DANIA BEACH, Fla. – While millions of American students sat in rows of desks under fluorescent lights, 40 kids in Take Root Forest School began their day in a state park on the edge of the Atlantic.

Their classroom: Tan sand. Blue water. Sea breeze rustling through cabbage palms. Over the next few hours, the students ages 6 to 12 climbed sea grape, hunted millipedes and, with their bellies on the beach, did their best impression of nesting sea turtles heading back to the surf.

Did your day start off that well?

When you learn outdoors, “you develop an appreciation for where you are,” said Take Root Forest School co-founder Christy Schultz. “You learn the plants. You learn the animals. You learn the subtleties.”

The students “grow to be stewards of where they live,” Schultz continued. “They respect where they live. They know the history. They become more aware of their surroundings, and of other people.”

This way of learning, she said, “transforms people.”

Take Root Forest School would be a sweet story even if it were as rare as a pond apple in what’s left of wild Florida. But as it happens, this humble homeschool enrichment program represents multiple education trends budding at once.

Take Root is a prime example of the growth in outdoor learning and forest schools. It’s a testament to the spike in homeschooling. And it’s another vibrant example of the kinds of nontraditional education providers that are emerging as parental choice re-shapes the landscape.

It also happens to be taking root in Broward and Miami-Dade counties in the shadow of two of the biggest school districts in America, along with a fascinating list of other home-grown innovators like this one and this one and this one.

(For what it’s worth, no big urban district in Florida has seen a bigger jump in homeschooling than Broward; it had 10,412 home schoolers in 2021-22, up 151% over five years.)

For the (Barbados) cherry on top, Take Root’s founders also happen to be former public school teachers, a growing force in education entrepreneurship, especially in choice-rich states like Florida.

“Providing a sense of community was really important to me, but (in a traditional classroom) it was difficult to truly connect,” said Take Root’s other co-founder, Emily Feldman, who taught in public schools for seven years. “I felt disconnected from the students because my time was spent doing other things like grading or testing. I was limited in providing for the child’s individual needs.”

“I left thinking I’d never go back,” Feldman said.

But in a way, Feldman did go back.

On her terms.

She and Schultz both founded their own homeschool enrichment programs before joining forces to create Take Root in 2020. Their enrollment has more than doubled since then, and they now serve about 80 students, with an operation that includes eight teachers.

Their timing turned out to be perfect.

“When Covid hit, we blew up,” Feldman said.

Families wanted their kids to have the social interactions that were stymied by social distancing. Playing and learning outside turned out to be the short-term remedy and, for many families new to homeschooling, a pleasant eye opener about longer-term solutions.

Take Root students routinely meet in local nature parks, like the one where the kids were mimicking sea turtles. They also take more immersive trips to places such as Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.

The teachers combine math, science, reading and other traditional subjects with hands-on, place-based activities. The school incorporates elements from Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia learning systems. And it makes no bones about its environmentalist bent.

Its mission, its website says, is to “provide outdoor learning experiences that inspire the curious mind, instill love and appreciation for nature, and nurture positive and holistic living.”

The result is about more than academics, narrowly defined.

“The students gain confidence,” said Shultz, who taught outdoor education for the state park system in California. “They also have to learn to play together, to cooperate, to work together.”

Jessica Goldman-Ortiz has two children at Take Root: Marco, 9, and Analia, 6.

A former public school teacher, Goldman-Ortiz wanted something different than a traditional school for her children, especially Marco, who was a bit reserved. So, five years ago, she enrolled Marco in Feldman’s program. It was the only pre-school she could find that would allow her to stay with her son until he was comfortable on his own.

Then, once Marco reached that stage, the school was good with him sitting under a nearby tree until he was comfortable enough to join his classmates. It took a few months, but Marco eventually did just that.

“He was given the space and time he needed,” Goldman-Ortiz said. “They’re respectful of the child.”

Parents have the option of sending their kids to Take Root either two or three days a week. A handful pay for academic services affiliated with Take Root using state-funded education savings accounts (ESAs).

Unlike traditional school choice scholarships, which are limited to private school tuition, ESAs can be used for tuition, therapies, tutoring, curriculum, and a wide range of other state-approved uses. Arizona recently made ESAs available to all families, and West Virginia’s new ESA is nearly as expansive. In Florida, they’re limited to students with special needs.

Many Take Root families would qualify for the state’s income-based scholarships (which along with the ESAs are administered by nonprofits like Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog). But those scholarships don’t currently have the flexibility to be used for anything except private school tuition.

If more families could access ESAs, providers like Take Root would become even more popular. Along the way, ESAs would narrow access gaps to educational enrichment that are increasingly drawing attention, as highlighted by this new report from Tyton Partners.

