Gardiner Scholarship

This education savings account provides personalized learning for students with unique abilities

Lisa Buie July 2, 2020

Lisa Buie

Katie Swingle, mother of a child with autism, spoke before the Florida Senate Education Appropriations Committee in March 2015, imploring lawmakers to expand education choice options for children with special needs.

Mason Noya, 7, has learned to write his name. Cole Rous, 16, has learned to ride a bike. And Gregory Swingle, 12, has learned the socials skills he needed to develop friendships.

All three are children with autism, yet each has different abilities and needs. All three have benefited from a scholarship created by the Florida Legislature in 2014 to help families of children with certain special needs personalize their child’s education by directing money toward a combination of programs and approved providers.

The Gardiner Scholarship, named to honor former Senate President Andy Gardner, who led the legislative charge to create the program in 2014, has been life changing for parents like Nancy Noya. Her son Mason, who has seizures and developmental delays, has received the scholarship since he was 3. The money has allowed Mason to attend Our Lady of Charity Private School in Hialeah, but it also has provided Mason with an iPad, pencils, and other school supplies.

Mason struggled to communicate before he started school, Noya said. Now, in addition to being able to write his name, he’s begun talking to more people.

Mason’s behavioral, speech and occupational therapies are covered by the family’s health insurance, but she recognizes that not every family is so fortunate.

“Sometimes parents don’t have the money for therapy or they don’t have the insurance that will help them pay for those therapies,” Noya said, adding that she’s grateful Mason’s Gardiner Scholarship would pay for those therapies if the need were to arise.

Seeing the need to provide Gardiner Scholarships to more students, the Florida Legislature in 2019 appropriated an additional $23 million for the program, pushing funding to $147.9 million and making it possible for more than 13,000 students to receive the scholarship this past school year. This year, lawmakers added another $42 million in the state budget to serve more students who were eligible but unable to access the program because of the lack of available funds.

Before learning about the Gardiner Scholarship, Eileen Rous struggled to find a good fit for her son Cole. When she decided to homeschool Cole from their Sarasota home, the scholarship made it possible for her to buy curriculum, a subscription to an online learning program called ABC Mouse and a dry erase board, which Cole, now 16, uses “non-stop.”

She also was able to purchase sensory swings, a jumping board, and a weighted blanket to calm his anxiety. But one of her best purchases was a recumbent tricycle that Cole uses to ride around the block.

Many of the items were available through MyScholarShop, an online store that allows one-stop shopping and features pre-approved items sold by vetted vendors who partner with the program.

“I really like the flexibility,” said Rous, whose 14-year-old daughter Emily also is a Gardiner Scholarship student.

The Gardiner Scholarship has been a lifeline for Katie Swingle’s son Gregory. In addition to allowing him to attend a private school that best fits his needs, St. Joseph Catholic School in Winter Haven, it has enabled him to learn how to relate to others.

The education savings account covers his group social therapy sessions, which have taught him about the give and take of conversation and relationships through social events such as pizza potlucks.

“This group has been of huge benefit to Gregory,” Swingle said. “Not only does he consider his group his friends; more importantly, they consider him their friend. His social impairments really are starting to improve, and he is recognizing them for himself instead of parents or teachers having to point them out.”

The Gardiner Scholarship’s flexibility makes it possible for Gregory, 12, to receive the therapies that will help him function more independently in society as he becomes an adult.

“Not every child on the autism spectrum needs this type of therapy,” Swingle said. “He did. Instead of just a tuition voucher for a school, the money is being better utilized on a particular psychological service my son needs to be successful and fulfilled in his life.”

For all these families, she said, the flexibility allows for better outcomes, meaning everyone wins.

July 2, 2020 0 comment

Education and Public Policy Education Choice Education Legislation Featured Funding Gardiner Scholarship News Reading Scholarship

Funding for Gardiner, Reading scholarships remains intact in 2020-21 state budget

Lisa Buie June 29, 2020

Lisa Buie

More than 600 parents, educators and students rallied at the state Capitol in January asking for an expansion to the Gardiner Scholarship program.

