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, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Wherefore art thou Genevieve? She's directing the Tallahassee Homeschool Shakespeare Club
Aug 9, 2024 • By Roger Mooney
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Beyond the Scholarship, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
From an idea to a goal to Emma's walk of a lifetime
Sep 8, 2024 • By Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, graduate, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
From Venezuela to the Naval Academy with the help of an education choice scholarship
Aug 19, 2024 • By Roger Mooney
Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Wherefore art thou Genevieve? She's directing the Tallahassee Homeschool Shakespeare Club
Aug 9, 2024 • By Roger Mooney
Personalized Education Program, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Taking control of their children's education with the help of the PEP scholarship
Jul 29, 2024 • By Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
E'leese set a goal to graduate high school early and she did ... at age 12
Jul 17, 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.
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Browse More From The Blog
A medical emergency, a call to 911 and a fireman's promise ignited Za'Niya's dream to be a firefighter
BY ROGER MOONEY NORTH MIAMI – Zabrina James had trouble breathing because of the intense pain in her left knee caused by a botched surgery nearly five years earlier. She couldn’t walk, which meant she couldn’t drive herself to the hospital, so she instructed her daughter to call for help and coached her on what […]
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Education choice scholarship helps fuel Mia's dreams of Ivy League college and med school
BY ROGER MOONEY JACKSONVILLE – Mia Boka’s father, Steve, was a giant of a man, standing 6-foot-6 with a personality just as large. He was demanding but fair with his children, instilling structure in their daily lives with constant reminders to study hard, work hard and always do their best. “Speak up and be heard,” […]
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Piano prodigy in perfect academic setting thanks to education choice scholarship
BY ROGER MOONEY COOPER CITY, Florida – It began with a toy piano. Something a toddler could peck at. Pling! Pling! Pling! Evan Sosa did more than that. In no time at all, he was playing “Hot Cross Buns.” “With two hands,” his father, Phillip, said. “I'm like, ‘This is not normal.’ He was barely […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Adoption plus education choice scholarships give Conner and his siblings a chance to be 'best version of themselves'
BY ROGER MOONEY The transformation of Conner Davis from a young boy filled with social anxieties to an honor roll student and class leader was achieved through two life-altering events. First, he was adopted by a relative, which brought stability to his life. Second, Conner received an education choice scholarship. That allowed him to attend […]
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An education choice scholarship has Carlos on the pre-med track at the University of Miami
BY ROGER MOONEY In August, Carlos Felipe Gutierrez-Carranza began his freshman year at the University of Miami with a clear vision for his future. He wants to be a doctor. That goal was set during the summer of 2022 when he shadowed a physician for one week as part of his high school’s externship program. […]
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Her name is Sidjourney and she wants to make big changes in her community
BY ROGER MOONEY Let’s begin with the name: Sidjourney. Cheryl Knight planned to name her daughter Sidney, but after the complications Cheryl endured during pregnancy that included seven months of bed rest, she realized she had been through quite a journey. The baby was born in April 2005 in a Brooklyn, New York hospital, and […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Scholarship News, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Many Step Up students are eligible to receive free computer/tablet and free internet service
Many students who receive scholarships through Step Up For Students may be eligible to receive a free computer or tablet and up to five years of free internet service. Families that receive Medicaid, Medicare, free and reduced lunch, food stamps or other services are automatically eligible. The service is federally funded through the Affordable Connectivity […]
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Gold Coast Eagle Distributing donates $4.8 million to help Florida schoolchildren
SARASOTA, Fla.– Gold Coast Eagle Distributing has contributed more than $4.8 million to Step Up For Students, providing 605 Florida schoolchildren with access to the education options that best help them succeed. Gold Coast Eagle Distributing sells and markets all brands produced by Anheuser-Busch, Modelo/Corona, and many import and craft beers in Manatee and Sarasota […]
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Juliette is reading at grade level thanks to New Worlds Reading Scholarship Account
BY ROGER MOONEY Juliette Doyon was elated to score a Level 4 on her FAST ELA Reading for Progress Monitoring assessment test this past spring. It was almost two points higher than she scored at the beginning of the year. “I was really, really excited,” said Juliette, who completed the third grade at Valleyview Elementary […]
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Education choice scholarship was 'huge' in Miguel's journey to the top of his class at Notre Dame
BY ROGER MOONEY Miguel Coste delivered the salutatorian invocation in May during graduation at the University of Notre Dame. It was a 2 minute, 49 second prayer that set the tone for the ceremony that capped a commencement weekend that took his family on an emotional roller coaster. “So much joy,” Nordis Del Toro said. […]
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