When competing against dozens of other schools at a prestigious state convention, the stress can be daunting. But for a group of students from RCMA’s Immokalee Community Academy (ICA), their training and skills truly set them apart. Recently, a team from ICA competed in the 34th Annual Elementary / Junior BETA Convention held recently at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, and came away with some impressive awards.
The National Beta Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1934. BETA, which stands for Better Education Through Achievement, is the largest, independent, educational youth organization in America, and recognizes high academic achievement, rewards and nurtures worthy character, fosters leadership skills, and encourages service to others.
This was the first year ICA was given the opportunity to start its own BETA chapter at the school. Mr. Eli Trejo and Mrs. Mayra Delgado both were involved in the high school club at Immokalee High School, so they knew how beneficial it would be to ICA scholars.
“The club meant so much to us, that we decided to bring the fun to ICA this school year,” says Mr. Eli. “The students applied to join the club and after careful consideration and verification of the club standards of being a member, we accepted 21 students at the end of August. Our scholars love it!”
Since then, the scholars have been busy completing service opportunities. One such project was Brighter Bites, which is a fruits and vegetables program offered to ICA parents. The Beta club offers students opportunities at exploring their many talents and skills, and gives them the opportunity to showcase those talents at the Florida convention in Orlando.
“We were able to raise enough money through the many fundraisers we hosted during our after-school program here at ICA to attend our first ever state convention,” says Mr. Eli. “As a club, we submitted about 16 different competition entries, eight of them academic based.”
By the time the convention was over, the ICA scholars scored a first-place finish in Performing Arts, second place in Math (6th grade), second place in Spanish (6th grade), and a third-place finish in Spanish (7th grade). Not bad for their first time at the convention! Additionally, seventh grade vocalist Eliana Guerra has been invited to attend the National Beta Convention in June.
We are extremely proud of each and every scholar who participated at the state convention. Although ICA did not qualify in every category for the national convention, there are hopes that a few of the students will have the chance to experience the National Beta Club convention this summer. Good luck to these amazing ICA Dragons!
