Math, science and the arts are just as important as soccer training in this new school
Boys who want to enhance their soccer skills while focusing on academics will soon have a school in Euless.
The Allegiance Academy is scheduled to open in August at 100 E. Midway Drive.
Last week, the Euless City Council unanimously approved the zoning request, paving the way for the school to open in the former events center.
Van Roberts, who owns the property, said he wanted to provide an atmosphere where boys in grades 6 through 9 can concentrate on enhancing their soccer skills and pursue academics.
“This is the first of its kind to be an in-house academy and training center,” Roberts said. “This is a fresh approach because it’s all encompassing in one location.”
Roberts, who also owns vacant land in Farmers Branch, said he chose to locate the academy in Euless because it would be a time-consuming process to build a school and training facility on his vacant land.
“It was going to be too long of a process to go with an empty slate. I was going to lose years of development with these kids,” he said.
Roberts said the Allegiance Academy is for boys in grades 6-9 who are advanced soccer players and who want to also advance academically. The age range of the students “dovetails” with the Allegiance FC Club, where many of the boys play soccer, Roberts said.
“There has to be a certain competency. We’re not taking beginners,” he said.
“We are not going to limit their dreams. If they want to be a D1 player in college or a professional player, we want to make that a reality.”
The academy will also focus on honing students’ academic skills, and Roberts said he has hired five “certified” teachers from area school districts. The class size ratio is one teacher per 15 students.
Right now, there are around 50 students enrolled, but Roberts said eventually there will be 140 students.
Students will begin the school day at 7:30 a.m. with classes followed by soccer training, Roberts said.
According to the Allegiance Academy’s website, the boys will study a wide range of subjects from arts, literature and culture to computer science, math, and engineering.
Jennifer Vukelich, the academic director at the Allegiance Academy, said in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “We are excited to design a school that emphasizes how young men learn best. We have structured the school day to have core academic subjects after physical training and incorporate movement within the classroom. This promotes overall academic performance through enhanced concentration, cognitive skills, and behavior.”
Christy Bronold, who has home-schooled her sons since moving to Dallas from Houston, said she is looking forward to sending her boys to the Allegiance Academy.
“We picked the Allegiance Academy because I am an advocate of a school system that can change with the times. I really like what the Allegiance Academy will bring to the education system,” she said.
Bronold said she likes the fact that the academy has soccer, but she also welcomes academic challenges for her sons.
“The boys are thrilled to get a bunch of soccer in and for the classes. They are up to the challenge,” she said.