Carolina Graciano said she chose Take Root because traditional schools are not a good fit for her child.

Luciana, 6, was born with a rare genetic disorder called 13q deletion syndrome, which has resulted in some developmental delays. She would have been too isolated in a self-contained special education classroom, Graciano said, but too far behind in an inclusive setting with a traditional focus on academics. Take Root had the balance Graciano wanted.

“When I take her in and drop her off, she says, ‘Okay! Bye!’” said Graciano, a stay-at-home mom whose husband juggles construction work and Uber Eats. “She is happy, and I know that she is learning.”

Beth Arnold said her son, Finnegan, 9, would not have been a good fit with traditional schools, either.

Finnegan is too fidgety for a typical classroom but thrives in environments where he is free to move. At one point, Arnold, a professional writer, enrolled him in a homeschool program that was focused on classical education.

Finnegan wasn’t a fan. But Take Root turned out to be to his liking. Among other upsides, the school frequently meets on the grounds of a historic home that has been converted into a museum. Exotic gardens and a wild monkey are part of the mix.

“It’s magical,” Arnold said.

When she was considering the best options for her son, Arnold said she asked herself: “Do I want him to have a childhood that he loves? Or do I want to prepare him for an Ivy League education?”

“I decided I wanted him to have a childhood that he loves.”

Editor’s note: This commentary from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, founder and chairman of ExcelinEd and ExcelinEd in Action, appeared last week on wsj.com.

While much of the U.S. has returned to normal after the pandemic, the long-term academic harm to students endures.

This school year is the first time many public-school students returned to in-person learning without mask requirements or learning disruptions. That’s nearly 2½ years since the beginning of the pandemic. For younger children, that’s 25% or more of their lives so far.

Since March 2020, we’ve seen the largest learning loss in modern history. This catastrophe wasn’t inevitable. But what began as school closings in response to COVID-19 morphed into an intentional effort by teachers unions to block the schoolhouse door. On Monday, the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress scores will be released, and they are likely to be appalling.

(Editor’s note: You can read about the results here.)

This congressionally authorized 50-state analysis, officially styled the Nation’s Report Card, will show exactly how much U.S. students have fallen behind. Last month, the NAEP long-term trend assessment was released. That report found that between 2020 and 2022, average reading scores for 9-year-olds declined 5 points, nearly half a grade level, and math scores dropped 7 points, more than half a grade level. This is the greatest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics.

The U.S. has a choice: Give up on a generation or confront this challenge head-on.

Some adults find it easier to give up. They won’t say it out loud; they’ll simply lower expectations. Or, they’ll explain away the drop in scores, blaming the pandemic when scores had already begun to decline before Covid hit. Rather than raise the bar, they’ll dodge accountability, allowing today’s low math and reading scores to become tomorrow’s ceiling.

That is unacceptable.

We can move forward rather than back. Doing so is a priority if the U.S. is to be a competitive nation in a competitive world. It also is a human necessity, as every student has God-given potential and deserves a great education.

The solutions are simple. There are math and reading policies every state should immediately enact and there are ways parents can contribute. Start with a call to all parents, guardians, and families—those who know their children best. You were called on to step up when Covid kept kids at home. Now you are needed again to help close those learning gaps.

Any trusted adult in a child’s life—parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, whoever—should lean into this moment. Help students recover lost learning by reading for 20 minutes a day. That can be a parent reading to a child, a child reading to a parent or children reading to themselves. In addition, research has found that 30 minutes a week of extra math work can help students who are struggling or behind. If you aren’t up to writing math equations for your kids, seek out free, high-quality online math tools.

Lawmakers must step up, too. One way to help parents is eliminating the barriers students face in accessing a better education. This year, Arizona became a national model by creating a universal education savings account program with flexible, portable and customizable funding. That kind of legislation is transformative for student learning.

Early literacy is the foundation for long-term reading success. To ensure every child can read by the third grade and be ready to succeed in life, policy makers must ensure that all educators are trained in phonics and the science of reading—an evidence-based approach to teach the understanding of sounds, decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. This may require changing teacher-prep programs in colleges of education as well as installing literacy coaches in every elementary and middle school.

Literacy practices and curricula that fail to teach students how to decode words should be banned. Teaching models that include the “3-cueing” approach, which asks students to look at pictures and guess instead of sounding out words, should be scrapped. It’s a failed approach.

Every state should require that students be screened in reading three times a year in grades K-3 and offer assistance to those struggling to learn to read. These critical years are too often ignored until it’s too late to catch up.

The same is true for math instruction. States should ensure that students have access to trained, effective math teachers. That may mean not all elementary teachers should teach math, only those who specialize in it.

