2007-2008 Costs:
Tuition:
Boarding: $29,100
Day: $15,800

Admiral Farragut Academy
St. Petersburg, FL 33710

Overview
Admiral Farragut Academy was founded as a boys' school at Pine Beach, New Jersey, in 1933 under the leadership of Adm. S. S. Robison, USN (Ret.), former Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, and Brig. Gen. Cyrus S. Radford, USMC (Ret.). In 1945, when the school had reached a maximum enrollment, the Florida campus was established. The school is a Naval Honor School, authorized to nominate graduates to compete for special appointments to the various service academies. In 1990, both campuses became coeducational, breaking a fifty-six-year tradition of only enrolling boys. In 1994, the Academy closed its campus in New Jersey and consolidated all operations at the Florida campus.

The Academy was the first secondary school to develop a program of naval science approved by Congress and the Department of the Navy. The school is chartered as a nonprofit corporation directed by the Superintendent for a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, active members of which include alumni and parents of alumni. The Academy occupies 55 acres; its plant is valued at $11 million.

Admiral Farragut Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Florida Council of Independent Schools, and the Florida Kindergarten Council; it holds membership in the Secondary School Admission Test Board, the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States, the Southeastern Association of Boarding Schools, and the Association of Boarding Schools.

Academic Life/Programs of Study
Minimum graduation requirements include 4 years of English, 3 years of laboratory sciences, 2 years of one foreign language, 2 years of algebra, 2 years of social studies, at least 1 year of naval science, 1 year of geometry, 1 year of computer science, 1 year of U.S. history, 1 year of fine arts, and electives to total at least 24 credits. Dual-enrollment courses are offered to students of advanced ability. These courses enable a student to earn college credit through St. Petersburg College; high school credit is also granted for these courses.

Upper Division students are normally scheduled for five academic courses plus naval science each year. The average class has 15 students; the overall student-teacher ratio is 12:1. Courses are grouped by academic ability as much as possible. Teachers test only on certain days of the week, ensuring that a student will not be overloaded with tests on any single day. Each student has an academic adviser, and regular meetings are scheduled. Tutorials are held each afternoon following the final class of the day. Students may seek out teachers for extra help during these tutorial periods, or, on certain days, a teacher may require a student's attendance. Evening study is required Monday through Thursday for all students. Students may take their evening study in the computer lab if their grades are satisfactory. Grading periods are six weeks long, with six grading periods per school year. The school heads write personal comments on each grade card. The Upper Division academic curriculum is designed to ensure that a student will graduate with a working knowledge of a foreign language, the ability to function comfortably and knowledgeably in a science laboratory, and the ability to read and write well. Science laboratory classes, field trips, foreign language, and a wide variety of reading and writing assignments across the academic curriculum enable students to achieve these ends.

All sections of Middle Division academics are ability-grouped according to English and math skills. The high level of structure and close teacher-student relationships at Farragut are even more prominent in the Middle Division. Core academic classes are joined by tutorials and academic remediation, afternoon outdoor activities, physical education classes, sports practices, and field trips. The Middle Division academic program strives to ready a child for the rigors of the college-preparatory curriculum he or she will encounter in the Upper Division. Students of high academic ability in seventh and eighth grades may receive high school credit for algebra and languages. As in the Upper Division, evening study is held Monday through Thursday and is required of all students.

Lower Division students, kindergarten through fourth grade, follow a broad curriculum based on national, state, and county academic standards, incorporating active learning and instruction. Spanish is taught daily, along with math, science, social studies, reading, and writing. Art, music, character education and etiquette, drama workshops, American Sign Language, and computer instruction round out the rich academic culture. A total of 40 students are taught by a staff of 11 adults, including upper and middle school teachers. Individual classes have a maximum of 15 students. Active learning is encouraged through mini-camps, field trips, guest readers and speakers, and student mentors from the Middle and Upper Divisions.

Campus Life and Activities
Upper Division student body is composed of 69 students in grade 9, 55 in grade 10, 73 in grade 11, and 47 in grade 12. Sixty percent of these students are boarding students, representing twenty-five states and fifteen countries. It is assumed that Farragut students will conduct themselves as young ladies and gentlemen. Students who are not of good moral character or who have a history of defiance or roughness need not apply. Students are allowed certain numbers of demerits each week; as long as their demerit total does not surpass the demerits allowed, their conduct is considered to be satisfactory. Restriction to the campus and loss of privileges may result for students who have unsatisfactory deportment. Students do not march "tours," and there is no corporal punishment. Hazing is strictly forbidden.

Special-interest clubs are numerous, and the Middle Division holds a club period each week. Typically, the sailing, chess, aviation, scuba, and drama clubs are popular organizations, as are National Honor Society, Key Club, and Leo Club. The flight program features an FAA-approved ground school taught on campus. The scuba program is also taught on campus and culminates with open-water dives in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Numerous dive trips follow throughout the year and are open to all students who have their certification. Summer cruises aboard U.S. Navy vessels are a favorite of AFA students.

The yearbook, The Buccaneer, is produced through the journalism class. Ocean Currents is produced six times a year by high school creative writing students. Making Waves is produced monthly in the Middle Division. Student art shows, competitions, and dramatic productions occur on campus throughout the year.

Reveille begins the day at 6:20 a.m., and taps signals its end at 10 p.m. Between those two points, the day is structured carefully, from breakfast through evening study hall, to ensure that each cadet may participate in as many school functions as possible.

