Bhaktivedanta Academy of North America

On August 30th, Hurricane Idalia struck a devastating blow to Bhaktivedanta Academy, a school in Alachua, Florida. A giant tree fell on the roof of one of our beautiful Montessori classrooms for 3- to 6-year-olds. The classroom had just been lovingly remodeled. The tree also did damage to the school office, rendering it unusable.

Established in 1999, Bhaktivedanta Academy is a spiritually-based Montessori and accredited International Baccalaureate school serving pre-kindergarten through high school students in Alachua, Florida. We offer an educational experience designed to give children the opportunity to grow to their highest potential — academically, socially, emotionally, and physically — all the while developing their spiritual identities in a nurturing and positive environment.

Over the years, we have steadily grown to over 134 students, with 39 students in our pre-kindergarten through kindergarten program. Our curriculum offers opportunities for our students to engage in positive educational and social interactions in a respectful and diverse classroom environment that facilitates freedom of movement and peer learning.

After the hurricane struck, parents and teachers showed up at the school with chainsaws to remove the tree and secure the building as best as possible. Students of all ages helped with hurricane cleanup to the best of their ability. Over the next week, the amazing pre-K to kindergarten teachers came up with a complex program of rotation of students and use of our outdoor spaces to accommodate both classes of kids in a single classroom while still meeting building occupancy requirements and educational requirements for VPK and kindergarten.

It has been many months to process through the insurance claim and get details on what will be covered and what is not covered. To summarize, the building damage, porch damage and classroom supplies are covered by insurance and the claim is estimated at $69,000.

Financial items that are solely our responsibility total $64,000. They include the insurance deductible, tree /debris removal, deck repair and expenses, arborist evaluation, extensive preventative tree mitigation, administrative costs, and tuition credits.

To accommodate all students in one classroom and still meet educational and occupancy requirements, we have had to reduce all first year and VPK students' time at school and use our outdoor spaces. We have to reimburse tuition costs to the parents for hours their children are not at school.

We would also like to raise an additional $10,000 to rebuild our emergency fund. The school has no financial margin at present, as we have spent the last two years pouring all of our funds into a large, ongoing expansion project that enables us to accommodate more students and serve our growing community.

We need your help!

The school buildings are insured, but there are significant financial impacts that aren't covered by insurance and that create financial hardship for our school. The longer the repair and rebuild takes, nineteen young children are without a classroom and the financial impacts continue to build. As of October 2023, we finally have approved engineering plans and are working with contractors to get bids and get started on the repairs soon.

All money given through this GoFundMe is going directly to the school's accounts towards our financial expenses stated above.

We invite you to be a part of something truly transformative. Your donation will directly benefit the education and future of our children. Together, we can create an environment where young minds can thrive, learn, and grow into tomorrow's leaders.

Donations can also be accepted via check to the school office at Bhaktivedanta Academy, 17414 NW 112th Blvd, Alachua, FL 32615, and we can record it on our GoFundMe tracker as an offline donation. Bhaktivedanta Academy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible. Learn more about Bhaktivedanta Academy at bhaktischool.org.

We are so grateful for your generosity and look forward to serving our community for many years to come.

With gratitude,

The Bhaktivedanta Academy PTO