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 and autism, also struggled at the school. That prompted their parents to look for other options.

Caleb was eligible for the McKay Scholarship, a state program that serves children with special needs. The financial assistance allowed the family to enroll him in Lake City Christian Academy, a private school that could provide the extra attention and services he needed.

Katie didn’t qualify for the McKay, though, said her mom, Amanda Dudley. But she and her husband transferred Katie to the academy anyway and paid tuition on their own for three years. Then the couple divorced and money became tight. Caleb remained at the academy on his scholarship, but Katie had to return to her neighborhood school in the eighth grade. Once again, she was bullied and her grades dropped.

“I was miserable,’’ recalled the teen, who went on to try homeschooling.

Katie’s grandmother oversaw lessons, but Katie fell behind academically, especially in math, and became withdrawn. Dudley, a single mom who works as a medical assistant and receptionist at a local doctor’s office, turned to Step Up For Students, a nonprofit that helps manage the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

Katie received the scholarship that helps low-income K-12 students with private-school tuition, and returned to Lake City Christian Academy her junior year. Today, she’s a senior making mostly A’s and getting the tutoring she needs in math.

She recently passed her college entrance exam and has signed up for two dual-enrollment courses at Florida Gateway College with plans to study education. Her dream is to complete her teaching degree at Vanderbilt University near where her aunt lives in Tennessee.

Caleb is a sophomore making progress in one of the academy’s three exceptional student education (ESE) classes.

“They have been able to help us a lot,’’ said Dudley, whose 5-year-old son, Harley Dudley, is a kindergartener on scholarship at the academy.

Lake City Christian Academy is a nondenominational private school serving about 194 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Of those, about 81 receive the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship through Step Up For Students. Another 24 participate in the Gardiner Scholarships, formerly the Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts program Step Up also helps oversee.

The rest receive the McKay Scholarship or pay full tuition, which ranges from $5,700 to $8,000, depending on students’ needs, plus additional fees for exceptional therapies and transportation.

The school is accredited by the Florida League of Christian Schools and uses the Bob Jones University curriculum. Student learning gains are measured annually by the Stanford 10 assessment test and others like STAR for reading and math.

Principal Tana Norris, a former public school teacher, founded the academy in 1994 to cater to students with special needs or those who don’t fit in at other schools. The idea was to give teachers the freedom to teach and students the freedom to learn in a way that meets their needs.

“I wanted my teachers to be able to think outside the box, and my students to be able to use as many of their senses as they can,’’ Norris said. “I like cooperative, hands-on learning.’’

In addition to core classes and electives like Spanish, drama, stage band, chorus and dance, the academy also offers gifted and college prep programs, and mentoring, horse therapy and tutoring. Class sizes are kept small, with about 11 to 15 students per teacher.

That’s a big plus for Katie.

“I can get one-on-one help from my teachers whenever I need it,’’ she said. “I can go talk to the administrator and the pastor, and I know they can help.’’

Katie was one of those students who almost fell through the cracks, Norris said. Now she’s a confident student participating in peer counseling, where she coaches fellow students, and has discovered her passion for teaching.

Getting a scholarship through Step Up and finding the right kind of school for her made all the difference, Katie said.

“There are many families like mine who can’t afford private school,’’ she said. “This program gives us a chance.’’

Have you seen the scholarship in action, or do you have an idea for a story? Please contact Sherri Ackerman, public relations manager, at [email protected]