A $42 million increase to the Gardiner Scholarship program for students with unique abilities has been spared in a state budget totaling $92.2 billion, despite a more than $1 billion spending veto.

Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier today signed the state budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year that in addition to the Gardiner expansion, which brings the total amount allocated to the program to $189.9 million, includes $7.6 million for the Reading Scholarship Account program. That program is open to public school students in grades 3-5 who experience reading difficulty.

Both programs are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.

In a year that DeSantis vowed to make “the year of the teacher,” the budget includes $500 million to raise the minimum salary for public K-12 teachers. The budget also includes per-student public school funding of $7,793, an increase over current year spending by $137 for each student.

The governor signed the budget more than five months after 600 parents, educators and students converged on the Capitol for a rally to express their appreciation for the Gardiner program and to ask for extra financial support so that more families could participate.

The scholarship currently serves more than 13,000 students, but about 3,500 have been waiting for additional funding.

Gardiner differs from other state scholarships in that it allows parents to personalize their child’s education by directing money toward a combination of programs and approved providers. Approved expenses include tuition, therapy, curriculum, technology and a college savings account. Unspent money can roll over from year to year.

Gardiner Scholarship amounts vary according to grade and county. The average amount for most students in the 2019-20 school year was $10,400.

The Reading Scholarship Account, created in 2018, offers parents access to education savings accounts worth $500 each to pay for tuition and fees related to part-time tutoring, summer and after-school literacy programs, instructional materials and curriculum related to reading or literacy.

The new budget takes effect Wednesday.

June 29, 2020 0 comment

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Featured Gardiner Scholarship News Private Schools School Choice Special Needs Education

Pandemic forces closure of Florida private school for students with autism

Ron Matus June 10, 2020

Ron Matus

The Paragon School in Orlando focused on developing individualized academic plans for its students, establishing social skills, and building self-confidence.

Correction: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the number of Gardiner Scholarship students who attended the school in the 2019-20 school year. The number used in the original post, 106, was the sum total of annual scholarships used at the school.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of another private school, a highly regarded Central Florida school that served students on the autism spectrum.

The Paragon School in Orlando announced its shutdown Tuesday, becoming the second school in Florida to fold in the wake of Covid-19 and one of more than 50 across the country.

“We are a school community that has been uniquely impacted by the pandemic, which has had a major effect on our enrollment and fundraising capabilities,” said the notice posted on the school’s web site. “We are now faced with the reality of being unable to create a workable budget with adequate staffing that will allow us to operate for the full 2020-2021 school year.”

“This was not a course of action that we came to lightly,” the statement continued. “We are aware of the important role that Paragon has played in the lives of our students and parents and we remain committed to helping support everyone in their search for the best educational setting for their child.”

The closing underscores the plight of private schools nationwide as enrollment drops, philanthropy dries up and uncertainty clouds what “school” will be in the fall. The recession is stripping away private school parents who can no longer afford tuition and/or no longer feel they’re getting the same sense of identity and community at schools that are now mostly or entirely online.

It’s unclear how many private schools may be vulnerable to closure, but thousands disappeared during the Great Recession. Last month, the National Catholic Education Association predicted more than 100 Catholic schools would shut down in coming months. In Florida, 58 percent of private schools responding to a survey from Step Up For Students said they worried about their viability in the fall. (Step Up is the nonprofit scholarship funding organization that hosts this blog.)

The Paragon School served students in K-12, including 20 last year who used Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs. (The program is administered by Step Up.) It was founded by a couple who could not find a public or private school that they felt could serve their son with both strong academics and strong programs in behavior intervention and social development.

News of Paragon’s closing brought a flood of emotional comments to its Facebook page.

“We are extremely saddened by this news,” one parent wrote. “As parents we were hit with that awful fear of the ‘unknown’ all while losing a part of the family. Paragon is our family.”

“For years Paragon has been a beacon of hope for families. A North Star guiding us to a place of comfort and peace,” wrote another. “As a Christian it is my belief that we will all reap what we sow in this life. How mighty will be the bounty for every single person involved in the incredible miracle that has been Paragon.”

So far, no meaningful government relief has been targeted to private schools beyond the forgivable, short-term PPP loans that were made available to small businesses and nonprofits. A coalition of private school and school choice organizations made a pitch last month for several potential remedies, including emergency tuition tax credits.

