The Out-of-Door Academy

The Out-of-Door Academy is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school serving 685 students from pre-kindergarten to grade twelve in Sarasota, Florida. Founded in 1924, The Out-of-Door Academy is the second oldest independent school in Florida (www.oda.edu). The school’s mission is to provide an environment in which students strive to achieve high academic goals and to build character through a balanced program of academics, the arts and athletics.

Out-of-Door is located on two picturesque campuses. The school’s historic Lower School campus is situated on a five-acre site on beautiful Siesta Key, a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico. The Middle and Upper Schools reside on the collegiate-style 85-acre Uihlein Campus, which is located in Lakewood Ranch, a rapidly growing area of suburban Sarasota. As the school nears the celebration of its 90^th anniversary, the future is exceptionally bright. Record admissions, enrollment and fundraising have occurred annually for several consecutive years. A successful $15 million dollar capital campaign has resulted in the renovation of the entire Lower School campus and the addition of new classrooms, a 25,000 square foot visual and performing arts center, a new athletic complex and a state of the art wellness center on the Uihlein Campus. The Long Range Campus Master Plan features a total renovation and expansion of the Middle School and a world-class STEM and Student Center slated to open for the start of the 2015-2016 school year.

The Out-of-Door Academy curriculum offers a wide range of learning opportunities and elective offerings in all academic disciplines. Advanced Placement courses are offered in 16 different subjects, and the annual AP passing rate is routinely between 85-95%. The Out-of-Door Academy earned Cum Laude Society membership in 2005. Since 1904, just 17 secondary schools in Florida (of 735) and only 368 secondary schools in the United States (of 24,000) have earned this academic distinction. 100% of Out-of-Door graduates have been accepted and matriculated to four-year colleges and universities since the founding of the Upper School. Approximately 70% of each year’s senior class matriculates out of state.