Baycross Christian Family Foundation awarded a matching grant to Sarasota Military Academy for the purchase of a school bus that will provide transportation for a cadet-to-cadet mentoring program between the SMA High School and SMA Prep School campuses.
Logistics:
The Academy has two campuses, one in downtown Sarasota and the other over ten miles away, east of I-75. With the grant funds provided by Baycross, as well as matching funds from other donors, Sarasota Military Academy will purchase a bus to shuttle approximately twenty high school juniors and seniors to the Prep campus midday for a “Power Hour.”
Objectives/Reaches:
Connections will be built between the Cadets, in some cases, a big brother or big sister type of relationship. Good student role modeling, organization, and study habits will be shared. Absenteeism will decrease as both mentor and mentee look forward to this special time together. (Absenteeism is the main learning obstacle.)
Beyond the academic mentor program outlined above, SMA will use the bus for across-the-board Cadet-to-Cadet mentoring with our extracurricular activities like drum line, drill team, Raiders, and leadership training for the eighth graders. SMA may also use the bus for field trips and to provide daily transportation for Manatee County students.