By Rachel Galvin

The Class of 2016 was the last class to graduate from Zion Lutheran. The school that began in 1964 is in the process of being transformed into a charter school called Somerset Academy Key. During the transition, many students and teachers went elsewhere, but others remained and an influx of new students is coming in. They currently have enrolled 420 students, but expect to have 600 in total by the time school starts.

There no longer will be a Christian curriculum and, since it is turning from a private to public school, students will be subject to testing and requirements they have never experienced before, but new principal Dennis Mulrooney said the changes are a good thing.

“[The students] haven’t had those rigors before. I believe it is a step above. We are pushing higher education and setting them up for secondary success, putting them in a position to get into college. We are there to help them along the way.”

Mulrooney began his work in education in schools in Miami-Dade County. He has worked in administration and as a curriculum coach. He worked as an Assistant Principal at Somerset Academy in Miramar at an elementary level for two years. Looking to gain high school experience, he transferred to another charter school, Mater Academy, where he became Assistant Principal for two more years. When the call came asking him if he wanted to come to Deerfield and open Somerset Academy Key, he jumped at the chance.

“Getting the call was a blessing. It is everything I have ever wanted,” he said.

The school is being freshened up to have a more Somerset feel. They will be retaining the colors and the lion mascot from Zion, but the lion may change a little.

They are updating the computers, installing new software. They have about 200 computer stations and plan to increase it up to 400-450 stations once they reach their intended enrollment.

In addition to already instituted extracurricular activities, including sports, students will be able to create their own clubs.

“Students will create and drive the activity [programming]. If there is enough interest, they can get a sponsor and fundraise,” said Mulrooney, adding, “I want students to feel this is a second home for them.

The school, which will now only serve grades 6 to 12, currently has open enrollment. But the process to get in is not as easy as a regular school.

“There is only a certain amount of seats at each level. Once we hit that, students go on a wait list. It is not a simple process. The later students register, the less likelihood they will get in,” he said.

Meanwhile Zion’s pre-school, now called Zion Early Learning Center, and the church is still operational.

The preschool serves ages six weeks to Pre-K. Kids here tackle STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) from day one. They follow the WEE curriculum, which is Christian-based. The staff is all CDA certified (with the Childcare Development Association). Over the summer, students learn a different fairy tale every week and incorporate it into their studies.

They also have a Vacation Bible School and a Summer Camp. The camp, which runs through August, includes traveling to fun adventures like the park, movies and elsewhere.

Both Somerset and the preschool are seeking students. For more information on Somerset Academy Key, call 954-481-0602 or visit www.somersetkey.com. For more information on the preschool and their programs, call 954-421-3146.

By Gary Curreri

Zion Lutheran first-year coach Ray Ayala said his baseball team exceeded expectations this season.

The Lions (16-10-1) recently completed their season with a hardfought, 10-4 loss in 11- innings against visiting Miami Brito last week.

Miami Brito Miami scored six runs in the top of the 11th inning to snap a 4-4 tie as the Panthers won the Region 4-2A final and denied the Lions their first trip to the state semifinals in school history for the second consecutive season.

Zion Lutheran lost 11-0 to the eventual state champion, Westwood Christian, in the Class 2A regional finals last season. Jose Rodriguez pitched six innings in relief of Lions’ starter Blayne Baker to keep Zion Lutheran in the game. The team rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force extra innings with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ivan Ortiz’s RBI single tied the game at 4-4.

“We were very fortunate to get it tied,” said first year Lions coach Ray Ayala, who came over from Somerset Academy this season. “We had some opportunities, but we didn’t get it done.”

There were only two players back from last year’s team (Baker and Manny Rojas). Baker finished the season 6-4 on the mound, while Rojas batted .509 for the season and led the team with 35 RBI.

“We played in two early season tournaments and went 0-6-1 in them,” Ayala said. “Honestly, if you go back to February, you will see we had a whole bunch of individuals. I put them in over their heads. It took us three months to become a family and we had won nine in a row since then. We had to find a way to have them come together.”

“When I first took a look at it, I thought there was something to build there,” Ayala said. “There was nothing there. The cupboard was bare so to speak. I figured two to three years we could build something. As you can see, we moved at a little bit faster pace.”

Ortiz, who was a catcher at Olympic Heights last season, joined the team this season along with shortstop Jose Rodriguez and outfielder Joseph Renovales, who came over from Coral Glades High School.

“They all know each other from playing summer ball together,” Ayala said. “We inherited five other kids from other schools.”

Ayala said the slow start showed the team there was work to do.

“It made us realize that one through nine we weren’t better than anybody,” Ayala said. “If we played as a team, we could beat anybody. That’s where all of our losses came from and that was the turning point going through those tournaments learning that we could not win individually; we could only win collectively; once we stopped worrying about stats and worrying about who plays, our practices became more geared toward team drills and we were successful as a team and turned the corner.”

Ayala believes the program has a bright future. Ayala said parents who are interested in bringing their sons to the program are already contacting him.

“I am already getting calls of interest,” Ayala said. “Parents are getting calls from other parents and telling them they want to switch schools, so that is definitely getting us on the map. We are getting a reputation that we play hard and I am fair to the kids.