Any 8th or 9th grade student may apply to join one of the four Choice Academies (Army JROTC, Biotechnology, Construction, or TV Production). However, if your home school (the one you are zoned to attend) offers the same academy, you MUST apply to that one rather than Seminole Ridge. Only students who are zoned to attend Seminole Ridge, or who currently attend Seminole Ridge, can apply to our In-House Academies (Automotive and IT).

You can only get into one Choice Academy. However, some students do find room in their schedules to be in a Choice Academy and an In-House Academy or two In-House Academies.

Yes. Everyone must apply to be in any of our Academy programs.

Applications are completed online at mypbchoiceapp.com. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year are open from November 2, 2023 until January 26, 2024. However, if you are applying to Dreyfoos School of the Arts as a first or a second choice, your application is due by an earlier date.

You get ONE opportunity to change your application; however, it must be done before the end of the application window.

To be eligible for our Biotechnology Academy, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, calculated using grades from the 3rd and 4th quarters of 7th grade and quarters 1 and 2 of 8th grade (or using current cumulative GPA if already in high school). Completion of Algebra 1 prior to entering 9th grade is recommended, though not required. To be eligible for our IT Academy, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, calculated using grades from the 3rd and 4th quarter’s quarter of 7th grade and quarters 1 and 2 of 8th grade (or using current cumulative GPA if already in high school). Our Construction, TV Production, Automotive, and Army JROTC Academies do not have eligibility criteria.

Absolutely! Once you are a Seminole Ridge student, you can join any club, try out for any sport, or take any class just like everyone else. Many academy students take AICE, AP, and/or Dual Enrollment classes. See your school counselor to determine what’s best for you.

Yes.

This is difficult to say as it depends on the number of seats available each year and the number of students that apply. It is a lottery process.

Notifications of acceptance are emailed in early April.

You may be placed in a wait pool. As other students who were accepted change their minds, people from the wait pool may get selected. If, by August, you still have not moved from the pool, it’s over for that school year. A student may reapply for the following school year.

The Academy Coordinator can help guide you through the process and answer additional questions, but no one at the school can push an application through. The process is lotterydriven by the school district.

The Academy Coordinator from Seminole Ridge will email your parents/guardians an acceptance letter and Academy contract. You and your parent/guardian must complete, sign, and return both forms by the stated deadline in order to secure your spot in the Academy. If you are not zoned for Seminole Ridge, your parent/guardian must register you at our school prior to the beginning of the following school year. Instructions for this will be emailed as well. While in the Academy, you must adhere to all rules stated in the Academy contract or risk being placed on Academy probation. If you are placed on probation and the infraction is not corrected within the specified time frame, you risk being removed from the Academy. If you are not zoned for Seminole Ridge and are here through a Choice Academy, and you are removed from the Academy, you must return to the school for which you are zoned.

There is bus transportation available for Choice students that goes beyond the regular transportation boundaries. See the school district transportation website to find the bus stop nearest you. You are responsible for getting to the bus stop nearest you, wherever that may be.

Please direct questions to:
Tamara Licavoli, Academy Coordinator
Seminole Ridge Community High School
4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Blvd.
Westlake, FL 33470
Phone: (561) 422-2716
email: tamara.licavoli@palmbeachschools.org