Tampa Preparatory School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tampa Preparatory School is a coed, independent school serving grades 6-12 located on the Hillsborough River across from downtown Tampa and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, enrolling 680 students. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Florida Council of Independent Schools, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the College Board, the Secondary School Admissions Test Board, the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, the Southern Association of College Admissions Counseling, and the Educational Records Bureau.
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[edit] History
Founded by community leaders in 1974, Tampa Preparatory exists to provide boys and girls in grades six through twelve with rigorous intellectual training, and to instill values of fairness, decency, honor, diligence, and academic curiosity within an orderly and humane environment.
In 1991 seventh and eighth grades were added and in 1997 the school began offering classes for the 6th grade. In 2002 the campus moved to its new state of the art campus across the street from the University of Tampa whose campus it once shared.
[edit] Philosophy of Education
The school is small but diverse and focused on developing close personal relations. The faculty is composed of experienced teachers who attempt to focus on extracurricular activities in addition to classroom teaching.
Classes are taught as seminars, labs and lectures in which students form and express ideas rather than merely receive and dispense information. Classes frequently are taught in the Socratic method so that maximum participation is encouraged. The School stresses the development of self-confidence, a sense of worth, and the importance of a sense of humor - of having fun in the pursuit of one's goals.
[edit] Academics
Both Upper School and Middle School emphasize a liberal arts education. Classes are taught at the Honors, Advanced Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) levels with opportunities for accelerated study in mathematics or independent study in other areas. Courses are taught in the following areas: English, Mathematics, Science, History, Foreign Language, Arts, and Physical Education. As of 2005 Tampa Prep had a 100% college placement rate for its graduates.
All grades at Tampa Prep extend education beyond the traditional classroom to deepen students' appreciation for, and understanding of, academic studies and to foster a deeper understanding of the self, the world and other people. Individual classes may have guest speakers, take local field trips, role-play mock trials and otherwise incorporate non-traditional ways of learning. Middle School students take camping trips to the North Carolina mountains, study marine science in the Florida Keys, and visit Boston, Massachusetts, to enhance their study of American History and American Literature. Juniors in the Upper School take a class trip camping and hiking in the mountains of western North Carolina.
Tampa Prep also requires all of its students to participate in what is known as Declamations. The Declamation is an oral presentation traditionally presented during the third quarter (between winter and spring holidays). The grade level of the student determines the declamation’s length and subject matter. Grades 6 and 7 present a 2 - 4 minute oral interpretation on a selection of prose or poetry but excluding plays. Grades 8 and 9 are required to present a 2 - 4 minute speech written by someone else and delivered in a public forum. Grades 10 through 12 will present a 3 - 4 minute speech that they will have written themselves. The speech must be 75% original, allowing only 25% quotes (no notes allowed). A winner of Declamations is selected from each grade level.
[edit] Campus
The school’s 11.2-acre campus includes a 150,000-square-foot school complex including a 32,000 square-foot sports complex. According to the school website the campus features “...seven science labs, four computer labs, a library, a photography lab, a gymnasium (including two full- size basket ball courts, a swimming and diving center, wrestling room and a state-of-the-art exercise facility), a black- box theater, two art rooms, a kiln room, a dance studio, music facilities, and numerous classrooms .” The Peifer Library houses over 12,000 books and periodicals.
[edit] Athletics
Tampa Prep is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association and fields teams in a number of sports including cross-country, swimming and diving, crew, volleyball, soccer, basketball, track and field, tennis, and wrestling. Athletic teams and individual student athletes have won numerous State championships, including volleyball, golf, crew, swimming, tennnis, wrestling, diving, and boys soccer.
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