American Youth Academy, previously the Islamic Academy of Florida, is a PreK-12 Islamic school in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, United States, located in Temple Terrace (as of 2006).
History
Sami Al-Arian
Sami Amin Al-Arian ( ar, سامي أمين العريان; born January 14, 1958) is a Kuwaiti-born Islamist and political activist of unverified Palestinian origin who was a computer engineering professor at University of South Florida. During ...
and others established the Islamic Academy of Florida. The school's students received scholarships from corporations, facilitated by the state of Florida. In February 2003 a grand jury in the United States federal legal system indicted Al-Arian on criminal charges related to terrorism. In July of that year the corporations ended their scholarships. Therefore, the original Islamic Academy sought a rebrand.
[
In August 2003 Islamic Academy failed to negotiate a merger with Universal Academy of Florida, the other area Islamic school. In January 2004 the board of the Islamic Academy decided to dissolve the school. A new board was formed for American Youth Academy, which took the Islamic Academy equipment and began renting the Islamic Academy building after Islamic Academy dissolved in May 2004. Most of the students stayed on at AYA. Magda Saleh, former principal of Universal Academy, became the principal of AYA. Corporations began giving scholarships to AYA students, though the scholarships did not entirely cover the tuition.][
]
Student body
In the mid-2000s the school had around 200 students. Students came from Hillsborough, Manatee
Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...
, Pasco, Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
*Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missouri ...
, and Sarasota
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
counties. In many of those counties there were no Islamic schools, so Muslim parents in those counties enrolled their children in AYA.[
]
Transportation
Does not provide bus service. Parents transport their children.[
]
References
External links
American Youth Academy
High schools in Tampa, Florida
Public elementary schools in Florida
Public middle schools in Florida
Public high schools in Florida
Educational institutions established in 1992
1992 establishments in Florida
{{authority control
Islamic schools in Florida
Schools in Tampa, Florida