Learning Spotlights
Get ready to be inspired by innovative ideas and practices in education. Our spotlight shines on groundbreaking innovations that are transforming the way we learn and teach.
Lofty dreams and a PEP scholarship power 12-year-old pilot in training
MELBOURNE, Fla. – When it comes to her son’s education, Denice Santos always thinks about the big picture. “What can we do to merge his goals?” she said. “Education, and then, of course, becoming a pilot.” Her son, William, 12, has wanted to fly airplanes for half his life. He... READ MOREChickens, horses and ed choice scholarships combine for an ideal home education setting
This is what home education looks like to Vivian McCoy: Feeding horses in the morning. Mucking stalls, too. Doing the same in the late afternoon, plus whatever else needs to...
READ MOREPEP students flock to Sarasota’s Fab Lab, where STEAM learning is fueled by their imagination
SARASOTA, Fla. – Duct taped to the wall of Eliah Hillebrand’s bedroom, next to the light switch, is the engine from one of his remote-controlled cars. Attached to that is...
READ MOREWith the help of a private school scholarship, Duke is ‘ready for the bigger world’
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Gedontae “Duke” Rich never considered himself Ivy League material until, as a high school junior, he was approached by a football coach from Princeton University who offered a...
READ MOREOf Funyuns, Skinny Pop, and iced tea: How Jack brought healthy snacks to his school
TAMPA, Fla. – It was July 2024, and Jack Canterbury celebrated a birthday. His 14th. That led to a question he had been waiting a while to ask his mother....
READ MOREPrivate school scholarships allowed the Roland family to meet the academic needs of their children
Markala was Marlena and John Roland’s first child, and there were more on the way – four more, in all. And Markala was 5, so the Roland children were going to reach school age in quick succession....
READ MOREThis kid can do things: The Caleb Prewitt Story
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – David Prewitt was worried. His wife, Karen, wasn’t. “He can do it,” she said. Their son Caleb, 13 at the time, was participating in his first open-water...
READ MOREFrom Snowed in to Sunny Side: Joseph’s journey to self-enrichment
TITUSVILLE, Florida – Coach Mustard did it. Not the deed that formed the plot of the Temple Christian School’s production of “Get a Clue.” That might have been Scarlett Starr....
READ MOREA Montessori microschool for deaf students – and a sign of things to come
CLEARWATER, Fla. – More than 20 years ago, Julie Rutenberg and Colette Derks harnessed some of the first private school choice programs in America to create a bespoke little school...
READ MOREFor this former public school educator, starting a microschool was a dream come true
SARASOTA, Fla. – Alison Rini thought her destiny was to be the principal at a traditional public school. She had been the principal at a charter school, the assistant...
READ MOREThe sky is the limit: How an ed choice scholarship turned Aaliyah into a straight-A student
DeLAND, Fla.– A black sweater, white shirt, and a red tie lay on Aaliyah Tape’s bed when she returned home from a summer vacation spent with family. She knew what...
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