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| County Commissioner Jess Santamaria receives a plaque from Principal Linda Terranova |
Western Academy Charter School opened in 2003 with 157 students and has grown to 300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It has been an A-rated school for three years in a row.
Linda Terranova, principal of the school, recently received the 2009 Innovation Principal of the Year Award at the Project CHILD National Conference.
The conference was held last spring, and Dr. Sally Butzin, president and executive director of the Institute for School Innovation, presented the award during a gala awards luncheon held at the Lake Buena Vista Royal Plaza Hotel.
“In 2003, Linda was among a group of parents who were distressed about the educational services and programs made available to their children at their local schools, so they opened Western Academy as a Project CHILD school in renovated space in a commerce park facility,” Butzin said. “Under Linda’s leadership, the school has continued to grow and expand.”
Project CHILD, which stands for “Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered,” is a three-dimensional learning system that incorporates technology and active hands-on learning into daily instruction. It is used for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Classrooms are organized into cross-grade triad “clusters” using a team-teaching approach. Teachers receive special training to become subject-focused specialists in one of the core academic areas: reading, writing or mathematics.
Classrooms utilize six different learning stations to incorporate computers, textbooks and hands-on activities. Teachers work with students for three years to build basic competencies throughout the primary grades and intermediate grades.
Western Academy Charter School is located at 650 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., Suite 300A. For more info., call (561) 792-4123.