There are seven 45-minute academic periods beginning at 7:45 each day, followed by an academic tutorial period, during which time students may seek a teacher's help; the teacher can require attendance at these tutorials.

As 55 percent of the Upper Division students are boarders, most of the Farragut program is designed with the boarding student in mind. A "day room" in the main building has cable television, Foosball, and pool and Ping-Pong tables for use during free time. Campus facilities are open throughout the weekend for student use, including the gym, pool, weight room, and waterfront sailing area. The school's canteen is open seven days a week. There are many weekend options for off-campus trips, both recreational and educational: Disney World and other Florida theme parks, deep-sea fishing, professional sports games, and trips to museums, plays, and festivals are among the most popular weekend events. The school operates shuttles for students on weekends to the many area stores and theaters.

Athletics
Each student is encouraged, but not required, to participate on an interscholastic sports team. Sports offerings include boys' teams in football, cross-country, swimming and diving, basketball, soccer, track and field, baseball, golf, wrestling, and tennis and girls' teams in swimming and diving, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, softball, golf, tennis, cross-country, and track and field. Sailing, riflery, weight training, flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and swimming are popular afternoon activities. Farragut is a member of the Florida High School Activities Association.

Athletic facilities include the waterfront facilities, a 1&Mac218;4-mile asphalt track, a baseball diamond, a softball field, an indoor rifle range, a wrestling venue, a swimming pool, the Moyer Gymnasium, a weight room, and a football and soccer field.

Facilities and Services
Upper Division science classes meet in the newly renovated Charles M. Duke Science Center (four classrooms), and others meet in the Russell Building (sixteen classrooms). The Mills Science Center serves the Middle Division population; others meet in the Michel Building (six classrooms). The Parrott Memorial Library contains 13,000 volumes, a media center, and several computer terminals. Two computer laboratories contain forty multimedia IBM terminals. Farragut's waterfront facility includes a marine "touch tank" and a "wet lab," both associated with the marine biology program.

The Lower Division consists of three buildings surrounded by tennis courts, basketball courts, a football field, and a playground. Interspersed throughout the campus are native plants and butterfly and hummingbird botanical gardens.

Farragut Hall, a former resort hotel, contains all dormitory facilities. Each dormitory room normally houses 2-4 students. The facility is air-conditioned and has a new roof and new windows. All dormitory rooms are equipped with bathrooms. Faculty members occupy apartments throughout the dorm and have supervisory responsibilities. Returning students may select their rooms and roommates. Students may change rooms and roommates upon request to the Dean's Office.

Other facilities include a 350-seat assembly hall and a number of faculty apartments and quarters. Four registered nurses staff the infirmary; the school pediatrician makes calls daily.

Faculty, Advisors and College Placement
There are 56 full- and part-time teachers, 17 of whom live in the dormitory areas and at other locations on campus. Four faculty families reside on campus. Resident faculty members have various supervisory responsibilities, both on evenings and on weekends. Twenty-one faculty members have master's degrees, and 1 other has a doctorate. Robert J. Fine (B.A., Carroll College; M.A., National-Louis University) was named Headmaster in 1998. Robert Gibbons (B.A., Evansville; M.A., Ball State) is Director of the Middle Division. Jane Mooney (A.B., Georgia State College for Women; M.A., Emory; M.S., Nova) heads the Lower Division.

College Placement
A full-time college placement and guidance officer assists the Headmaster with scheduling, hosts numerous visits from college admissions representatives, and makes application to college for all upperclass students. All students undergo yearly standardized testing; beginning in the spring of the tenth grade year, students receive regular individual academic counseling with the college placement director, at which time future schedules are discussed and the student's transcript is scrutinized. Admiral Farragut Academy is a national test center for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and California Achievement Test. Typically, Farragut students exceed the national average on standardized tests. The class of 2001 (48 members) earned more than $1.9 million of college scholarships and financial aid.

Farragut tends to send its graduates to Eastern and Southern colleges and universities; about one third of them go to schools inside the state of Florida. Other schools typically among the choices of Farragut graduates include Auburn, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Tulane, Vanderbilt, and the Universities of Arizona and North Carolina. Normally, all graduates matriculate in college that fall.

Admissions, Cost and Financial Aid
Tuition, room, and board for 2006-07 are $27,100. Day student tuition is $14,800. Extra costs for uniforms, textbooks, weekly spending allowance, laundry, and miscellaneous fees are approximately $4500 for boarding students the first year and less thereafter. Three payment plans are offered. Financial aid in 2007-08 totaled $400,000. Requests for financial aid are processed through School and Student Service for Financial Aid, Princeton, New Jersey.

Admiral Farragut Academy admits qualified students without regard to race, color, creed, or sex. Candidates must be capable of doing college-preparatory work in the grade for which they apply. When making application, students should include grades from the previous three years as well as at least one standardized test score and teacher references from the student's last school. If there is any doubt about a student's academic ability, the school may conduct informal subject-area tests.

Initial inquiries are welcome at any time. Interviews and campus tours are available throughout the year.

Appointments can be made with the Admissions Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 8 until 4. Students are encouraged to apply by April 1, although later applications are considered on a space-available basis. A $150 registration fee is required with the application. International students may be accepted conditionally, pending the campus visit. Students may interview by video.

Admissions Contact:
Director of Admissions
Admiral Farragut Academy
501 Park Street North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33710
Telephone: 727-384-5500
Fax: 727-347-5160
E-mail: admissions@farragut.org
World Wide Web: http://www.farragut.org