Sparking the evolution of education choice
Nearly $2.5 million in Reading Scholarships were awarded to 4,961 Florida students during the 2020-21 school year according to a report prepared by the state-approved scholarship funding organization that helps administer the scholarship. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, disclosed that families spent about 82%, or $1.5 million,[Read More…]
The 2022 Florida legislative session drew to a close Monday with lawmakers passing a record $112.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. Many education-related items were included in bills tied to the budget, including changes related to state school choice scholarship programs: Removal of the[Read More…]
Editor’s note: This feature appeared recently on Step Up For Students’ marketing blog. Lindsey Pawlishen was so confident she would pass her love of reading to her daughter that she asked for and received children’s books instead of traditional gifts at the baby shower. She began reading to Samantha when[Read More…]
Since they were babies, Darnell Taylor’s identical twin daughters, Janae, and Sasha, have loved books. First, picture books, then chapter books. Now, the 12-year-olds are finding novels on BookTok, the bookish community on TikTok, where people post videos recommending books, make pithy observations about reading, and share their love of[Read More…]
In this charter school, Black families find understanding, trust JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dorian Smith wanted a more academically challenging environment for his daughter, D’Yani, so after third grade he moved her from her struggling neighborhood school to a magnet school. Because of staff churn, though, that school[Read More…]
When Laura Negroni needed help boosting her daughter Natalia’s state reading test scores a few years ago, she turned to the Florida Reading Scholarship Account, which provided her with $500 she could spend on devices and tutoring services. (The Reading Scholarship Account program is administered by Step Up For Students,[Read More…]
Help is on the way for struggling young readers in the Pelican State, thanks to some inspiration from the Sunshine State. Lawmakers in Louisiana recently approved HB 85, which established a statewide reading scholarship program named for the late state Rep. Steve Carter, a former Louisiana House education chairman who[Read More…]
One Florida school is hosting a summer camp that will include reading, math and Bible class. Another is incorporating sports and drama into its offerings. A nonprofit organization will use the arts to help students with reading skills. Meanwhile, field trips, which practically were non-existent during the past school year,[Read More…]