With another relief package potentially coming in July, stay tuned.

June 10, 2020 0 comment

Catholic Schools Coronavirus / COVID-19 Education Choice Family Empowerment Scholarship Featured Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Gardiner Scholarship News Religious Education School Choice

Catholic school closure an SOS for private schools in pandemic

Ron Matus May 26, 2020

Ron Matus

St. Joseph Academy families have launched an effort to save the school, where 78 of 162 K-8 students participated in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship or Family Empowerment Scholarship programs for lower-income students.

An 82-year-old Catholic school in Florida has abruptly announced its closure, another telling sign that COVID-19 is eroding the financial ground beneath private schools.

At the beginning of the school year, the Catholic Diocese of Orlando had been discussing the possibility of revamping the St. Joseph Academy in Lakeland, Florida, a half-hour east of Tampa. But in a letter to parents Friday, the Very Rev. Timothy LaBo, pastor of St. Joseph Church, said the financial devastation wrought by the pandemic quickly led to a “serious impact on our re-enrollment numbers.”

“What we could not have imagined was the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect upon our world in such a short time,” LaBo wrote in the letter obtained by Lakeland Now.

The closure of the K-8 school shocked St. Joseph parents, who immediately launched an effort to save the school. But it’s not a surprise to those watching private schools across America struggle as parents lose jobs, businesses close and charitable contributions evaporate.

A survey by Step Up For Students, the nonprofit scholarship funding organization that hosts this blog, found 73 percent of Florida private schools said they are experiencing declines in re-enrollment last year, and 58 percent said they’re worried about their viability for the coming school year. The research and advocacy group EdChoice got similar results when it surveyed private schools nationwide last month. More than 20 million Americans lost their jobs in April, including 893,000 in Florida.

The Sunshine State has one of the biggest private school sectors in the country, and some of the nation’s biggest school choice programs. But those programs are primarily for lower-income students and students with special needs. It remains to be seen how much they will help private schools trying to retain working-class and middle-class parents who may be forced, in coming months, to make agonizing decisions about their children’s educations.

Seventy-eight of St. Joseph Academy’s 162 K-8 students used the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship or Family Empowerment Scholarship for lower-income students, while 26 used the Gardiner Scholarship or McKay Scholarship for students with special needs. (The FTC, FES and Gardiner programs are administered by nonprofits like Step Up.)

To date, the most meaningful government relief for private schools has come from the Paycheck Protection Program, which offer a two-month respite for small businesses and nonprofits. Other federal relief streams for education are aimed primarily at public schools, and attempts to steer a more equitable share to private schools has met with relentless pushback.

Other potential remedies, including the possibility of temporary tuition tax credits, have so far generated little debate. Likewise for the potential negative impacts on public schools, which will likely have to absorb former private school students in the face of massive financial and logistical challenges.

May 26, 2020 2 comments

Catholic Schools Coronavirus / COVID-19 Education Choice Education Equity Featured Gardiner Scholarship News School Choice Special Needs Education Virtual Education

Students with special needs miss traditions but not therapies at Florida Catholic schools

Lisa Buie May 22, 2020

Lisa Buie

Students at Morning Star Catholic School in Jacksonville pose with their therapy dog, Nova, prior to the coronavirus shutdown.

As COVID-19 sent brick-and-mortar education into a tailspin this spring, students at one North Florida school realized what they missed most was a creature with four legs and a wet nose.

That’s why staff at Morning Star Catholic School in Jacksonville featured Nova, a golden retriever who likes to lean into humans’ legs while being petted, in a video created to help families feel connected during distance learning.

Trained by Project Chance to help students on the autism spectrum, Nova and another service dog, Corbin, have coaxed anxious students out of cars, lunched with students who met behavior goals and served as an audience to beginning readers to build their confidence.

Graduating seniors had a chance to hug Nova goodbye when they came to the school one at a time for cap and gown photos.

“They miss her terribly, and she misses them terribly, too,” said principal Jean Barnes.

