By B.C. Manion
Academy at the Farm is full of surprises.
For one thing, the school isn’t at a farm, although it does have a few chickens and some parakeets.

The school doesn’t look like a traditional school, either. It’s a collection of modular classroom buildings on a 10-acre tract in the Farmington Hills subdivision in Dade City.
The most striking differences between this charter school and traditional schools, however, is the way that Academy at the Farm operates.
Academy at the Farm is an inclusion school, meaning special education students and the other students who attend the school learn side by side. Roughly 20 percent of the 380 kindergarten through eighth-grade students at the school qualify for special education services.
Another difference? When any student needs extra help, he or she gets it — whether or not they qualify for special services, said Ray Polk, the school’s director.
Besides being a much smaller school than a typical public elementary or middle school, the staffing model at Academy of the Farm is quite different, too.
Polk and a team of lead teachers make up the school’s administration. They follow policies set by the school’s board. There is no assistant principal.
Most of the school’s funding comes from the state and is administered through Pasco County Schools, with the school district keeping 5 percent, Polk said.
“Over the years, as the state has cut back on funds — given us less money — our board has decided to raise the difference,” Polk said.
This year, it must raise $200,000.
Parents make voluntary donations and the school holds several fundraisers each year, including the annual “Make a Difference Walk” scheduled for March 5.
One reason the school costs more to operate is because every classroom has a teacher and a paraprofessional.
“We have extra hands on deck in that classroom every day,” said Polk, adding he is not aware of any other school in the state that can make that claim.
There’s no down time when a teacher is out, either.
“We do not hire subs because our teacher assistants take over that classroom when the teacher is not there. They already know the children. They’ve been doing the curriculum with the teacher and the children every day. The classroom instruction continues on, as if nobody has been out for the day.”
Kim Ladd has been involved with the school since it opened in 2002.
At that time, she was teaching in a Pasco elementary school and her three children were attending Academy at the Farm.
Since then, she has joined the charter school’s teaching staff. Two of her children still attend Academy at the Farm and another has graduated and gone on to Pasco High.
Ladd teaches middle school intensive reading and language arts and is the school’s department head for reading. She loves her job and the school.
The teachers have a true bond with the students, she said.
“They start with us in kindergarten and go through eighth grade,” she said.
The teachers get to know students on a personal level. They know which sports a student likes, what their interests are and all about their families, she said.
“We’re really like a family. All of the teachers work together with the parents and the administration to give the students what they need.”
The school also has high expectations, Ladd said.
The school day is longer, students wear uniforms and they are required to complete their class work and homework.
If they don’t finish their work, they must go to Saturday School — which Polk supervises.
Saturday School starts at 8 a.m. and students must finish their work before they can leave. Polk said the latest he has been there with a student is 4 p.m.
Academy at the Farm is focused on helping each child achieve his or her potential, Polk said.
The school’s staff acknowledges that children learn at different rates and in different ways.
And, when a student is struggling, it seeks to single out what is blocking progress and to help the student overcome the obstacle, Polk said, noting he was a slow reader during his school years.
When his peers finished reading, he’d pretend he was done, too. Then, when a teacher asked him a question, he didn’t know the answer because he had not read that portion of the text.
Polk said he didn’t gain confidence in his reading until a teacher noticed that he understood what he was reading but simply read at a slower pace.
“You can teach all day long, but if that kid doesn’t connect with what you are trying to teach him, you’re blowing hot air,” Polk said.
When students are struggling, Academy at the Farm staff seeks to isolate the problem.
“You can say you have a reading issue, is it fluency? Is it comprehension?” Polk said.
Once the school diagnoses a learning issue, it attempts strategies to intervene and keeps a close eye on the results, Polk said.
The school has a Learning Center where students go to get extra help.
Polk points to a filing cabinet in the center that contains records tracking the progress of individual students.
“Are they getting better with what we’re doing? If they’re not getting better, the game plan has to change.”
The school also uses considerable technology, with Smart Boards in every classroom and sophisticated software in its Learning Center.
When used properly, technology can help children who are lagging behind to catch up, can provide challenges for students who are zooming ahead and can meet the needs of students at every stage in between, Polk said.
Something at the school, apparently, is working.
The school earned an A from the state this year.
Parents give it high praise, too.
“It’s a wonderful atmosphere,” said Kelly Smith, whose son, Ty, attends the school and whose daughter, Makenna, graduated from the school and now attends Pasco High.
“We’ve got a tremendous group of teachers,” she said, noting they offer all sorts of extra help for students.
“Our learning lab is unbelievable,” added Smith, president of the Parent Teacher Organization. “They can tailor learning to each child’s needs.”
Some people think the school succeeds because it hand selects its students, Polk said.
In a way, that is true: It has a lottery every year — selecting names from a hat to fill the available slots.
This year, the school had 38 openings and more than 200 applications.
Its students come from Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Zephyrhills, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, San Antonio, Lacoochee and Blanton.
Despite the school’s popularity, it’s not for everyone, Polk said.
“It’s almost hot or cold. Either this works out really well, or it doesn’t fly at all,” Polk said. “We don’t let up when we think the child needs extra support either from here or home.”
MAKE A DIFFERENCE WALK
What: Students, staff and supporters of Academy at the Farm will take part in the school’s fourth annual “Make a Difference Walk” to raise funds for the school.
Where: The walk begins in the parking lot of the Dade City Courthouse on Live Oak.
When: The walk begins at 9 a.m. After the walk, everyone is invited to lunch in downtown Dade City at Beef O’ Brady’s, which is donating 20 percent of the proceeds to the school. Lunch usually begins between 10:30-11 a.m.
Anyone is welcome to take part in the walk or come to the lunch.
For more information about the school or to find out how to make a donation, go to www.academyatthefarm.com
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