Present

After nearly a decade of operation, Sarasota Military Academy sits squarely in downtown Sarasota bursting at the seams. The physical buildings housing SMA combine old and modern facilities. The 1950s buildings that formerly housed St. Martha’s school years ago are no longer able to grow with the school, and will eventually be replaced with new buildings that provide for more facility efficiency and educational technologies. The new buildings erected in 2008 helped to modernize a fraction of the facilities and expand classroom and gymnasium space. But there is a lot more room for improvement and modernization.

Enrollment at SMA in the early years was half of what it is today. Now SMA enrolls approximately 850 high school students, which is a fraction of the enrollment size of all the area public high schools. This enrollment size allows for significant interaction and relationship building between the student and educators, peers, and the school’s administration staff. Because the entire school participates in Army JROTC, the small school size promotes an even tighter team mindset because the cadets know each other and the teachers know the cadets. A successful high school career is more likely for more students when each person is a significant presence in the group and not simply a number among many.