Welcome! Potter’s Wheel Academy was founded in 1994 as a non-traditional private school to provide Christian and non-Christian families a private school option for use in their parent-directed education programs. Its geographic area is not limited and currently serves families in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. We’re not a “one-size fits all” school. We let our students out of the box.

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1. High school students who are highly intelligent and fully capable of doing college level work, but not getting the opportunity. We have what you are looking for through our agreements with colleges for dual enrollment and early admittance.

2. If your current school will only allow you to study at your current age or grade level, yet you have already mastered work at that level and can demonstrate through testing and other methods that you are capable of higher level work, then our advanced specialized programs may be for you.

3. Self-motivated students who desire to work at their own pace to have more time for personal choice learning activities, find our program of self directed study just what they are looking for.

4. Students who need more one-on-one instruction to assimilate information find more success because we allow more flexible scheduling.

5. Students with learning challenges can succeed if they proceed at a slower pace using flexible curriculums and flexible learning methods. We prefer to call these students “thorough learners”.

6. Students whose parents have chosen not to have their child “labeled” in a traditional school setting, preferring to emphasize their child’s strengths and natural talents while working through their weaknesses.

Potter’s Wheel Academy is a unique school that, unlike most public or other private schools, believes that when presented with the various educational choices available to them, the best educational choices directly involve decisions made by the students and their parents. These decisions affect the student much more than it affects their parents or their school.

Students and families may utilize, at the same time, more than one type of curriculum choice available to them. Since students have different learning styles and abilities, each student needs to be able to learn at their own pace utilizing any resource available to them that challenges their abilities without frustrating them.

Kindergarten through eighth grade students are mainly taught at home by parents using textbooks, workbooks, CD’s, DVD’s, videos, or private tutors in addition to participating in hands-on group learning or other activities at various locations. In addition, Middle School students may also take courses through The Florida Virtual School which offers regular and advanced classes for grades six through eight.

Choices for high school students include, but are not limited to, dual enrollment at various community colleges, early admission status at Florida colleges and universities, dual enrollment at technical or career oriented schools, the Florida Virtual School which offers regular, honors, and Advanced Placement courses, online courses from various sources, courses on CD’s, DVD’s, and video, correspondence courses, textbooks, workbooks, or teaching at home by parents or private tutors. From these various sources are drawn the plan that fits the goals and dreams of each student and their family. Case studies to Follow.

For the year 2005/2006, twenty one Potter’s Wheel Academy students have taken charge of their own educational future. All have saved themselves some time in school. Some have saved as much as two years! And those who saved the most time have saved the most money, as much as $10,000 per student by getting six years of their education in four years! Class of 2006

In 2005, seventeen students earned Bright Futures Scholarships. Several of those students also received additional scholarships directly from the colleges and universities they chose to attend, plus other scholarships from private sources. 2005 Graduates

The Class of 2004 is a good representation of our program. Two high school seniors earned Associate of Arts degrees from a local community college only days before walking at their high school graduation from Potter’s Wheel Academy. This planning saved thousands of tuition dollars for the students’ families and two years of the student’s school life. Several students already had started their own businesses or were in the process of training for careers that did not require college degrees. One student who had been labeled with a specific learning disability in public elementary school earned a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. Potter’s Wheel Academy’s flexible student schedule allows students time to pursue employment and/or business development. 2004 Graduates

Not all of our students accelerate this rapidly. However, most will have some college credits, vocational credits or certification when they graduate. The savings is significant in both time and money for the parents and the student.

Thank you for visiting the Potter’s Wheel Academy web page. Since 1994 we have been helping families design education strategies for their students. Please check out the rest of our web site.