Donahue Academy’s Largest Senior Class Achieves Unprecedented Success

TOP: Donahue Academy’s SSAA Central Division Conference Champs and Sportsmanship Award winners. COURTESY PHOTOS

As the school year ends, Donahue Academy bids the graduating class of 2024 a farewell after years of continued academic excellence.

Marc Snyder, Donahue Academy’s principal, believes students’ success can be attributed mainly to the structure of the continuous curriculum and the staff ’s collaborative efforts to identify where students need the most assistance.

“It really starts from the early ages because every grade really builds on the previous one,” said Snyder. “When you have a K-12 school, you have a curriculum that is horizontally and vertically aligned. You also have teachers that are working side-by-side, constantly communicating with one another about how the students are doing.”

Donahue Academy’s class of 2024 has exceeded standards in more ways than one. With 32 graduates, this year will see the school’s largest graduating class to date.

The school’s pristine 100% college acceptance rate remains untouched. About two-thirds of the senior class will attend Ave Maria University, reflecting the school’s values and the importance students place on their education during college. Out of that pool, almost half of those students will receive $15,000 dollars or more annually in merit-based scholarships.

RIGHT: Dominic Jahnke will study at St. John Vianney College Seminary.

Among the other colleges and universities chosen are the University of Notre Dame, Thomas Aquinas College, Christendom

College, the University of Dallas, the Franciscan University of Steubenville and St. John Vianney College Seminary.

Out of 32 students, 13 of them have qualified for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which establishes lottery-funded scholarships to reward Florida high school graduates for high academic achievement.

Donahue Academy is acclaimed for its student body’s high-performing SAT scores, even being named Southwest Florida’s Highest Scoring School in 2022. This year was no exception!

With an average SAT score of 1195, the class of 2024 performed 167 points above the 2023 national average of 1028. The highest SAT score in the grade was 1530, only 70 points shy of a perfect score.

Mary Fairchild, a senior at Donahue Academy, was named a National Merit Commended Scholar. The award is given in recognition of a high-performing PSAT score, as well as an overall outstanding academic performance.

Almost half of the Donahue seniors who took the challenging National Latin Exam earned honors, further underscoring the academic rigor and dedication of the student body.

In addition to academics, Donahue Academy’s sports teams performed well this year.

Both the girls’ and boys’ high school basketball teams were named the Paradise Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) champions. The high school boys’ soccer team also took home the PCAC championship for their sport. The high school football team was awarded the Sunshine State Athletic Association Central Division Conference Championship, as well as the SSAA Football Sportsmanship Award.

Both inside the classroom and out on the court, Donahue Academy’s class of 2024 has been a shining example of young excellence. The senior class’s unbridled desire for success and drive to learn is something Principal Snyder hopes students will take with them beyond graduation.

“We believe in instilling a love for learning in students,” Snyder said. “We want to place value in terms of not just using school as a platform to get some job down the road, but really embracing the educational experience. We want our students to be lifelong learners.”

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