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

Donor Corner, Beyond the Scholarship, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company donates $5 million to help provide scholarships for Florida students
Dec 5, 2024 • By Ashley Zarle

School Spotlights, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students
Ed Choice scholarships are a boon to the expansion of Key West's Catholic school
Jan 28, 2025 • By Roger Mooney

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
CES Academy of Lakeland strives to accommodate gifted students like Aleksandar
Jan 27, 2025 • By Roger Mooney

Donor Corner, Beyond the Scholarship, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Scholarship News, Step Up For Students
Cadence Bank donates $400,000 to scholarships for Florida students
Jan 22, 2025 • By Ashley Zarle

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
Jan 21, 2025 • By Roger Mooney

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
The right educational setting has Khloe learning with resilience
Dec 20, 2024 • 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.
Donate now!

Browse More From The Blog

New private school seeks to connect Florida students with their Jewish roots
BY LISA BUIE Rabbi Isaac Melnick thinks learning should be fun. As a young teacher in a Hebrew dual-language charter school in South Florida, he ran a lively after-school program that taught Torah to students who wanted to receive Judaic instruction. He called the program Torah 4 Everyone. He also ran Camp Cooluna, a summer camp […]
Learn More
Purple Star program lets Florida Catholic schools nurture military families
BY LISA BUIE It’s tough being the new kid in school. It’s even tougher being the new kid every two to three years. That’s the norm for 1.2 million United States children born into military families. According to the Military Child Education Coalition, military-connected children move six to nine times between kindergarten and high school graduation. Florida […]
Learn More
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Fighting for life since birth, Peyton has 'overcome everything they told us she wouldn’t overcome'
BY ROGER MOONEY OKEECHOBEE – Peyton Williams entered this world with a damaged heart, a damaged airway and hardly any hope from doctors who examined her the day she was born. They told her mother her baby wouldn’t survive her first 24 hours. Then she was told Peyton wouldn’t live to her first birthday. Peyton […]
Learn More
Education choice scholarship gave Taty the 'true experience of what school is supposed to be'
BY ROGER MOONEY When she arrived at The Foundation Academy, a private K-12 school in Jacksonville, Tatyanna “Taty” Thibeaux was a shy student who didn’t say much and kept to herself. Some of that, her mother Lucy said, stemmed from a language delay. “When she was little, she really didn’t speak,” Lucy said. “She really […]
Learn More
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, School Choice, School Spotlights, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
School choice in Florida’s oyster country
Editor’s note: This distinctive high school in the Florida Panhandle is another compelling example of how education choice manifests in rural areas, contrary to myths perpetuated by choice opponents in other states. To rebut that misinformation, reimaginED published a new white paper last week called “Rerouting the Myths of Rural Education Choice.” You can check […]
Learn More
School Choice, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Video: School choice at work in rural America
Editor’s note: This video spotlights a rural private school that caters to school choice students and is changing lives and communities for the better. To learn more about how choice is helping rural areas, check out our new paper, “Rerouting the Myths of Rural Education Choice.” When you think of school choice, you probably don’t think of places […]
Learn More
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Florida earns top education choice rankings in national report
BY LISA BUIE The Center for Education Reform in its annual education choice report has ranked Florida as the country’s No. 1 state for parent empowerment in education. The center’s Parent Power! Index gave Florida its overall top ranking, also rating the Sunshine State No. 1 for digital and personalized learning and education choice programs. […]
Learn More
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
podcastED: Florida scholarship mom says adding flexibility could benefit her family
On this episode, senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Jacquelyn Forte of Pensacola, Florida. Forte is the mother of four children, including three who attend a Catholic school on state education choice scholarships. Her oldest child, Jude, initially received the McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, which merged this year with the state Family Empowerment […]
Learn More
South Florida school a ‘builder of boys, maker of men’
BY TOM JACKSON Just now, the news Palm Beach Christian Preparatory School is making belongs on the sports pages — which is what you would expect when a bunch of coaches launches a private school. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. To its enormous credit, PBCPS embraces vigorous competition as one of its ideals, and for […]
Learn More
Education choice scholarships lead to right environment which leads to bright futures
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Louise Janvier uses the word “environment” often when talking about education choice and how it can rescue a child. “Sometimes, when a kid is going to go through things in life, they have to be in the right environment in order to pull through,” she said. “Some of them don’t […]
Learn MoreNo more content to load.
Load More