Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) and Seminole State College (SSC) have partnered together to offer Crooms Academy of Information Technology (Crooms AoIT) students the opportunity to earn their Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree at the same time they are earning their high school diploma.

The students will not be required to pay for any of the materials or tuition to attend/complete the courses for their A.A. degree. This opens up tremendous prospects for those students choosing to participate in the program.

Read the SCPS Press Release.

To Our Crooms Family,

It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of former Croomie Miguel Javier Figueroa Marzan. He would have been part of the Class of 2012. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the right rear tire blew out on a vehicle Miguel was a passenger in in the early morning hours of Friday, January 10th. The vehicle overturned several times and Miguel did not survive the accident. The driver and other passenger remain in serious condition.

While I cannot personally speak to the type of person Miguel was, Class of 2011 graduate Amani Chyrstale has been gracious enough to allow us to share her heartfelt memorial for Miguel: http://diaryofabg29.blogspot.com/2014/01/we-only-part-to-meet-again-rip-miguel.html.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Miguel,

Frank C. Bracco
Class of 2006

The weather is changing, the fall sporting season just finished with spectacular showings by the Crooms AoIT swimming & diving team and bowling team, and a flurry of Homecoming activities are coming up on December 6th. All this means December is upon us. And, that means it's time for the annual Crooms AoIT Alumni Association's December Drive to Success fundraiser for the scholarship fund. You can support Crooms AoIT by donating at www.croomsalumni.com/donate.

This year, Crooms Academy of Information Technology marks a big anniversary: its 10th graduating class! The past 12 months have demonstrated that Crooms AoIT continues to offer students one of the finest educations in Seminole County. Croomies performed superbly on the SAT, dominated other high schools on the FCAT, and for the fifth year in a row the school was ranked in the top 5 percent of high schools nationwide and received a Silver Medal From US News and World Report. The faculty had its share of successes too: Ms. Juanita Williams was a McDonald's Featured Teacher for Seminole County Public Schools and Mr. Derek Jensen was named SCPS Rookie Teacher of the Year. And, this fall, Ms. Demetria Hayes-Faison was named the new principal of Crooms AoIT while Dr. Angela Miller joined the faculty as the new athletic director.

All of these successes highlight how important it is to support the current students at Crooms AoIT. The school's continued success is due to alumni and community involvement. During this "Season of Giving" we invite you to open up your hearts and join us as we kick off our December Drive to Success Program. For the past seven years, the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has provided one graduating senior with a scholarship. This year, we're behind on scholarship donations; only approximately $100 has been donated. We need to fill this gap, and your generosity can help us! While each of us may only be able to give $5 or $10, as a whole we can raise more than enough money to give back to Crooms AoIT and make a difference in someone's life.

To make a donation, all you have to do is visit www.croomsalumni.com/donate. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us at donate@croomsalumni.com. Also during the December Drive to Success, we invite all alumni to take part in Homecoming on December 6th.

The Crooms AoIT boys bowling team re-kindled the bowling magic this year and had an outstanding showing at the FHSAA District 7 Bowling Tournament at the end of October. Overall, the team placed 4th in the competition. Freshman Mark Briggs bowled a 607 series to become the district champion, allowing him to advance to the state championship. At state competition this past week, Mark tied for 130th out of over 200 bowlers with a series of 658. With such a strong showing as a freshman, we're sure Mark has a bright bowling future head of him.

According to our not-so-illustrious one-man panel of Crooms AoIT sports historians, Mark is Crooms AoIT's first district champion in bowling and only the third male bowler to advance to state competition. Andrew Hennes, Class of 2006, advanced as a senior while Class of 2011 grad Andrew Figueroa advanced as a sophomore.

Congratulations to all of our Crooms AoIT bowlers on a job well done. You can also read about the Crooms AoIT's swim team's performance this year here. The end of the bowling state series also marks the end of the Fall season for Crooms AoIT. To round out the rest of the season: this year, girls volleyball and our cross country teams were independent (not subject to tournament competition), while our boys golf team competed in district competition.