There are over 30 nonreligious private schools in the Miami, Florida, area as of the beginning of 2011. This number includes preschools and Kindergarten to Grade 12. One such school is the Alexander Montessori School, which teaches children 18 months to 12 years of age to learn to love learning. Montessori schools are located all over the country and have a special style of teaching and learning. Another school, the Atlantis Academy prides itself in helping students who are struggling in their school environment and need a change. This school offers smaller classrooms with more teacher attention. The Atlantis Academy is geared more to the middle grades. Palmetto Bay Academy is another private school. It focuses on college prep and goal setting for student in Grades 8 to 12.
Many parents want their children to grow up with a religious foundation and, therefore, send them to a private religious-based school. One such school that continually shows up on many of the Florida lists in the Orlando area is Grace Christian Academy, which is registered with the state of Florida. This school has a unique approach to teaching in which it clusters groups of class's so that one teacher has two grades. The goal is to prevent anyone from falling through the cracks and to allow those students who might be a little ahead of their peers to work into the next level. Grace Christian Academy accepts students from K4 to Grade 12. Another religious-based school, Downey Christian School, is a collage preparatory school with a spiritual emphasis. This school accepts children in Grades 5 to 12 and is ranked among the highest in college preparatory schools in Florida.
Some parents feel their children would do best at a residential facility or a boarding school. There are three such schools in the Boca Raton area: Bar Ferg's Academy, Inc., Harid Conservatory of Music, Inc., and Saint Andrew's School. Harid Conservatory of Music is billed as America's tuition-free professional training school for the gifted young dancer. This school offers high school students a comprehensive dance program as well as supervised academic lesson plans. Saint Andrew's School accommodates JK to Grade 12 and is a college preparatory school for all students. There are plenty of extracurricular activities to keep student's busy when they are not in class and the campus is always buzzing with activity.
There are some parents who would like their children to have an education that is based in military teachings. In Melbourne, there is one such military academy, the Florida Air Academy. This is both a day school and boarding-style private school, which offers students in Grades 7 to 12 an opportunity to engage in military tactics as well as courses designed for college preparation. There are leadership training and flight school duties in addition to regular high school activities, such as dances and trips to the beach.