Shining Star Academy of the Arts
Donation protected
We humbly seek your assistance in establishing an endowment for artistically talented students.
For over 15 years our Florida nonprofit corporation, co-founded by our Principal, has provided musical instruments and art supplies for talented, young musicians and artists in rural North Central Florida. We have provided countless college scholarships for deserving artistic students.
For the past 6 years, our annual Spring Arts Festival has been helpful in raising funds to support the arts, but it's still not enough.
Three years ago we established and operated the first charter school in Columbia County, Florida. It was a very unique school. We specialized in an arts-infused curriculum in which all 230 students were required to participate. The program included daily instruction in Music, Art, Drama, & Dance, along with a rigorous academic curriculum.
Most of the students who came to us from traditional public schools were reading well below their current grade level. We opposed the national so-called "Common Core" Curriculum, refused to spend most of the school year teaching the State test, and preferred to focus on authentic learning.
In our second year, our unconventional method of teaching proved to be very effective. The vast majority of our students showed significant academic progress in just two short years.
Unfortunately, our firm stand against "drinking the kool aid" of the traditional government schools caused us to be under constant scrutiny and criticism.
Although we fell a bit short of the required School Grade for a charter school at the end of our second year, our success in all other areas was second to none.
The decision to cancel our charter was based solely on our School Grade just weeks before it was announced that the current state-wide test was debunked and would no longer be used. All indications for our third year was that we would far exceed our previous year's score, which was just shy of the mark.
In light of the overwhelming support of the families we served, we decided to reopen as a private school in mid-year, immediately following the charter school closure.
In our rural community, taxpayer-supported government-run schools are the only affordable option for underprivileged children. Our school promotes American family values, free-thinking, and patriotism in a bully-free learning environment. We promote the Constitution, the Faith of our Forefathers, and American Exceptionalism.
Next fall, many of our students will be eligible for a new funding initiative for financially challenged families who cannot afford private school tuition. However, this does not help our current financial need.
Art and Music have been systematically downsized by our local public district. An example of this is, 20 years ago, every elementary student had access to music and art classes every day. Currently, our children's exposure to the arts is limited to either Art or Music for only half an hour, once a week.
As a veteran teacher of over 30 years, our Founder and Principal has witnessed time and time again, that positive results of daily arts-integration improves personal responsibility, attention span, and overall learning. Academics alone will not educate a child. Respect for authority, survival skills, and a sense of patriotic duty are essentials that must be instilled in our young people if we are to survive beyond the current generation. Our school provides all of this and more.
Your generosity will help ensure our survival. We seek to establish an endowment for worthy students who deserve the opportunity to develop their God-given talents. Many of these artistically gifted students are in families who are financially strapped.
Our staff is currently made up of retired teachers, volunteers, and others who have agreed to serve at a drastically reduced pay rate or not at all. Having recently retired as a career educator with a fixed income, our principal can no longer help subsidize our school. Over the past 3 years he has donated more than $100,000 in commitment to our cause. He seeks no reimbursement, though he can no longer afford to be so generous.
Agriculture is another unique component of our school curriculum. Our students and staff operate a fully functioning farm, complete with fruit trees, vegetable garden and free-range egg-production, currently producing nearly 30 eggs per day.
You should see the smiles on the kids faces when they help feed their families with food they helped grow.
Our endowment will not serve as an unearned handout. Rather, it will be used as a reward for parents who encourage their children to "Dare to be Different and Choose to be Great". Our school motto is, " If it is to be, it is up to me!"
We currently receive no government subsidies or grants. We undergo an independent audit each year to demonstrate our sound fiscal management policies and procedures. Transparency and accountability have always been a hallmark of our administration.
Art & Music makes the difference!
For more information, please visit our website:
For over 15 years our Florida nonprofit corporation, co-founded by our Principal, has provided musical instruments and art supplies for talented, young musicians and artists in rural North Central Florida. We have provided countless college scholarships for deserving artistic students.
For the past 6 years, our annual Spring Arts Festival has been helpful in raising funds to support the arts, but it's still not enough.
Three years ago we established and operated the first charter school in Columbia County, Florida. It was a very unique school. We specialized in an arts-infused curriculum in which all 230 students were required to participate. The program included daily instruction in Music, Art, Drama, & Dance, along with a rigorous academic curriculum.
Most of the students who came to us from traditional public schools were reading well below their current grade level. We opposed the national so-called "Common Core" Curriculum, refused to spend most of the school year teaching the State test, and preferred to focus on authentic learning.
In our second year, our unconventional method of teaching proved to be very effective. The vast majority of our students showed significant academic progress in just two short years.
Unfortunately, our firm stand against "drinking the kool aid" of the traditional government schools caused us to be under constant scrutiny and criticism.
Although we fell a bit short of the required School Grade for a charter school at the end of our second year, our success in all other areas was second to none.
The decision to cancel our charter was based solely on our School Grade just weeks before it was announced that the current state-wide test was debunked and would no longer be used. All indications for our third year was that we would far exceed our previous year's score, which was just shy of the mark.
In light of the overwhelming support of the families we served, we decided to reopen as a private school in mid-year, immediately following the charter school closure.
In our rural community, taxpayer-supported government-run schools are the only affordable option for underprivileged children. Our school promotes American family values, free-thinking, and patriotism in a bully-free learning environment. We promote the Constitution, the Faith of our Forefathers, and American Exceptionalism.
Next fall, many of our students will be eligible for a new funding initiative for financially challenged families who cannot afford private school tuition. However, this does not help our current financial need.
Art and Music have been systematically downsized by our local public district. An example of this is, 20 years ago, every elementary student had access to music and art classes every day. Currently, our children's exposure to the arts is limited to either Art or Music for only half an hour, once a week.
As a veteran teacher of over 30 years, our Founder and Principal has witnessed time and time again, that positive results of daily arts-integration improves personal responsibility, attention span, and overall learning. Academics alone will not educate a child. Respect for authority, survival skills, and a sense of patriotic duty are essentials that must be instilled in our young people if we are to survive beyond the current generation. Our school provides all of this and more.
Your generosity will help ensure our survival. We seek to establish an endowment for worthy students who deserve the opportunity to develop their God-given talents. Many of these artistically gifted students are in families who are financially strapped.
Our staff is currently made up of retired teachers, volunteers, and others who have agreed to serve at a drastically reduced pay rate or not at all. Having recently retired as a career educator with a fixed income, our principal can no longer help subsidize our school. Over the past 3 years he has donated more than $100,000 in commitment to our cause. He seeks no reimbursement, though he can no longer afford to be so generous.
Agriculture is another unique component of our school curriculum. Our students and staff operate a fully functioning farm, complete with fruit trees, vegetable garden and free-range egg-production, currently producing nearly 30 eggs per day.
You should see the smiles on the kids faces when they help feed their families with food they helped grow.
Our endowment will not serve as an unearned handout. Rather, it will be used as a reward for parents who encourage their children to "Dare to be Different and Choose to be Great". Our school motto is, " If it is to be, it is up to me!"
We currently receive no government subsidies or grants. We undergo an independent audit each year to demonstrate our sound fiscal management policies and procedures. Transparency and accountability have always been a hallmark of our administration.
Art & Music makes the difference!
For more information, please visit our website:
Organizer
Abigail Dubi
Organizer
Lake City, FL
