TAMPA — A Bay area school is celebrating 20 years serving the community.

What You Need To Know

  • Tanika Walton said she came up with the idea to open Walton Academy for the Performing Arts in Tampa with her husband

  • The ability to make learning come to life is why Carmen Warner has taught at WAPA or the last 17 years

  • The students who attend her school are predominantly African American

The couple who started the Walton Academy for the Performing Arts say when they graduated from USF, they knew they had to do something to give back to the community and 20 years later, they’re doing that and then some.

Tanika Walton said she came up with the idea to open the charter school in Tampa with her husband.

“We are unique and we are a jewel,” Walton said. “This is a special place to be. We offer high-quality education from kindergarten all the way through fifth grade.”

She said they were inspired to incorporate what they love, the arts.

“For this to be our focus and not just the performing arts but with technology as well and media arts, this is how we can connect with our students and engage them, so the learning and what they’re learning in the classroom comes to life,” Walton said.

That ability to make learning come to life is why Carmen Warner has taught at WAPA for the last 17 years.

“You know that the teachers care about your child and that they’re gonna learn and have fun,” Warner said.

She also has a performing arts background, and her method of teaching is crucial for the students here.

“We do readers theater to help improve with their reading. It’s all different ways. We do dancing, everything inside my classroom,” Warner said.

It’s something Walton said they have to be intentional about. The students who attend her school are predominantly African American. According to the Florida Department of Education, there’s still more than a 30 percent gap when it comes to reading.

Data shows that in 2022, 63 percent of white students scored at or above the achievement level and only 35 percent of Black students scored at or above grade level.

“With closing the gap, it’s not just reading. For our students here at Walton Academy, it’s the mathematics. And that’s been one of our focuses for the past two to three years is to really get them to understand math is everywhere,” Walton said.

With 20 years of experience and former students now in their late 20s, Walton said it’s a method that’s proven to be music to the ears of the educators at her school.