Royal Palm Academy growing in its 10th year

By KATHERINE LEWIS (Contact)
2:30 p.m., Saturday, July 26, 2008

Royal Palm Academy

6100 Livingston Road, Naples, Fl

Submitted by Tracy Reinert

Royal Palm Academy’s Tree Cutting Ceremony took place on Saturday, May 17, 2008 with approximately 150 parents, teachers and administrators looking on as the first tree fell to the ground.

STORY TOOLS

It has been a summer of changes at Royal Palm Academy.

As the school is about to enter its 10th year in Collier County, it has started the first phase of construction of a permanent campus.

The 100-acre site is across Livingston Road from the school’s current campus, 16100 Livingston Road.

“It was just God’s plan to start the permanent campus now,” Principal Margaret Richardson said. “We wanted to be able to build a permanent campus when we were able to do it.”

The first phase of the project, which will be finished in time for the August 2010 school start, will house grades three through eight.

Prekindergarten through second grade still will be held at the current school site.

“It will be a state of the art facility,” Richardson said. “It will be a brick building instead of the modulars we have now. There will be a gym and a cafeteria. The building will also use a lot of natural light, which has been found to enhance learning.”

Richardson said the building will grow as the school grows, but said the school hopes to have a permanent site as complete as possible.

“We have 250 students in prekindergarten to grade eight, so we have been limited in terms of space,” she said. “But we have added students every year and we are very fortunate in that regard. There is transition in every school, but we have managed to grow every year. We have added a second first-grade class and a second kindergarten class. It’s a good sign.”

To help pay for the new campus, the school will embark soon on a capital campaign to raise money.

Royal Palm Academy Executive Director Tom Huckins resigned his post as school principal to concentrate on the capital campaign and his duties as executive director.

“We are about to launch a capital campaign for the new project and it was impossible for me to do both jobs and do them both justice,” he said.

Huckins knew Richardson from her work as the director of education for the National Consultants for Education Inc. and the International Center for Integral Formation in Atlanta.

In that capacity, she oversaw 12 private Catholic schools in the United States and Canada.

“She worked for the parent organization of our school and had incredible experience in curriculum and development,” said Huckins, who recommended to Royal Palm Academy’s board of directors that Richardson be hired. “We knew we were stealing a quality individual. Lucky for us, this is where Margaret’s heart was. She loves to be in the school and part of a school community. We are really blessed.”

Richardson, who has more than 20 years’ teaching experience, is expected to complete her doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix in late 2008.

Richardson said her goal as the new principal is to continue to build the school’s reputation, both in enrollment and academically.

Her initial focus, she said, will be to give the middle school an identity unto itself.

“We want to be known as the best middle school here,” she said. “We want to offer our students a wide variety of options and provide the best academic curriculum for all grades, so that when they leave here and go on to high school, they have been taught things that align with (Advanced Placement) classes.”

She said a strong prekindergarten to eighth-grade program will be essential for Royal Palm Academy.

“We are looking to educate children spiritually, Apostolicly, intellectually and humanly,” she said.

Comments

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anyone know when high school will be added? Also, can someone comment on school academic rating vis-a-vis a comparison to collier county public schools.

thanks

#1 Posted by straighttalker on July 26, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Royal Palm Academy poses as an Independent (Catholic oriented) school but it is intimately and irrevocably connected with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi.
For doubters "Google" the International Center for Integral Education.
Article says it is based in Atlanta but is it really based in Mexico?

#2 Posted by oremus on July 27, 2008 at 3:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The school is indeed controlled by the Legionaries of Christ (LC). For years the school denied the influences of LC, denying that they were even involved in the school at all. Now if you read the school's website, you see that not only do they admit the school is controlled by LC, they even acknowledge that the name of the school was chosen by a Legion priest (so they have lied about that involvement all these years...nice example of the character formation taking place there I am sure).

So what's the rub? Many might not realize that the LC is very controversial, accused of being secretive, manipulative, cultist, and ultra-right-wing. There are allegations that these "private schools" are used as breeding grounds to populate their seminaries (for boys) and their small army of "consecrated women" (for girls). They have been banned in a number of dioceses across the country and around the world.

Moreover, their founder was accused of sexual abuse by nine of his former seminarians and was removed from his ministry by the Pope.

There has been much written about the Legion of Christ. If you have ANY thoughts about becoming affiliated with either this order, or one of its schools, you should do a little research.

#3 Posted by swfla1234 on July 27, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Apparently my prior post was removed because:

1. It spoke about the sex abuse scandal that the Legion of Christ founder was punished by The Pope for?

2. It referenced the fact that many Legion run schools (like Royal Palm) are used as a breeding ground to funnel male students to Legion seminaries and female students to "consecrated women" (the legion equivelent of a Catholic Nun)?

3. It implied that Royal palm for years denied being a Legion run school, but now admit that the Legion was involved from the very beginning...even having the final say on the NAME of the school?

4. That I encouraged anyone who might consider becoming affiliated with this school to do some research on this very controversial order?

Can someone please explain which if these factual comments was the offense one?

#4 Posted by swfla1234 on July 27, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Royal Palm Academy is a great school and my kids are looking forward to being in the new building.

#5 Posted by ga8orfan13 on July 29, 2008 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

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Royal Palm Academy growing in its 10th year