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
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
Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Home Education, Homeschool, Step Up For Students
Meet the SkiSibs: The sister/brother combo conquering Florida one triathlon at a time
Oct 17, 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
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Browse More From The Blog
With education choice scholarship, parents feel they are doing 'something greater' for Emilio
APOPKA – The days were long when the family lived up north, when Maria Alvaracin and her husband, Fernando Ramirez, worked two and sometimes three jobs each in one day just to afford rent and food and gas for the car they shared. Maria cleaned houses and worked the overnight shift at McDonald’s, while Fernando […]
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Education choice scholarship a 'humongous blessing' for straight-A student Briana
The first quarter academic awards ceremony at Grace Christian School was coming to an end, and Lynette Thomas had yet to hear her daughter’s name called. Briana Thomas had enrolled at the pre-K-to-8 faith-based private school in Ocala as a sixth-grader that August and had aced every test. Lynette thought it was odd Briana hadn’t […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Nearly housebound by a rare set of genetic disorders, Tristan has seen the world thanks to his ESA and virtual reality
Tristan Drummond was born 10 weeks premature with one kidney and enough genetic disorders that doctors gave him a 50/50 chance to turn 1. He had his first surgery when he was 2 days old and has far exceeded that dire prediction. He will turn 12 in June. But his lungs are filled with scar […]
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Mikaela's goal is simple: From head of the class as a student to head of the class as the teacher
BY ROGER MOONEY TAMPA – Be a doctor, some say. Be a lawyer, others suggest. You’re so smart, you should do something big, they tell her. Mikaela Powell politely listens to those who see her top-of-the-class grades and encourage her to pursue a lofty education and a lucrative career. What they don’t know is the […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Sugar and spice and tackles: Payton wants to coach football just like her dad
BY ROGER MOONEY NAPLES – Payton Gibbs stood at midfield wearing black pants, a red pullover, and a red ballcap emblazoned with the University of Massachusetts logo. From a distance, she looked like a football coach watching her team during pregame warmups. From closeup, too, because on a brisk November afternoon in Amherst, Massachusetts, the […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Scholarship News, School Spotlights, Step Up For Students
Two Catholic schools join Florida's growing list of Purple Star schools that accommodate military families
BY ROGER MOONEY These four words serve as a beacon to military families stationed in Florida who are searching for the right educational fit for their children: A Purple Star School. “It lets them know that we want them here and that we want to honor them and support them,” said Stasia Holzbaur, the office […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Education choice scholarship a boon for this military family
E BY ROGER MOONEY 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, […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
How an education choice scholarship gives Hannah her voice, her strength and a horse named Snowflake
BY ROGER MOONEY OCALA – Seven years ago, Vicki and Tim Fouche were greatly dissatisfied with the care their daughter Hannah was receiving at her school for students with special needs near their Summerfield home. The situation was made worse by the fact that Hannah, who has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal and can’t walk, […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
How one question and four education choice scholarships changed the lives of Emmaline's children
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI GARDENS – The seismic shift in Quran Wright’s life occurred in a South Florida Walgreens while shopping with his mother. He was in the third grade at the time and not faring well in his district school. Emmaline Reddick and her son were talking about his classes. Emmaline told Quran that […]
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Elijah wants to learn as much as he can, which is why his sights are set on Harvard University
BY ROGER MOONEY PALMETTO BAY – Elijah Williams was in the fifth grade when he set his sights on a career in engineering. The best way to get there, he decided, was with an Ivy League education. So, he set his sights on attending Harvard University. “I want to learn as much as I can,” […]
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