FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Quality Life Center in Fort Myers is expanding its educational offerings with a new alternative private school set to open this fall.
After three decades of serving the community, the center is launching Quality Life Academy, a non-accredited private school for K-12 students who need personalized education.
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"We aim to be able to fill in the gap. There are young people who are already not being successful in school," said Julian Ramirez, executive director of Quality Life Center.
The academy will build upon the center's existing summer camp and after-school programs, with plans to enroll between 50 and 70 students in its inaugural year.
"We can meet the young person where they are, and we can create through small settings, the environment where they could be successful," Ramirez said.
The school will incorporate technology-based learning approaches, including artificial intelligence tools already used in traditional school systems.
"So what's new is technology. We have computer-based learning, and it has advanced in ways it has never been before. So through the use of artificial intelligence and apps that we're already using in the school system, like I excel, we're able to offer a computer-based experience that allows us to work with the young people at their own pace and personalize their education," Ramirez said.
Beyond technology, the academy will focus on leadership development, performing arts, visual arts, and academics.
Ramirez's passion for the project stems from personal experience. "I have a child who's on the spectrum, and when he was about three years old, I didn't know if he was going to be independent when he got older. When he was three years old, we didn't know if he could speak or maybe if he could hear and ultimately we took him out of school in third grade. So I've been homeschooling him since third grade," he said.
The high school program will primarily serve students who don't plan to attend college. Ramirez emphasized that tuition will be affordable, and payment options will be available for low-income families.
"There are young people that are getting disconnected and disengaged as early as elementary, so we need to be able to intervene, and we are in a unique position where we can do that by opening up a private school," Ramirez said.
Families interested in learning more can attend an information session on May 17, which will coincide with the center's community street festival in the Dunbar community.
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Event Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00
Location: 3210 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers, FL
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