The Stories & Insights That Matter
SLAA’s Ja’Quon Madaris: Gifts from the Heart and Hands
If they could find a job at all, most 15-year-olds would use the cash to buy snacks, video games or tickets to a concert — or maybe save toward their first car. Since he started his own auto detailin...
SLAA’s Ja’Lissa Leggett: From Dropout to a Future in Health Care
Ja’Lissa Leggett had always been a good student. But in a traditional high school, with its crowded classrooms and busy teachers, she fretted about requesting the help she needed. “It felt like I was...
TV News Crews Cover Grand Opening of New St. Lucie Campus
Tuesday was a big day at St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, as the latest class of graduates strode across the stage to get their diplomas and educational leaders officially cut the ribbon on a spaciou...
SLAA’s Deonna Parker: ‘You Need to Be True to Yourself’
“I was making stupid decisions with the wrong people,” says graduation candidate Deonna Parker. But at St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, she says the educators have never given up on her. “The teache...
Ja’Kerien Sutton: ‘I Just Let My Faith Be Bigger Than My Fear’
During the first semester of his senior year at a traditional high school, Ja’Kerien Sutton was on track to graduate with his class. But then an altercation with another student turned ugly and — just...
Maura Paredes: Finding Her Way Out of a ‘Black Hole’
For Maura Paredes, traditional high school was never the right fit. Navigating the crowded corridors, she felt her anxiety soar. When she would fall behind in class, she hesitated to raise her hand an...
SLAA Grad Antony Spence Reclaims Hope, Plans for College
For Antony Spence, the Covid pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time. He was already losing ground in high school, falling behind in his studies and feeling socially ill at ease. When schools clos...
Savannah Payne: ‘She’s Wise Beyond Her Years’
Once Savannah Payne found her way to St. Lucie Acceleration Academy, she knew she was home. “It was comforting,” she said of the school where she found not only a personalized curriculum but educators...
St. Lucie Grad Olivia O’Neil: ‘Never Give Up’
Olivia O’Neil has high-flying dreams for herself. But she knew she couldn’t realize them without a high school diploma. “I found myself struggling in a traditional high school setting, never went to s...
Juvan Lester: Putting Mistakes in the Past, College in the Future
But for St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, Juvan Lester says, the grave mistake he made as a young teenager — a mistake that gave him a criminal record — might have defined and darkened his future path...
St. Lucie Grads Celebrate Their Tenacity and Brighter Futures
The 31 young men and women who were celebrated during the June commencement ceremony of St. Lucie Acceleration Academies had overcome struggles — ranging from poverty to anxiety to overwhelming work a...