The Center for Sales Strategy has long admired the myriad ways in which our media clients give back to the communities in which they live. We have finally found a way that we, as a firm and as individuals, can follow the fine example we’ve been shown by our clients.We’re intensely proud to be a Corporate Sponsor of Academy Prep Center of Tampa, an extraordinary private school opened in 2003 to seize the opportunity to help some of Tampa’s most marginalized children become true contributors to our community’s future. All the students at Academy Prep are disadvantaged, inner-city kids in 5th thru 8th grades, and all attend this amazing institution on a full-ride scholarship. The school is funded by philanthropic individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors such as Merrill Lynch, Raymond James Financial, TradeWinds Resorts, Progress Energy, Beall’s, Junior League, JC Newman Cigar, Poe Financial, and CSS.

The mission of Academy Prep is to promote the educational, social, and ethical development of middle school students who qualify for need-based scholarships and have the ability and desire both to succeed in a rigorous academic program and to become positive, productive members of society. Intensive support and guidance characterize the program’s efforts to lead inner-city students from low-income families to productive citizenship.

Girls and boys are taught separately, in classes of no more than 15 students each. Academy Prep’s curriculum is demanding and heavily weighted in the basics: reading, speech and language arts, math, social studies, science, arts, and physical education. But Academy Prep is much more than a school.

Students are on campus 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, and there’s a full summer program. The program includes breakfast and lunch, as well as directed enrichment activities including drama, chess, karate, intramurals, character education, nightly study halls, and required Saturday activities. After the 8th grade, Academy Prep continues to commit another 8 years of support for its graduates, helping them choose their high school and college placements, maximizing their educational experience, and assisting them in finding the financial support they need to realize their dreams.

The program works! The inaugural class of 5th graders jumped from below-grade-level academic performance on arrival at Academy Prep to 7th grade reading level and nearly 10th grade math level by the end of their 6th grade. This kind of rapid academic improvement was first seen at Academy Prep of St. Petersburg, which opened in 1997. Academy Prep of Tampa has an average attendance rate of 97.7%, which is the highest of any middle school in Hillsborough County.

CSS is involved at Academy Prep because our values and priorities are in perfect harmony with those of this amazing school. In addition to providing substantial corporate financial support, every CSS staff member has visited the school, and the company offers up to 8 hours paid time off each month for each employee to volunteer his or her personal time at Academy Prep. Community volunteers, such as those from CSS, are essential for Academy Prep to continue to offer its extraordinary program to these talented, but at-risk, young people. Volunteers work as mentors, tutors, and study hall monitors, and CSS and Academy Prep will collaborate on the development of special lesson plans about professional selling and sales careers, and about understanding and using one’s own unique talents and strengths.

The story of Academy Prep Center is fascinating and moving. Please read more at www.academyprep.org/tampa,and see why all of us at CSS are so excited to be involved.