‘Wonderful partnership.’ Visible Men Academy joins forces with another Bradenton school

Visible Men Academy announced plans on Monday to share a campus with another Bradenton school.

A few months ago, leaders of the tuition-free, all-male charter school sounded the alarm about their situation. Visible Men Academy missed the deadline to build a new campus on property acquired from Manatee County Government.

After the school year ends in June, Visible Men Academy will move to the existing Just For Girls campus, 1011 21st St. E., Bradenton. In exchange for rent-free use of the campus, Visible Men Academy will take over bus routes for both student populations.

Just For Girls, a local alternative school, will continue to operate at the school alongside Visible Men Academy. Girls and boys will attend classes in separate buildings.

“We are thrilled to receive this level of trust and acknowledgment from our community,” said principal Dr. Janjay Gehndyu, who will help lead both schools. “On top of the financial and administrative relief for our school leadership, these new solutions take away stress and distractions from our faculty and teachers, who can continue to devote their whole focus to our students.”

Visible Men Academy’s new campus announcement comes after the Bradenton Herald reported on the school’s dire situation. Becky Canesse, executive director of Just For Girls, said she learned about the situation because of the Herald’s coverage and decided to lend a hand.

Bradenton charter schools to share campus

“...I knew we had the resources to help. This is a wonderful partnership that benefits both of our programs in very tangible ways,” Canesse said. “And the collaboration and inspiration we can generate together is boundless.”

According to school leaders, the agreement with Just For Girls will save Visible Men Academy about $200,000 in operational costs. Right now, the school leases space from the Beth Messiah Messianic Synagogue, 1003 63rd Ave. E., Bradenton.

The Manatee County School Board also recently granted a five-year charter extension for Visible Men Academy.

In December, Visible Men Academy lost a deal with Manatee County to build a school campus on 4 acres along 63rd Avenue East. The school, which did not show the county a site or funding plan, missed one construction deadline in September 2020 and a second in September 2023.

After county officials decided not to extend the agreement again, they began the process of taking back the land in December.

Gehndyu said Visible Men Academy missed the deadline because school leaders turned their attention to the school’s failing grade and the COVID-19 pandemic. The school’s grade dropped from a B in 2019 to an F in 2022, according to the Florida Department of Education.

According to state officials, the school was one of 37 Florida charter schools in 2022 that were forced to implement a school improvement plan due to low test scores.

Since then, school leaders have worked to boost the school’s grade and enrollment numbers. Gehndyu said the school’s grade climbed to a C in 2023. He remains committed to achieving an A, he said.

Gehndyu added that the school’s enrollment numbers climbed from 46 to 70 since 2021. The school’s next goal is to have 100 students when school resumes in August.

As school leaders look to the future, they hope to attract more families to the shared campus.

“This was a blessing in disguise,” Gehndyu said. “It’s going to allow us to grow.”