Center Academy Schools Remain Strong Following State Audits

Independent auditors completed the annual Agreed-Upon Procedures audits last week for 2023-24, and once again, all audited Center Academy schools passed with no exceptions or weaknesses. These audits are required by the state and are conducted to ensure that scholarship money is being used properly and that schools are meeting statutory requirements for educating students.

Agreed-Upon Procedures provide financial accountability and meet the requirement that was initially passed by the Florida Legislature in the Spring of 2010. Schools must hire an independent, licensed Florida Certified Public Accountant to complete this financial report. Auditor licenses and peer reviews are verified by the Scholarship Funding Organizations, and the audits require proof that scholarship funds are safeguarded and spent on education-related expenditures.

Center Academy is proud to participate in parental choice programs that provide educational options to students. These programs provide the ultimate accountability to families. They give parents the ability to choose a different school if they are not satisfied with the public or private school their child is attending. And the programs work. Research shows that school choice programs improve student outcomes, including academic achievement and graduation rates.

Further accountability for the Scholarship Programs is provided through statute. All private schools that participate in the Scholarship Programs must meet the fiscal requirements of Florida Statute 1002.39 and the Accountability and Ethics Acts. At Center Academy, we go beyond these state requirements. Center Academy is fully accredited by Cognia, the National Independent Private Schools Association and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Founded in 1968, we are beginning our 57th year, and our management team has more than a century of experience and includes doctoral level educators and neuropsychologists.

We are not new to accountability. Our students have been given nationally norm-referenced achievement tests for more than 35 years. And our parents have consistently responded to written and phone surveys with reports that their students have made significant progress since coming to Center Academy.

Thank you, parents and students, for exercising your choice options and attending Center Academy! We will continue to strive to earn your trust!