Col. James Dwight visits a music class at Florida Air Academy. FAA File Photo

Melbourne - Walter Hodge glides across the basketball court, showing without words that he owns the game.

His father taught him how to play when he was three years old, growing up in Puerto Rico. Soon, he was playing with kids nearly twice his age with dreams of becoming the next Michael Jordan or Allen Iverson.

He has been able to live the dream, to a certain extent, at Florida Air Academy. The basketball star and team captain, who helped lead the school to its fourth Class 3A state championship, entered the school as a sophomore after hearing about it through a friend, then having his father attend a recruitment seminar in Puerto Rico.

Now an 18-year-old high school senior, Hodge is fielding scholarship offers from such schools as Purdue, Auburn and the University of Florida. But it's not the offers that have him smiling, but the knowledge that he was given such an opportunity.

"I wouldn't be in this position had it not been for Florida Air Academy," said Hodge, who was living with his mother, three brothers and sisters before entering the school. . .

"in the beginning, it was hard to leave my family. I was 15 years old. But the people here treat me good, they take care of me," he said.

Florida Air Academy prides itself on providing cadets with top-notch college preparation mixed with a military academy flavor and loads of family atmosphere.

The academy, located in the historic Mediterranean-style buildings of the old Lincoln Hotel on U. S. 192, was founded in 1961 by Jonathan Dwight. It currently has 119 day students and 294 boarders, including cadets from at least 30 states nationwide and 25 different countries, in grades 6 through 12.

The school will take a big leap this year by enrolling female cadets. They officially begin in the fall.

School President James Dwight, who took over... in 1991, said the Academy gives students a safe, structured learning environment that fosters personal growth and development.

He said the academy instructs cadets in the importance of integrity, honesty and accountability, values espoused through the Air Force Junior Reserved Officer Training Corps. The school started its AFJROTC in 1968.

"It's not about these kids going into the military, but building citizenship and becoming better, happier citizens for the rest of their lives," Dwight said.

faa has the largest flight training program for secondary students in the world.

Air Force Lt. Col. Ralph Gracia served as an Inspector General at Patrick Air Force Base before retiring from the military after more than 21 years of service. he now serves as the academy's vice commandant and director of its Aerospace Science Department.

Gracia said his mission is to emphasize mutual respect and personal responsibility among the cadets within the school's college preparatory and military academy tradition.

"We want to continue to build the future citizens of America. That starts with making sure kids stay in school and don't do drugs," he said.

He said FAA has a superb reputation for getting cadets into the finest colleges and military schools in the U. S., with a 100-percent college acceptance rate for its seniors for more than 20 years.

Some cadets enroll because they aspire to join the armed forces. Others want a smaller school environment that emphasizes discipline and responsibility.

But no matter their reasons for entering the academy, Dwight said all of the cadets are given the tools and encouragement to succeed.

Cadets attend small class sizes, have mandatory evening study halls and are offered after-school teacher help sessions.

Accredited by both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Florida Council of Independent Schools, the academy has about 135 employees, including 38 state-certified instructors.

Carlos Alvarez, admissions officer, said the private school does not receive federal funding and has no endowment. "We survive on tuition," he said, adding that boarders pay $24,000 annually while day student tuition is $7,500..

Alvarez makes several trips per year to such places as south Florida, the Caribbean and Central America. He said the school has built up a following in these areas.

"Like with Walter Hodge, friends tell their friends about the school, who then tell their parents and they become interested," he said. "Some of our kids may come in with low grades but they leave with academic success. We have a lot of success stories."

It's that success that sold Seydi Romero on the program.

Romero, who lives in Puerto Rico, has been sending her son, Ian Rolon, to the school for more than a year and a half. She first learned of FAA after her nephew started attending.

"The school's scholastics are superb. They do really well in creating individuals who are prepared for college and the world," she said.

Principal Antiny White, former award-winning teacher in Indian River County public schools, said the school is constantly striving to build on its academic success.

"I'd like to see the school grow academically so that we're known as one of the top schools in the state of Florida in academics," he said.

The academy, one of two military schools in the state and the only secular private middle and high school in Brevard County, has the largest flight training program for secondary students in the world..

Dwight believes going coed will only add to the school's success.

It's going to have a very positive impact ont he academy," he said, adding that parents have beena asking to send their daughters to the school for years.

The school announced last October that it was going coed.

"The girls that have already enrolled are outstanding students and we're looking forward to having them," he said.

Around 40 female cadets will enter the school in the fall in grades 6 through 11.

Dwight said the integration will better prepare both male and female cadets for a world where they will have to interact with each other on an almost constant basis.

"We're doing this because it's going to better prepare all of our students for the real world," he said. "That's what Florida Air Academy is all about."