ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The life skills and character development curriculum at Edgewater Prep Academy in St. Petersburg encourages students to help their community.

They are lessons the students take to heart.

What You Need To Know

  • Edgewater Prep Academy in St. Pete fosters student driven community projects

  • School Director Daneen Klenert says students formulate plans to raise funds for charities, to help the community, or the school     

  • Fifth-grader Avaleigh Tucciarone-Mcleod recently raised funds for the Make a Wish Foundation in honor of her deceased father

You can hear the students while they are making the rounds while completing their projects in school.

"I've got chocolate cookies, sugar cookies and chocolate brownies," said Kayli Ngo as she handed out baked goods in exchange for money.

It is not the typical bake sale that happens at the start of the school day at Edgewater Prep Academy.

Kayli Ngo is selling her goods and raising money for single parent families.

"Some people need help, and they can't get some,” Mgo said. “So, I'm just raising money so I can help."

It is not a typical school either.

The school's director, Daneen Klenert, said they are a small private school with big ideas and big hearts.

"She's told me I like to bake so I'd like to do cookies,” said Klenert explaining how Ngo cooked up the idea for her project. “So, we went from there. It took off like wildfire and it's cookies so it's an easy sell."

The ideas turn into community projects that sell like hot cakes, or rather, beaded bracelets.

"And we made a lot of money actually,” said another student Avaleigh Tucciarone-McLeod about her project. “I'm not sure how much we made."

Another student raised money for the Make a Wish Foundation. 

Avaleigh Tucciarone-McLeod, a fifth grader at Edgewater, did this in honor of her father who passed away from brain cancer.

Klenert said the projects are all part of the lesson plan at the school.

"Make sure that just the smallest idea is brought to fruition,” Klenet said. “And that their ideas are really important that can become something bigger and can inspire other people."

Irelynn Smith, a high schooler wanted to help pet rescues.

She teamed up with an organization Nine Lives Kitten Rescue, made a presentation, and taught others how to lend a hand.

"They can donate like food, cat food, money, cat litter, litter boxes really anything we can get," Smith said.

Klenert said the lessons learned are baked into the projects.

"A lot of times, the kids don't even know how much they're getting from that, but it just comes along the way," she said.

The projects then are inspiring others to do the same.

Tucciarone-McLeod handed a check to Make a Wish last fall for more than $100.

Ngo has set a minimum goal of $1,000 to donate to a single parent charity. She is more than halfway to her goal.

Tucciarone-McLeod said she appreciates just being heard.

"It means a lot to me I get to go to such a good school where they're so helpful and supportive of every idea that children have," she said.