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
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
Jun 22, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, graduate, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
An education choice scholarship has Carlos on the pre-med track at the University of Miami
Sep 12, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Her name is Sidjourney and she wants to make big changes in her community
Aug 28, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Scholarship News, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Many Step Up students are eligible to receive free computer/tablet and free internet service
Aug 9, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Donor Corner, Scholarship News, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing donates $4.8 million to help Florida schoolchildren
Aug 7, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Reading Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Juliette is reading at grade level thanks to New Worlds Reading Scholarship Account
Jul 20, 2023 • By Roger Mooney
Your gift will change a student's life
Our dedication to students doesn’t end when they receive a scholarship. Your support will enable Step Up to maximize the impact of the scholarships the students receive.
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Browse More From The Blog
School Choice, 2021, Beyond the Scholarship, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Gardiner Scholarships, Hope Scholarship, Step Up For Students
Tips on picking the right school for your child
Because of the expanded eligibility requirements that went into effect July 1, more families in Florida are eligible for private school scholarships managed by Step Up For Students. The Family Empowerment Scholarship is now available to families with higher incomes, up to nearly $100,000 per year for a family of four. Also, dependents of active-duty members of the armed forces, […]
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Meet Kayla
While attending her neighborhood school growing up, Kayla felt like she didn’t belong and wasn’t being challenged. Her mother believed she’d benefit from more individualized attention but couldn’t afford tuition at schools offering those environments. Then, she found Step Up For Students! Kayla received the Florida Tax Credit scholarship for lower-income K-12 students, which afforded […]
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Lake City Christian Academy
Lake City Christian Academy Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on the redefinED blog on Dec. 14, 2015. By TRAVIS PILLOW, redefinED One recent morning, Tana Norris walked into the small building that houses the makeshift dance studio at her North Florida private school. “I’m a dancer!” Stephen, an 11th-grader, responded. He and some classmates […]
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PenTab, Miami Gardens
PenTab, Miami Gardens By Sherri Ackerman When PenTab Academy opened 13 years ago inside a Miami Gardens church, it had one teacher and five students. The school was part of a ministry led by Pastor Robert Stewart of Pentecostal Tabernacle International. He turned his office into a classroom to provide the congregation and community with […]
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Katie Cutford
Katie Cutford By Sherri Ackerman When Katie Cutford attended her neighborhood district school in Lake City, classmates sometimes made fun of her thick glasses and fainting spells. Katie has juvenile glaucoma and POTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome), a heart condition that causes her to occasionally lose consciousness. Her younger brother, Caleb Cutford, diagnosed with cerebral palsy […]
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The Garnes Children
The Garnes Children By Sherri Ackerman When her three eldest children were ready to start their formal education, Deidre Christopher-Garnes sent them to their neighborhood district school. It worked well for her daughters, Malkia and Rukiya. But her son, Osakwe, really struggled in the third grade. “He needed more help in math and science,” Christopher-Garnes said. […]
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The Cherry Family
The Cherry Family By Sherri Ackerman When Demetrius Cherry’s commissions plummeted at his cell phone sales job two years ago, his family of six lost their house in Land O’ Lakes and moved in with friends. “We were literally homeless,’’ recalled his wife, Nina Cherry. Within a few months, her husband found another job at […]
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June Welcome and Ryan Tetoff
June Welcome and Ryan Tetoff Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory Hollywood By Sherri Ackerman June Welcome looked forward to sending her son, Ryan Tetoff, to his neighborhood school. By first grade, though, she worried he wasn’t being challenged academically. "Sometimes I would go to school and have lunch with him," Welcome recalled. "I would find him upset. […]
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Savannah Lang
Savannah Lang Rhonda Ford wanted more of a say in her only child’s education. But the divorced mom and self-employed massage therapist thought her options were limited to her neighborhood school. Then one day in 2002, Ford learned about Step Up For Students and the income-based Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Once the family received approval, […]
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Denisha Merriweather
Denisha Merriweather The daughter of a teenaged mom and high school dropout, Denisha Merriweather thought she was destined for a similar path. Receiving a scholarship from Step Up For Students changed her life. Today, the 24-year-old college graduate is working toward her master’s degree. “I’m just so grateful," Denisha said. “This never would have been […]
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