At Tiger Academy, community and families are an integral part of the day to day running of the school. Tiger Academy is a branch of the First Coast YMCA. The partnership with the Y has opened up a tremendous amount of opportunities for the Tiger students, families and staff. Tiger is also a professional development school (PDS) for the University of North Florida (UNF). We have a Resident Clinical Faculty Member as well as a Professor in Residence who are at the school multiple times throughout the week. We also host teacher candidates (interns) each semester. Both the YMCA and UNF collect data throughout the year to demonstrate effectiveness of the partnerships. Teachers are engaged in research with UNF faculty around best practices in teaching and student performance.