Pinellas Prep began as the dream of a long-time very dedicated educator, Terry Schlesinger. While teaching in the program for gifted students at Ridgecrest Elementary School in Pinellas County, Florida, Mr. Schlesinger developed the concept of a school that would concentrate on encouraging creativity and humanistic ethics in bright students, hence the original name “Love of Learning”.
Mr. Schlesinger, together with friends and colleagues, worked tirelessly for three years to obtain a charter for the school. In 2002, the Pinellas County School Board granted the Love of Learning a charter to begin with grades 4 through 6. During the next year, Mr. Schlesinger and the subsequent Principal, Dr. Ron Lipton, organized the school, obtained a site, hired staff, and began a program to recruit students.
The school opened its doors in August, 2002 for the 2002-3 school year with 60 students, four full-time teachers, and four part-time instructors.
The founding Board of Directors was re-constituted so that a majority of seats are held by parents of current students. In the spring of 2003, the Board voted to change the name to its current name, Pinellas Preparatory Academy. By the beginning of the next school year (August 2003), the school had doubled in size to 140 students, and added a seventh grade. The following year, 2004-05, the school added an eighth grade, and now included the intermediate elementary and entire middle school grades.
In 2005-06, Pinellas Prep had nearly 190 students and a new Principal, Mr. Curtis Fuller, who brought to the school a background in educational leadership to continue to grow on Mr. Schlesinger's vision. At the end of the school year, the school learned the facility was no longer going to be available. After an exhaustive search, a new facility was found near the corner of Ulmerton and Belcher in Largo.
Pinellas Prep started the 2006-07 school year in its new building, nearly three times the space it previously had. With nearly 250 students, the school continued to grow and focus on helping each individual child be successful.
Recently Pinellas Prep has added five additional classrooms to its new facility. In 2009, it requested a modification to our charter allowing its enrollment to grow to 396 students. Pinellas Prep continues to focus on its mission of providing a creative education to students with a focus on cooperative learning and multiple intelligences.
In 2009-10, Pinellas Prep started the year with 392 students, 36 staff members, and a strong desire to continue the positive growth it has made as a school. Having met its maximum capacity, Pinellas Prep's focus will be to continue to enhance the educational program we offer to students.