The school, one of six Morning Star Catholic schools in Florida that specialize in teaching students with special needs, serves 138 children with learning differences, including 20 who receive Gardiner Scholarships for students with unique abilities. (Gardiner Scholarships are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.)

Despite missing out on the usual end-of-year activities, students at other Catholic schools that serve children with learning differences haven’t been deprived of therapies and services traditionally provided.

Fourteen-year-old Hannah Halperin, in her third year at St. Mary Academy in Sarasota, is continuing to receive weekly speech therapy as well as occupational therapy remotely.

“I’m getting to hear her speech therapy, and I can tell it’s very good,” said her father, Gary Halperin.

Occupational therapy has proved a bit more challenging because it relies on hands-on activities. Still, Hannah, who has Down syndrome, was able to take therapy supplies home before the campus shut down in March. Therapists are encouraging her to squeeze a tennis ball and do floor exercises to maintain muscle tone. She also works on fine motor skills by writing and picking up toothpicks, and she attends group therapy sessions via Google Meet.

“They use computers at school, so that made the transition easier,” Halperin said.

St. Mary serves 74 students in grades K-8, nearly a third of whom receive a state scholarship. According to the school website, it’s the only Catholic school providing services for students with special needs in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry and Highlands counties. Its slogan is “Where Dreams Are Free.”

In addition to live Zoom classes, teachers are holding “office hours” for student questions, scheduling small group sessions for interventions and conducting assessments.

“Our school counselor meets with me once a week to discuss students’ needs (and) both my counselor and I attend meetings with teachers once a week to identify students at risk,” principal Rebecca Reynolds said. “A plan is then made for follow-up interventions and care.”

At Morning Star Catholic School in Orlando, specialists have created service plans for each student based on their individual education plans, which are required by law for qualified students. The plans also are based on current assessments, teacher observations and therapists’ recommendations.

“All the teachers have been using these to help individualize instruction for their students and allow any accommodations or flexibility needed to reach their goals and the mastery of the skills being taught,” said principal Alicia Abbey.

Of the school’s 66 students in grades K-12, 20 percent receive Gardiner Scholarships.

Other ways students are being accommodated include allowing extended time to complete assignments, holding small group instruction via Zoom videoconferencing for reading and math, and one-on-one instruction, with parents present for safety protocol.

Additionally, a guidance counselor has reached out to families to let them know they’re available if needed, and the school’s transition program for students moving from high school to life after school has remained in place.

Abbey said the school has continued to provide speech, language and music therapy as well as occupational and physical therapy through a virtual program.

“Some students have even been able to continue to see their behavior therapist at home,” she said. “It depends on both the comfort level of the therapist and family, as well as their availability.”

May 22, 2020 0 comment

Catholic Schools Coronavirus / COVID-19 Education Choice Featured Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Gardiner Scholarship News Private Schools School Choice Virtual Education

Art smart teachers help students learn and heal during social distancing

Lisa Buie April 29, 2020

Lisa Buie

Students in Jeanine Newcomb’s art class at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Pinellas Park, Fla., work with materials found in their yard for their online art lessons.

When the threat of COVID-19 forced schools to close their campuses in March and pivot almost overnight to distance learning, many found the challenge of moving English, math and science online daunting enough.

But what about subjects generally perceived as “enrichment” – the ones that don’t always rely on textbooks or set-in-stone lesson plans, like art?

Schoolhouse Preparatory in Miami, which serves students with learning differences and those who are at risk of not completing high school, encouraged students to take their art projects home with them when they collected their books and other materials. For the past few weeks, they’ve been working on those projects with virtual assistance from art teacher Elizabeth Baez.

Principal Jillian Tamayo De Villiers decided this was the best plan because she was unsure if the school’s 70 students would have access to art supplies in isolation. Nearly half attend the school on Florida Tax Credit Scholarships for lower-income families or Gardiner Scholarships for students with unique abilities.

Both programs are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.

Jeanine Newcomb, who teaches art at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Pinellas Park, took a different route: She challenged her students to search their back yards for materials they could use to create mandalas and other one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

“I thought a ‘found objects’ assignment would be perfect, given I am not sure as to the limits of student art supplies,” said Newcomb, who drew inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy, a British artist known for using materials found in nature such as sticks, stones and flower petals in his landscape art. “The virtual method was new for all of us, so I wanted to keep it as simple and direct as possible on this first go-round.”

