Oxbridge Academy Foundation, Inc. is a private college preparatory high school in West Palm Beach, Florida. Oxbridge Academy serves grades 9-12. Aimed at academically gifted students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, the school includes perks such as a physical therapist on staff, chef-prepared lunches, equestrian club, sailing team, and a flight simulator.
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History
The school was funded with a $50 million donation from Bill Koch. Koch's goal was to create a school for his own children where academically gifted students of all socioeconomic backgrounds could do hands-on projects and learn by problem solving, a place where students ruled. Oxbridge was opened in under a year on a 45-acre campus that once held a Jewish community center. By 2016 he had spent more than $75 million on the school.
In 2011, Koch hired Robert C. Parsons to lead the school under titles president and chief executive. Parsons had previously been chief financial officer at the United States Naval Academy where he had been previously suspended for financial mismanagement. Parsons compensation package was worth $1 million, with an annual salary of about $600,000 per year.
By 2014, the school added a football team at the request of the student body. Admissions standards were changed for football players, notably an athlete who read at a third-grade level was given a full scholarship. The new head football coach earned more than $200,000 a year. Accusations arose of kickbacks, grade-changing, excessive spending and violations of the rules governing high school sports. In April 2016, Mr. Koch announced that Academic Dean John Klemme would serve as the School's president, placing Mr. Parsons on paid leave pending an investigation of harassment claims.
On May 27, 2016, Koch fired Parsons and declined to renew the contracts of Director of Athletics Craig Sponsky and the football coach Doug Socha; Koch noted that a "power elites group" in the school "ran the asylum."
In July, David Rosow was elected President and CEO of Oxbridge Academy.
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Academics
Oxbridge Academy is an independent, coeducational high school that offers students the educational technologies to problem-solve, create, innovate and collaborate with many of the leading corporate and cultural institutions around the world.
Computer Science Program
The Computer Science program at Oxbridge consists of a standard four-year course in Computer Science. Computer Science I consists of studies in Python and basic algorithms. Computer Science II introduces students to programming in Java. CS III explores Java more thoroughly.
Athletics
In 2016, the school self-reported athletic recruiting violations and forfeited all athletic victories for the past two years, including three FHSAA district championships.
On-Campus Tragedy and Anti-Bullying Program
On January 28, 2012, a 16-year-old student with a history of depression committed suicide near the School's campus, with a gun that he brought from home. Former Oxbridge CEO Bob Parsons confirmed the tragedy in a press release saying "The Medical Examiner's office has confirmed that a male student apparently took his own life on Monday around 6:00 pm in the parking lot of the property adjacent to the school." He added, "Hospice of Palm Beach County's specially trained grief counselors have been at the school working in conjunction with our own faculty team. Their focus is to help the entire Oxbridge community handle this tragic loss."
Since this tragedy, the School has taken steps to protect its student body, including instituting a bullying prevention program and offering on-campus counseling for its students. The anti-bullying program has been promoted to students by the School's faculty, staff and coaches. "Oxbridge Academy has a zero tolerance policy for bullying and hazing of any kind," said former Oxbridge head football coach Doug Socha.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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