Fort Dale Academy is gearing up for another great year, FDA Headmaster David Brantley said.

The school, which serves students in a limited K-3 enrollment through grade 12, is welcoming several new teachers to its 1100 Gamble Street campus for the 2006-2007 school year.

&#8220Tabitha Smith will be joining us as a fourth grade teacher, and Josh Beverly and William Johnson will be teaching courses in science, social studies and P.E., and serving as coaches,” Brantley said.

As the school seeks to expand its advanced course selection to students, AP Calculus will be offered to FDA's high school students for the first time, the headmaster said.

For elementary students, a new offering will be keyboarding, available for the first time to 6th graders this year.

&#8220We have offered keyboarding classes to our junior high students in previous years, but this is the first time our elementary children have had this opportunity,” Brantley said.

&#8220With the growing use of computers by younger and younger students, this is a skill our children can certainly put to good use.”

For those about to experience the transition from elementary to junior high, the school is offering an orientation from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on August 10 in the school cafeteria.

&#8220This will give students an opportunity to meet with their teachers, go over their schedules and discuss some of the changes they may encounter as they enter the world of junior high,” FDA Counselor Starla Jones said.

Opportunity is what it's all about at FDA, Brantley said.

&#8220We want to continue to offer all our students the very best in educational and extra-curricular opportunities and to expand upon those opportunities,” the headmaster said.

&#8220We are very proud of the programs we offer to our students here at Fort Dale Academy, and we look forward to a great year of learning and growing together.”