Admissions

Our Admissions Process

Admission to Potentia Academy is by application only. 


Our admissions process seeks to identify students who can best be served by our approach to learning and is highly selective. We do not admit students who have a history of inappropriate behavior that would disrupt the learning environment that we have so carefully created. Students who cannot abide by the behavioral standards as set forth in our Student & Parent Handbook will not be accepted into the school.


If you have any questions or want more information on our programs, please feel free to call us at 561-433-5557.


Student Profile

The typical student at Potentia Academy experiences mild learning challenges and/or has unique learning needs. Often incoming students have struggled academically, especially in mathematics and English language arts. Some of our students come to us performing two to three years below their age-appropriate grade level. Others are on the autism spectrum or are otherwise neurodivergent. 

Many of our students are highly intelligent; most learn in unique ways. Whatever their unique challenge might be, we find that in many cases, the student’s capacity for academic success has been underestimated in the past. 


  • Learning challenges may go unrecognized and/or undiagnosed based on the assumption that the child is simply “at the lower end of the bell curve.” When appropriate resources are not deployed, a student may fall behind their peers, and consequently may develop low self-esteem.
  • Students placed in special ed classes with more severely disabled children often have the academic bar set too low for them. When placed with children who do not have the same capacity to learn, a child may draw invalid conclusions about their own learning potential and lose confidence in their own academic abilities. 
  • Experience has taught us that students with mild cognitive impairments and unique learning needs are more at risk of being bullied. Both physical and verbal abuse place a student’s progress at risk.
  • When provided a positive learning environment, we find that these students usually become highly motivated to learn.

 

We create that positive environment by:


  • populating classes with students on the same learning level, students who are true intellectual peers and who can motivate each other to achieve higher academic performance.  
  • never underestimating a student’s potential and by setting appropriately high expectations for learning.  
  • maintaining a safe and nurturing environment, free from the distractions that inhibit learning with a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and verbal abuse.  
  • limiting class sizes so that teachers can carefully monitor student progress and respond to student needs as they arise.
  • employing multi-sensory learning to engage students’ imaginations and best match teaching methods to their unique learning styles.


Application Procedures & Form

The best way to get to know us and determine whether Potentia Academy is right for your child is to visit our campus, where you can meet our teachers, inspect the curriculum, and sit in on classes. Please call 561-433-5557 to schedule a visit.

After your visit, if you believe Potentia Academy is the appropriate place for your child, it is time for the prospective student to visit the school. Over the course of three to five consecutive days, your child will sit in on classes at Potentia. This allows us to assess a student’s academic standing, behavioral conduct and level of maturity as well as their ability to interact with others. We rely on testing to determine a child's specific learning level.

If we believe that Potentia Academy is the appropriate placement for the student, you will be invited to submit a Registration Application.


After completing the registration form, you may: 


Scholarships

  • Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities

    Potentia Academy proud to participate in the State of Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), which enables unique learners to attend an eligible public or private school of their choice.   


    The FES-UA (formerly known as the McKay and Gardiner scholarships) program offers families of children with disabilities access to a variety of additional educational options. 


    • Families may choose to enroll their student in a public school they feel is a good fit for their child, regardless of geographic location. 
    • If they prefer, families may choose to receive assistance in the form of a personal education savings account (ESA). With an ESA, public funds are deposited into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted uses. An ESA can be used to fund private school tuition and fees as well as online learning programs, private tutoring, community college costs, higher education expenses and other approved customized learning services and materials. 

    Families apply and annually renew for FES-UA scholarships through one of the scholarship funding organizations (SFOs) approved by the state, which are responsible for determining eligibility as well as distributing funds and approving eligible expenditures. (Potentia Academy has worked successfully for years with one such SFO, Step Up for Students, but there are others you may choose to work with.)


    Check the Florida Department of Education’s website for more information on the Family Empowerment Scholarship program. 

  • Family Empowerment Scholarships for Educational Options

    This branch of the Family Empowerment Scholarship eligibility is based on family income and provides the option for kindergarten through grade 12 students to attend a participating private school, such as Potentia Academy is. Families apply through one of the approved scholarship funding organizations (SFOs), which are responsible for determining and distributing funding to private schools.  


    Florida students whose household income level does not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level are eligible. However, there is no income eligibility requirement for students who are siblings of children receiving a FES-UA scholarship, dependents of active-duty military or active law enforcement officers, or children in foster care.

  • Hope Scholarship

    Potentia Academy also participates in the Hope Scholarship Program, which is for students in kindergarten through grade 12 who are enrolled in a Florida public school and have been bullied, harassed, assaulted, threatened and/or subjected to other violent acts to transfer to another public school or enroll in an approved private school.


    Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, a student enrolled in a Florida public school in kindergarten through grade12 who has been subjected to an incident of battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school the opportunity to transfer to another public school with capacity or enroll in an approved private school under the Hope Scholarship. Incidents reported may be investigated at the district level, however, there does not have to be substantiation on the part of the district to offer a transfer to another public school with capacity or the ability for the student to move to an eligible private school on scholarship. School district personnel in Florida have a responsibility to notify families of the Hope Scholarship Program. 


    For more details on the scholarship, please visit Step Up For Students, the scholarship funding organization that administers this program.

  • Institutional Scholarships

    Potentia Academy offers a limited number of institutional, needs-based scholarships for families who demonstrate significant financial need. Completion of a scholarship application is required along with documentation of family income. 


For further information about scholarship assistance, please feel free to call us at (561) 433-5557.

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