When is a park more than a park? When it is the park, a unique and successful skateboard park that is oh, so much more.

Founded by former teacher Julie Cain and located in an old furniture store off Highway 1 in Melbourne, the park is a place where kids not only skateboard, but learn, too.

On any given afternoon or weekend, skateboard enthusiasts of all ages and from all walks of life grind, flip, and perform amazing tricks in the building’s specially designed wooden bowl and street course. But there’s more to it than that. After school, you can also find a group of students receiving help with their homework and school projects in the park’s computer lab. Julie combines soft-spoken discipline and immense patience with focused, individualized academic tutoring for students who just need a little extra help they couldn’t get otherwise. With the park’s support, students can progress from failing grades, to the honor roll.

After hearing about the park, Bright House Networks offered a helping hand to the tutoring computer lab through the company’s PowerUP program. The 11-year-old PowerUP program provides no-cost high speed Internet service to teaching computer labs run by charitable organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs, the Council on Aging, and other after-school tutoring programs including the Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition. The park easily met all the PowerUP requirements, and now Bright House Networks and the park are partners in education, and a whole lot more.

Tell us about your favorite parks in town.