All Post By Roger Mooney
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About The Author
Roger Mooney
If Roger thought covering the Tampa Bay Rays inexplicable run to the 2008 World Series was strange, imagine how he felt on the March afternoon in 2016 when he stood in the heart of Havana, Cuba while on assignment to cover the Rays historic game against the Cuban national baseball team. “Is this really happening?” he thought then. Ah, the life of a sports writer, where the unexpected is the norm.
My background story
From Little League to the World Series, Pop Warner football to the Super Bowl, Roger covered it all during his 20-plus years as a sports writer. He met everyone from Hank Aaron to Ben Zobrist, covered nearly the entire spectrum from youth sports to Florida and Florida State football to the Buccaneers and the Lightning. It was a good run, filled with great subjects for stories and a lifetime of memories, highlighted by a white-knuckle trip through the backstreets of Havana in a 1956 Dodge that did not have a working horn, speedometer or seatbelts. An unforgettable ride as the cabbie bounced through narrow streets to escape the traffic jam caused by President Obama’s arrival. Now, Roger is writing about students who benefit from the four scholarships provided by Step Up For Students. These are inspiring stories about children whose lives improved dramatically because of their new educational opportunities.
What I do before joining Step Up For Students?
Before joining Step Up, Roger spent seven seasons covering the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune and two years writing about the Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning for The Tampa Bay Times. A native of New York City, Roger’s future as a hall-of-fame baseball player was derailed in high school when he could not make the baseball team. Undaunted, he sets his sights on writing. He studied at St. John’s University and dabbled in real estate and technical writing before finding his first job at a newspaper.
What I do on my day off?
When not working, Roger enjoys running (he has completed three marathons and has his sights set on someday running a fourth), reading (his goal is 20 books a year), bike riding, canoeing and kayaking with his wife, Suzanne, watching sitcoms (Superstore and Young Sheldon currently top the list) and taking his mixed beagle, Story, on long walks.
How to reach out?
Reach me at [email protected].
About The Author
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Fighting for life since birth, Peyton has 'overcome everything they told us she wouldn’t overcome'
BY ROGER MOONEY OKEECHOBEE – Peyton Williams entered this world with a damaged heart, a damaged airway and hardly any hope from doctors who examined her the day she was born. They told her mother her baby wouldn’t survive her first 24 hours. Then she was told Peyton wouldn’t live to her first birthday. Peyton […]
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Education choice scholarship gave Taty the 'true experience of what school is supposed to be'
BY ROGER MOONEY When she arrived at The Foundation Academy, a private K-12 school in Jacksonville, Tatyanna “Taty” Thibeaux was a shy student who didn’t say much and kept to herself. Some of that, her mother Lucy said, stemmed from a language delay. “When she was little, she really didn’t speak,” Lucy said. “She really […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, School Choice, School Spotlights, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
School choice in Florida’s oyster country
Editor’s note: This distinctive high school in the Florida Panhandle is another compelling example of how education choice manifests in rural areas, contrary to myths perpetuated by choice opponents in other states. To rebut that misinformation, reimaginED published a new white paper last week called “Rerouting the Myths of Rural Education Choice.” You can check […]
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School Choice, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Video: School choice at work in rural America
Editor’s note: This video spotlights a rural private school that caters to school choice students and is changing lives and communities for the better. To learn more about how choice is helping rural areas, check out our new paper, “Rerouting the Myths of Rural Education Choice.” When you think of school choice, you probably don’t think of places […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Florida earns top education choice rankings in national report
BY LISA BUIE The Center for Education Reform in its annual education choice report has ranked Florida as the country’s No. 1 state for parent empowerment in education. The center’s Parent Power! Index gave Florida its overall top ranking, also rating the Sunshine State No. 1 for digital and personalized learning and education choice programs. […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
podcastED: Florida scholarship mom says adding flexibility could benefit her family
On this episode, senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Jacquelyn Forte of Pensacola, Florida. Forte is the mother of four children, including three who attend a Catholic school on state education choice scholarships. Her oldest child, Jude, initially received the McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, which merged this year with the state Family Empowerment […]
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South Florida school a ‘builder of boys, maker of men’
BY TOM JACKSON Just now, the news Palm Beach Christian Preparatory School is making belongs on the sports pages — which is what you would expect when a bunch of coaches launches a private school. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. To its enormous credit, PBCPS embraces vigorous competition as one of its ideals, and for […]
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Education choice scholarships lead to right environment which leads to bright futures
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Louise Janvier uses the word “environment” often when talking about education choice and how it can rescue a child. “Sometimes, when a kid is going to go through things in life, they have to be in the right environment in order to pull through,” she said. “Some of them don’t […]
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20 years of Educational Opportunity, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Learning job skills, gaining confidence and making a very big friend with the help of an education choice scholarship
JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Not every student at North Florida School of Special Education rides Chief within minutes of meeting the big horse, but that’s what James Guha did one day during the summer of 2021. Oh, it took some encouraging and a little cajoling from Andrew Sack, the barn manager. Chief is big and a […]
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20 years of Educational Opportunity, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
JJ Humphrey sees nomination for acting award as 'big deal' for him and other neurodivergent actors
What intrigued JJ Humphrey about his starring role in the play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” was his ability to relate to the lead character. While never mentioned in Mark Haddon’s novel, Christopher Boone, the protagonist, is on the autism spectrum. So is JJ. A neurodivergent actor playing a neurodivergent character. […]
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