Newcomb encourages her students to upload images of their works in progress as well as their finished pieces and to write and share a short reflection on their experience.

“Some of the submissions brought me to tears – they were thoughtful, visually fascinating, and the written commentaries showed insight and new respect for the term ‘art’, said Newcomb, a veteran art educator who teaches all of the school’s 262 students, 172 of whom receive a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.

Like Newcomb, art teachers throughout the state are exploring creative ways to touch their students’ lives beyond the defined walls of a brick-and-mortar classroom. Sarah Miller, who teaches art at Classical Preparatory, a charter school about 30 miles north of Tampa, has begun posting videos of herself making art and is encouraging her students to post their work as well.

“We can create the traditional way with paper, canvas, paint, pencils, or we can create on a digital platform,” Miller said. “We can virtually tour museums on the other side of the world without leaving our home.”

Rather than feeling restricted, Miller sees this time of social distancing as an opportunity.

“I want our virtual classroom to be an oasis where the students can talk freely with one another and myself and feel comfortable to post their work,” she said.

Students at Dixon School of Arts and Sciences in Pensacola create art as a way to de-stress during social distancing.

Miller isn’t alone in her belief that art can be a unifying force in uncertain times. Donna Curry, executive director of Dixon School of Arts and Sciences in Pensacola, launched a special therapy program to help students deal with the added stress that can come with isolation.

The school, whose mission is to provide creative experiences to students focusing on the arts and sciences, sent home kits with art supplies and links to online lesson plans. Curry regularly puts extra art supplies on the buses that distribute food to her families, most of whom take advantage of state scholarships.

She plans to begin holding twice-weekly online meetings for students to share their artwork and relate successes and challenges.

“Doing so releases some of the burden to make room for healing,” Curry said.

April 29, 2020 0 comment

Education and Public Policy Education Choice Featured Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Gardiner Scholarship Hope Scholarship News Reading Scholarship School Choice

Auditor General releases annual review of Florida scholarship programs

Jon East April 24, 2020

Jon East

In its fifth annual audit of Step Up For Students, the state’s largest nonprofit scholarship funding organization, the Florida Auditor General today issued what amounted to a clean bill of health.

The report included findings on data procedures and scholarship purchase returns, both of which have been fixed by the organization, while more broadly concluding: “Our audit procedures and tests of selected Step Up records and accounts found that Step Up generally complied with the applicable provisions of State law.”

The audit covered Step Up’s administration of four state-authorized scholarships in 2018-19: the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for K-12 students from low-income and working-class households; Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs; Hope Scholarships for students who have been bullied in public schools; and Reading Scholarship Accounts that provide help for elementary public school students who are struggling in reading. Collectively, the programs served about 116,000 students that year.

The first finding related to Social Security numbers. The auditor said Step Up was not fully notifying Tax Credit Scholarship applicants of the purpose and authorization for collecting student Social Security numbers. It also questioned whether Step Up was sufficiently restricting internal computer access to such numbers. The organization responded by adding a new notice to all families when the 2020-21 scholarship application season opened in January. It also embarked on a review of database permissions for every staffer, limiting access to Social Security numbers to only those whose job required it, and creating a new process for constant review.

The second finding was with the Gardiner Scholarship, which allows students to spend money on a variety of educational needs beyond just tuition and fees. The report said Step Up was sometimes failing its own policy of posting a timely credit to each student’s account when a household returned a purchase made through authorized online vendors. The audit found 22 returned purchases worth a total of $16,327 that were not credited back within Step Up’s 14-day guideline. By way of comparison, that same year, 2018-19, Gardiner students spent a total of $21.9 million on instructional materials. Step Up reported the problem was remedied with automation.

In his formal response, Step Up president Doug Tuthill thanked auditors for their professionalism and wrote that: “We value the insights and recommendations that contribute to process improvements that strengthen our organization.”

Step Up For Students hosts this blog.

