Walk Raises Awareness for Children with Special Needs 

On Saturday, May 16th, over 150 walkers came out to Achievement Academy's Rise & Shine Walk to help raise awarness for children with special needs. Thank you to our sponsors: K&D Electric, Masonry Systems Inc, R.D. Lange Construction Inc, Russell McAdoo, Graphic Systems Installers, Wachovia, Best Buy, Coverall, Tommy & Lyn Oakley,  Loysville Youth Development Center and Publix Credit Union. Parents, staff and board members, we could not have made this walk a success without all of your help. A special thank you to Lakeland High School's cheerleaders and drumline for leading the way! 

Achievement Academy on Bay News 9!

Success for one Achievement Academy student

The lives of a 3-year-old boy and his family are beginning to feel normal six months after Rhett underwent brain surgery to fix a rare sleep condition. Read more on Bay News 9.

Creating Brighter Futures for Children with Special Needs

Over fifty years ago, the Achievement Academy (formerly UCP and later Child Development Center of Polk County,  Inc.) was founded by a special group of parents.  Today the Achievement Academy is a non-profit United Way agency and charter school.  We serve children from birth through age six with various developmental delays and disabilities, including but not limited to, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and speech delays. The Achievement Academy offers small class sizes, dedicated staff, developmentally appropriate goals, individual speech, occupational and physical therapies and assistive technologies that allow our students to blossom.

Our Birth to Three program offers services to children up to three years of age who may be at-risk for developmental delays. Early intervention makes a difference, and the sooner you start, the better the results.

We have three charter school locations that serve Polk County: Lakeland, Winter Haven and Bartow. Here we celebrate all abilities; there are none too big or small! Every child is entitled to a childhood of possibilities and we are here to make that happen.