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
Personalized Education Program, Beyond the Scholarship, Scholarship News, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Lofty dreams and a PEP scholarship power 12-year-old pilot in training
Sep 8, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, School Choice, Step Up For Students
By running the Chicago Marathon, Caleb Prewitt continues to raise the bar for the Down syndrome community
Oct 16, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Military Family, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Education choice scholarship a 'game-changer' for military family transferring to Florida
Sep 16, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Personalized Education Program, Beyond the Scholarship, Scholarship News, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Lofty dreams and a PEP scholarship power 12-year-old pilot in training
Sep 8, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Personalized Education Program, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Home Education, Homeschool, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Chickens, horses and ed choice scholarships combine for an ideal home education setting
Sep 3, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students
PEP students flock to Sarasota's Fab Lab, where STEAM learning is fueled by their imagination
Aug 21, 2025 • By Roger Mooney
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Browse More From The Blog
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Rising Stars, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
The option of an education choice scholarship will expand Joly's options for college and beyond
TAMPA, Florida – It was the first day of freshman year and everyone at Tampa Catholic High School was a stranger to Joly Masoud. Classmates. Teachers. Administrators. Scared? Yes, Joly admitted. “I was just trying to find my way,” she said. Joly found her way to a front-row desk in Hannah Taylor’s Eastern-Western Heritage history […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
The right educational setting has Khloe learning with resilience
SANFORD, Florida – Elsa the Snow Queen sang “Let it Go” as Kimberly Jones entered the room. Kimberly’s daughter, Khloe, 2 at the time, sat with her eyes laser-locked on the TV, watching “Frozen” for the umpteenth time. Let it go, let it go Can't hold it back anymore “Perfect pitch,” Kimberly remembered. “I thought, […]
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Author! Author! Charisma loves school so much she wrote a book about it
SANFORD, Florida – Charisma Lowery loves fractions, which is not something you hear every day from a third-grader, but she does. Mixed fractions, improper fractions – bring ’em on. Charisma, 7, loves fractions so much that one morning while in the second grade, she jumped out of her mom’s car during drop-off and ran to […]
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Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company donates $5 million to help provide scholarships for Florida students
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.– Step Up For Students announced December 4 that Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company (UPCIC) has contributed $5 million to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, helping nearly 620 Florida schoolchildren access the education option that is best for them. Since 2017, UPCIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc., […]
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Personalized Education Program, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, graduate, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
At 19, Gabriel is an ordained minister, motivational speaker, author, and now an education choice advocate
Gabriel Lynch III is new to his role as an education choice advocate. Though in essence, he’s been doing it nearly all his life. He’s a product of both private and homeschooled education. He’s attended brick-and-mortar schools and studied virtually. Along the way, Gabriel, 19, has become an ordained minister, a motivational speaker, an accomplished […]
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Step Up For Students, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, School Choice, School Spotlights
Two more Step Up schools earn prestigious National Blue Ribbon Schools distinction
St. Michael Academy in Fernandina Beach and St. John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee were among the 15 Florida schools to be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools. They are the only private schools of the 15. Both accept Florida educational choice scholarships managed by Step […]
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Bringing water to remote villages in Tanzania a 'life-changing' event for Clearwater Central Catholic students
CLEARWATER – The orphans in a tiny town in Tanzania left the biggest impression on Sarah Williams. They were so cute and kind and happy. And curious. The children were fascinated with Sarah’s long hair. It’s something rarely seen in that part of the world, where water is so scarce the locals shave their heads […]
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Education choice scholarship a pleasant surprise for this military family stationed in Jacksonville
Jackson Pelletier’s enrollment at St. Paul’s Catholic School Riverside on an education choice scholarship began with a trip to the pediatrician. That’s when his parents, Natasha and Greg, noticed the private school in Jacksonville located across the street from the doctor’s office. The family had just moved to the area from San Diego after Greg, […]
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Education choice scholarship a boon for a military veteran and his family
MIRAMAR – William Ivins moved his family to South Florida ahead of his retirement from the United States Marine Corps and enrolled his children at Mother of Our Redeemer Catholic School, hoping they would reap the same rewards as he did from a faith-based education. But, as William and his wife, Claudia, would soon learn, […]
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Seven Seas Water Group donates $150,000 to help provide scholarships for Florida Students
Tampa, Fla.– Seven Seas Water Group (Seven Seas) has contributed $150,000 to Step Up For Students, helping more than 18 Florida schoolchildren access the education option that is best for them. Seven Seas is a multinational provider of Water-as-a-Service® solutions , specializing in owning and operating decentralized water and wastewater treatment plants. Since 2023, Seven […]
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