April 24, 2020 0 comment

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Education Choice Featured Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Gardiner Scholarship News Private Schools School Choice

Private schools in line, again, for a little more federal relief

Ron Matus April 23, 2020

Ron Matus

La Progresiva Presbyterian School in Miami has grown from 162 students to 700 during Melissa Rego’s tenure as principal. The school in working-class Little Havana has applied for a $450,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan and awaiting approval. Photo: 2018

Private schools across America will get another quick shot at short-term financial help, thanks to a new pandemic relief package that will funnel an additional $310 billion in forgivable loans to hundreds of thousands of small businesses and nonprofits.

The key piece for private schools, which appear unlikely to get much relief from other federal emergency measures, is more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.

The original PPP appropriation of $349 million dried up 13 days after banks began processing an avalanche of applications, leaving nearly one million small businesses and nonprofits, including private schools, in limbo. The second round of relief is expected to be doled out even faster, but it’s still a ray of hope for private schools facing dire straits.

“The small mom-and-pops are the ones that really need this,” said Ailynn Hernandez, director of Miami’s La Progresiva Presbyterian School, which applied for a $450,000 PPP loan but is still awaiting approval.

The school in working-class Little Havana serves 700 students in PreK-12, with nearly all in K-12 using the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for low-income students. (The program is administered by nonprofits such as Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.) Steady enrollment growth led La Progresiva to begin construction on a new classroom building three months ago. But now, most of the funding for 80 pre-school students is gone, and it’s likely enrollment will dip as parents lose jobs and families move.

“A lot of our parents work in the hospitality industry … and they’re really going to get hurt,” Hernandez said.

In Gainesville, Fla., St. Patrick Interparish School serves 420 students in K-8. But due to economic uncertainty, 70 have yet to re-register for next year, said principal Frank Mackritis. Twenty of 60 employees have been furloughed, he said, so if the school gets a PPP loan, it can keep them paid another eight weeks.

“I pray for our employees that this funding is made available,” Mackritis wrote in an email. “Many of our single employees have had to move back in with their parents and others simply can’t make ends meet.”

The PPP loan is available to small businesses and nonprofits, with the loan amount limited to 250 percent of an employer’s average monthly payroll. The money is primarily for salaries, with up to 25 percent for rent, utilities and mortgage interest. If the business or nonprofit maintains its payroll for eight weeks, the loan is forgiven.

The second round of PPP funding includes changes designed to better ensure the money reaches its intended targets, and not bigger businesses that found ways to access the initial pot.

Private schools may still get some help from other pieces of federal relief.

The $2 trillion CARES Act directs $13.2 billion to states for K-12 schools, with another $2.95 billion to governors via block grants. It remains to be seen how much will trickle down to private schools and private school students, even with interesting possibilities being floated.

Florida’s share of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund is $173.6 million. Its share of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education, will top $770 million.

The state has one of the biggest private school sectors in America, with nearly 2,700 schools serving 335,000 students in K-12. About 120,000 of those students use choice scholarships for lower-income students; more than 40,000 use choice scholarships for students with special needs. Details have yet to emerge on how the education relief funds may help students in any sector, but Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said during Wednesday’s meeting of the Re-open Florida Task Force that ensuring every student can access online learning was a priority. “We want the safety net built out completely,” Corcoran said, according to Politico Florida.

In the meantime, awareness is growing that private schools in Florida and beyond are facing “unprecedented crises.” And that hard times for private schools will spill over to public schools (see here, here, here, and here.)

Against that backdrop, anxious private schools are grateful for any help that can keep their communities intact.

Mercy Nyman, founder and principal of The Key to Learning school in the Central Florida city of Clermont, said 89 percent of her 165 students use choice scholarships, including 59 who use the Gardiner Scholarship for students with special needs. But many of their parents work in the decimated tourism industry, she said, and can’t continue paying the gap between scholarship and tuition.

Nyman said she got “scared and emotional” this week thinking the end might be coming for her school. But thanks to a just-approved $145,000 PPP loan, she said she can, for now, continue paying all 29 employees, including teaching assistants, paraprofessionals, housekeeping staff and office staff.

“The PPP coming in helped me be able to dispel the scary thoughts,” she said.

April 23, 2020 0 comment