and create oyster domes while learning how to help protect the Bay and make it flourish. Through discovery, exploration and hands on experiences VLAA students are led to make conclusions through critical thought processes and scientific methods. The school is proud to partner with the Tampa Bay Watch Estuary to participate in their Grasses for Classes program whereby students will harvest, maintain, grow and replant sea grasses to create a healthier Tampa Bay.

Fifth-grade students travel to Crystal River for an overnight learning event. The students use all the knowledge gained on prior field studies and classroom learning to participate in a snorkeling adventure with manatees. 

Valrico sponsors a Math Fair for students in grades kindergarten through seven, promotes mathematics through the Math Superstars Program and implements Learning is H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) to help students synthesize, generalize, explain, hypothesize or arrive at a new conclusions regarding concepts.

Valrico Lake Advantage Academy is open to eligible students entering kindergarten through seventh grade for the 2011-12 school year.

"You are welcome to attend our parent information sessions taking place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, or Tuesday, April 5, at the school’s current site located at 1653 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico," said Guertin. " I encourage anyone interested in our school to stop by for a visit. I am sure you will be impressed with the curriculum, staff and the program we have to offer our students. The new facility will only help make our program better."

The current temporary site of Valrico Lake Advantage Academy is 1653 Bloomingdale Avenue, directly across from Bloomingdale High School. The school’s phone number is 813-699-5049