inspirED
Meet our scholars, educators, donors and partners.
Transforming Our Community.
One Scholarship at a Time.
Step Up For Students Scholarships do more than fund education. They change lives. Students thrive in environments that fit their needs. Educators extend their reach to support vulnerable students. Communities grow stronger as educational systems improve.
This is inspireEd. Welcome.
Here, you will get an inside view of that transformation in progress. See what happens when students and their families discover the power of taking control over their academics. Watch as they forge new pathways to a better future. Find inspiration in their determination to achieve their dreams.
These are the stories of Florida students who have renewed hope because they have a school that better fits their needs or educational materials to unlock their potential. They are the stories of a community that has come together to support the belief that educational choice matters. Here, you can be a part of this incredible journey.
This is inspireEd. Welcome.
Here, you will get an inside view of that transformation in progress. See what happens when students and their families discover the power of taking control over their academics. Watch as they forge new pathways to a better future. Find inspiration in their determination to achieve their dreams.
These are the stories of Florida students who have renewed hope because they have a school that better fits their needs or educational materials to unlock their potential. They are the stories of a community that has come together to support the belief that educational choice matters. Here, you can be a part of this incredible journey.
Latest Posts
Step Up For Students, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, School Choice, School Spotlights
Why retire when you can breathe life into your alma mater and save it from closing
Dec 5, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Rising Stars, Step Up For Students
With his mom as inspiration, and an ed choice scholarship leading the way, Mason is 'going places'
Feb 13, 2026 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Home Education, Homeschool, Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students
PEP allows Lyra to fly through the air with the greatest of ease
Feb 9, 2026 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Home Education, Homeschool, Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students
Budding hockey player has a lot of PEP in his game
Jan 29, 2026 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Home Education, Homeschool, Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students
'Dramatic! You can underline that and write it in bold' – A mom's take on the impact of a PEP scholarship
Jan 20, 2026 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Home Education, Homeschool, Hybrid Learning, Personalized Education Program, School Choice, Step Up For Students
For this family, hybrid home education includes a class at the district high school
Dec 19, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
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Browse More From The Blog
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing donates $4.8 million to help Florida schoolchildren
SARASOTA, Fla.– Gold Coast Eagle Distributing has contributed more than $4.8 million to Step Up For Students, providing 605 Florida schoolchildren with access to the education options that best help them succeed. Gold Coast Eagle Distributing sells and markets all brands produced by Anheuser-Busch, Modelo/Corona, and many import and craft beers in Manatee and Sarasota […]
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Juliette is reading at grade level thanks to New Worlds Reading Scholarship Account
BY ROGER MOONEY Juliette Doyon was elated to score a Level 4 on her FAST ELA Reading for Progress Monitoring assessment test this past spring. It was almost two points higher than she scored at the beginning of the year. “I was really, really excited,” said Juliette, who completed the third grade at Valleyview Elementary […]
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Education choice scholarship was 'huge' in Miguel's journey to the top of his class at Notre Dame
BY ROGER MOONEY Miguel Coste delivered the salutatorian invocation in May during graduation at the University of Notre Dame. It was a 2 minute, 49 second prayer that set the tone for the ceremony that capped a commencement weekend that took his family on an emotional roller coaster. “So much joy,” Nordis Del Toro said. […]
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She paints, she cheers, she earns top grades: Brooke is back with help of Hope Scholarship
BY ROGER MOONEY LAKELAND – Brooke Bertsch is back. The one who loves to sketch and paint and who earns top grades in class. The one who smiles. That was Brooke before the bullying began in middle school. Before she became withdrawn and depressed. And that’s her now. “I feel good again,” she said. The […]
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The sky may not be the limit for this Step Up For Students scholar
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Julian Vazquez was 6 months old when he flew for the first time, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to London. He said he remembers some of the trip. Five seconds, maybe. Impossible, said his parents, but nearly 18 years later, Julian is sticking to his story. He can trace his […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, graduate, Rising Stars, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Her home life may be chaotic, but Kaylia has Ivy League-potential and big plans for her future
BY ROGER MOONEY MARGATE, Florida – Kaylia Powell’s home life is in a constant state of flux. At times, she has lived apart from her mom and separated from her brothers and sisters. She has lived with friends and, for a few months this year, at the home of a teacher. She has lived with […]
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An education choice scholarship helped JR be all that he can be
BY ROGER MOONEY PLANTATION, Florida – There was no way William “JR” Moreland was taking AP Language and Composition as a junior, or so he thought. He heard it was hard, harder than Honors English, which he aced. “The difference between honors (classes) and AP is completely night and day,” JR said. “You think it’s […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Rising Stars, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
The bus ride to school is long but the opportunity for a Catholic education is well worth the trip
BY ROGER MOONEY PALM COAST – Every school day at 7 a.m., a small bus rolls to a stop in front of the rectory of the Catholic church in Crescent City. Waiting to board are a handful of students, including Jesus Martinez-Cruz and his little brother, Christian. They are headed on a 50-minute ride to […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
From a chaos to calm: How an education choice scholarship is changing David's life
BY ROGER MOONEY PINELLAS PARK – David Facey remembers sitting in his Language Arts class last year hoping for salvation. Hoping someone would pull the fire alarm. Drastic, yes, but anything to bring class to an end. The other students were nearly finished with their writing assignment. David had written only three words. His teacher […]
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Of dreams, sacrifices and an education choice scholarship: How one high school grad has her sights set on becoming a doctor
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Nery Perez-Valdes wanted to become a doctor, but life got in the way. She fled Cuba for Miami with her mom when she was 11 and found herself working at 14 to help pay the bills. Nery would become a single mom and for a long stretch worked two jobs […]
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