While their peers splashed in the surf, played hoops or wasted time during a lazy summer, 14 students ages 9 to 13 donned lab coats and learned about the eyeball, attended juvenile court proceedings and took part in a spelling bee in Judge Charles Burton's courtroom at the South County Courthouse.

It was all part of the Knights of Pythagoras Enrichment Academy, an eight-week program in which students listened to community leaders discuss the factors that breed success and learned a range of skills including basic photography, the keys to financial freedom, debating techniques and drug and alcohol awareness.

The Knights of Pythagoras are led by former Sun-Sentinel reporter C. Ron Allen, retired Carver Middle School teacher and administrator Joyce Prime, public relations guru Bill Weg and a dedicated staff. Said Prime, "I'm so inspired by the Enrichment Academy that I came out of retirement to be involved."

The Enrichment Academy was offered free of charge in the hope that it would help build students' character and self-esteem.

"Our Summer Enrichment Academy is in a league of its own," Allen said. "This is not a summer camp, and neither is it summer school. It is, however, an opportunity to empower our scholars academically, culturally, socially in a structured yet fun setting over the summer break."

Shawn Taylor, an optometrist at Vision Works, taught students about the eye at the seminar-style camp. "It doesn't get more real than this," Taylor said. "They put on lab coats and did some experiments on the eye. This Enrichment Academy is unique in that I can't think of anything like this that's being offered in to our public school students in Palm Beach County. This is not your usual summer camp where you can expect to do arts and crafts, play sports and maybe splash and dash in the pool. We're providing our youth with an experience they would not generally receive in the traditional classroom."

In addition to offering the camp free of charge, the Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network works with sponsors to cover the cost of breakfast, lunch and snacks.

"We've done the research," Allen said, "and we know spending the time mentoring these city students makes them 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs, 52 percent less likely to skip a day of school and will get better grades.

Enrichment Academy student Jean Mede, 12, agrees.

"You don't have to worry about me ever getting in trouble," she said after attending a Juvenile Court session recently. "This is real court. I don't ever want to go before the judge. It was scary just listening to what was going on."

For more information on the Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network and the Enrichment Academy, call 561-665-0151 or visit http://www.kopmn.org.