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, a gunnery sergeant in the Marines, had been assigned to the Blount Island Command, a Marine Corps support facility in Jacksonville.

Jackson attended his district school, and that was fine, Greg said. However, Greg attended a Catholic elementary school and always wanted that faith-based education for Jackson and his younger brother, Cameron.

“I feel like it definitely helped me in my formative years, and I wanted that foundation for my kids, as well,” he said.

But he and Natasha felt Greg’s military salary could not support the cost of a private school tuition.

Still, Greg, took a tour of St. Paul’s, and was surprised when Stasia Holzbaur, St. Paul’s Office Manager, Admissions, Military Liaison, told him about the scholarships managed by Step Up For Students.

“I think that’s great,” Greg said. “It definitely lifts a burden and allows us to put our kids in a good school that we probably wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.”

In 2021, Florida lawmakers made the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities accessible to military families.

Jackson, now in the fifth grade, receives the Florida Tax Credit Scholarships. Cameron is in pre-K and not yet eligible for a scholarship.

“The scholarships have been a game-changer for military families,” Holzbaur said. “Especially for those families with multiple children who want to put them in a Catholic school.”

The Pelletiers have been married since 2012. During that time, Greg has been stationed in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, California and now Jacksonville.

“We absolutely love it,” Natasha said. “Greg has a great career, and he’s supported our family throughout the years. We love going to new places. When it was just me and Greg, it was fine. But now our kids are involved and it's a little tougher for them. We’re able to adjust fast, but it is an adjustment for our kids.”

The family arrived from San Diego in the summer of 2023. Jackson was enrolled in a new school, making the adjustments all children make when they switch schools. He would make another one once his parents learned of the Step Up scholarships.

“Jackson loves St. Paul’s,” said Natasha, who works at the school as a pre-K4 assistant. “He has a ton of friends. He likes the small class sizes. He can focus more and get a little more help from his teachers.”

Jackson and Cameron are going to have to make that adjustment again when Greg’s assignment in Jacksonville ends this summer. The next move could be back to San Diego or to Okinawa, Japan.

“We don't have a choice, but we make wherever we go home,” Natasha said.

With children from 23 military families enrolled at St. Paul’s, Jackson has classmates who live the same itinerant life as he and Cameron. Some of those military families have a parent who is deployed. In one family, both parents are deployed.

Greg, who has been a Marine for 15 years, spent two months earlier this year in Virginia. He recently spent a week in Okinawa.

“No one knows how hard it is on a military kid,” Natasha said. “They go to school, they make friends, they have a group of friends, and then in three years, they leave and do it all over again. It’s nice that at St. Paul’s, he has a little community that knows exactly what he’s going through.”

As a state-designated Purple Star school that supports the unique needs of military families, St. Paul’s is required to:

• Establish a point of contact at the school to assist military families.
• Set up and maintain a military webpage linked to the school’s home page that includes information about transition planning, academic planning, resources and educational opportunities for military students, student-led transition programs, services for students in exceptional education programs, military recognition events, mental health challenges facing military students, and ways to access school-based mental health services.
• A student-led transition program.
• Training for faculty and staff on how to identify and respond to the needs of military students.
• Open enrollment policy that reserves at least 5% of seats for military students.
• Involvement in at least three activities that recognize and support military programs and families.

“They understand the sacrifices military families make and they are understanding,” Greg said.

Holzbaur has been gathering photos of the school’s military parents. They will be displayed on a wall of heroes on Veterans Day. The families are invited to attend a reception after the mass that day.

It’s part of her job to lead the tour when a military family visits the school. She said she’s surprised at how many parents don’t believe her when she tells them about the scholarships. Since most are from out of state, they are not familiar with Florida’s education choice movement.

“It’s so nice to see the look on their faces the first time they hear about it, and they realize they can afford to send their kids here,” Holzbaur said.

You can count Greg and Natasha among that group.

“It was a relief knowing our boys were going to go to a good school and get a good education,” she said. “With the scholarship, it’s amazing.”

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].