FAQ's - Academy of Business and Leadership Education (ABLE)

2. Where is the school located?
A: Our school site is at 7 William St. in St. Augustine, FL (near the Fountain of Youth).

3. How many students will the school have and in what grades?
A: ABLE plans to cap its enrollment in the 2008/2009 school year at 132 students for grades 5 - 8.

4. How do I enroll my child in ABLE?
A: You can pre-register your child on-line on this site by clicking on the Pre-registration tab on the homepage and completing the information.

5. When I pre-register my child in ABLE, will they be assured enrollment?
A: Children pre-registered before May 1st are eligible to enroll in ABLE. Children pre-registered after the May 1st deadline will be chosen for the available remaining slots through a random lottery to be held after July 1st. Students not chosen at that time will go on a waiting list in the order they are drawn.

6. Do the siblings of enrolled children have preference in enrollment?
A: Yes, Enrollment preference will be given to the siblings of erolled children, to the children of ABLE Board Members and to the children of employees of ABLE.

8. Will the children need to take the FCAT?
A: Yes. The FCAT is mandatory for all public school students in Florida.

9. Will you be able to offer lunches?
A: Yes. We will be offering health conscious meals prepared by a local restaurants.

10. Will you have a gym?
A: We will not have a gym ourselves in the beginning, but we do plan to work together with the YMCA to use their facility. We will, however, each student will have an individual physical education plan that they will be expected to follow.

11. Will ABLE School be accredited on the State level?
A: The school will automatically be accredited in the beginning, because we will draw the majority of our students from accredited schools. To keep that accreditation, we will have a limited time to comply with the regulations that are required.

12. Will there be many field trips?
A: We will spend a great deal of the time with the students outside the school on field trips. Because we are project oriented, students will be involved in multiple projects in the community.

13. Will you have extra-curricular activities after school?
A: We will not presently be offering programs after school. Students wishing to participate in after-school programs such as sports or band can do so at their normally zoned middle or elementary schools.

14. Are you affiliated with any other charter school programs?
A: No. Our programs are different in scope and design from other charter and public schools. We are using "best practices" from a number of other schools and will closely monitor student achievement, but we are unique.

15. Have you hired your teachers and what standards are you requiring for them?
A: All teachers hired will be "highly qualified", as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act. This means that they will be Florida certified in their areas of teaching. Once we have established our enrollment, we will begin the hiring process and post their Bios on the school website.

16. Will you follow the public school calendar based on days off for holidays and in-service?
A: Yes. We will follow the St. Johns County school calendar and also the daily start-up and ending times for middle school grades.

17. Can parents be involved?

A: Parents can get involved in the activities of the school at many levels. Parents will be asked to commit to volunteer hours when they enroll their children in ABLE.

18. Is this a "Tech" school?

A: Our curriculum is designed to allow the students to become involved in relevant, hands-on projects, which will help to orient them for future career choices. We live in a technological age and few careers do not involve technology at some level. Technology will be emphasized as a tool to accelerate learning.

19. Is transportation available?

A: The St. Johns County School District will cooperate in transporting students. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the attendance zone of the closest District schools will be eligible for busing. Buses will operate on designated school days in the morning and in the afternoon. at their regular times. Start and end times for ABLE will be coordinated with the District to facilitate student transportation. Otherwise, it will be the responsibility of the parent to provide transportation.

Please send us any other questions that you might have, so we can post them and their answers on our website. Thank-you.