Students graduating from high school should have mastered at least Algebra I. Curriculum should have high-quality content focused on procedural and conceptual problem-solving skills and knowledge of whole numbers, fractions and geometry. Students who are behind need personalized math support, including tutoring two to three times a week.

Overcoming the pandemic-related education crisis is possible. For the next generation, we must abandon failed practices, rally around education excellence, and commit to helping children reach their full potential.

Editor’s note: This first-person essay from New Mexico mother Ashley Guerra was adapted from the American Federation for Children’s Voices for Choice website. You can learn more about Guerra’s family and her education choice journey by listening to a reimaginED podcast at https://nextstepsblog.org/2022/10/podcasted-new-mexico-siblings-enjoy-customized-education-thanks-to-multiple-choice-mom/.

Education has always been a priority in our family. I was raised to value opportunities and work diligently to pursue areas that would allow me to contribute successfully to our community. As I grew up and became a mother, education remained an integral component of my life and a central focus in our family.

But our educational journey was interrupted when I was unexpectedly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during the summer between my son’s kindergarten and first grade years. Because of the aggressive nature of my specific type of leukemia, the intensive treatments would last for years, and we knew we needed to identify a new school model for our son.

We needed an educational environment to help him learn and keep me safe while my treatments continued. We were grateful to discover a new virtual public charter school, Pecos Cyber Academy, and enrolled him in this program.

We discovered this brand-new virtual public charter school that could be attended from anywhere, including our home in New Mexico, from a local public television commercial. The school featured a state-certified and nationally recognized curriculum that gave us access to incredibly talented, knowledgeable, and experienced certified teachers.

We chose this option because we felt confident it would provide our son with an excellent academic experience while ensuring he achieved the academic progress expected of him and his peers. We also were impressed with the flexibility it provided us to work around my treatment requirements and medical appointments.

Our son completed five years at Pecos Cyber Academy. In the years that followed, our daughter attended, and she now is starting her sixth year. Witnessing our children develop areas of specific interest, identify their subject strengths, learn personal accountability, and develop resilience in their learning process has been a true joy.

As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” Each child is unique, their circumstances are distinct, and our education system should empower all to capitalize on their potential.

Providing academic options enables families to select for their children the school that will create the greatest opportunity to learn, grow, and become contributing members of our society. I believe that families should have the opportunity to seek out the best education option for their children and their circumstances.

The power to select your child’s educational structure creates equity in education and competition within the school system. As educational entities evolve through various academic models, school systems will promote even newer education models to their communities.

This will allow families to access a uniquely specific school program, resulting in a relationship of accountability and partnership between the school institution and the family/child. With this model, everyone wins – students, families, teachers, and the community.

We are grateful for this educational option and the positive results we’ve seen in our children’s academic learning, growth, retention, and enjoyment in the learning process.

Editor’s note: This article from Kerry McDonald, an education policy fellow at State Policy Network and senior education fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, appeared last week on forbes.com.

A common criticism regarding microschools, learning pods, unschooling approaches and other non-traditional educational models is that they don’t work well for, or exclude, neurodiverse learners, including those on the autism spectrum or those who have dyslexia, ADHD or other special learning needs.

The reality is that these more personalized learning models can work well for most students, and may be especially valuable for students with learning challenges or special needs.

This has certainly been the experience of Molly and Noah Stephenson of Wichita, Kansas. As parents of neurodiverse children who didn’t fit well into conventional schooling, including school-at-home versions of homeschooling, they discovered early on that providing maximum freedom and autonomy for children often leads to the deepest, happiest and most enduring learning.

Their older daughter, who is now 21, still carries with her the painful memory of a kindergarten year in public school that her mother refers to as a “fantastic disaster.” According to Molly: “We realized at the end of kindergarten that she had dyslexia and our public school system was not well-equipped at that time to help her be successful.

“She felt that she wasn’t smart. It was unacceptable to us to have kids that, just because their brains were different, felt like they were not intelligent. We didn’t want to see the love of learning taken away from our kids.”

The Stephensons took their daughter out of school and began homeschooling her and her younger siblings through a virtual school, with a set curriculum and standard performance expectations. Things got better, but they soon realized that their son was also severely dyslexic and that a rigid curriculum didn’t work for him. “He would run and hide,” Molly said of her son’s aversion to schoolwork.

To continue reading, click here.

Editor’s note: This commentary appeared Thursday on courier-journal.com.

Two major educational events took place over the past week. First, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the lawsuit seeking to block educational choice in Kentucky.

And, the Kentucky Department of Education released standardized test scores for Kentucky public schools from spring 2022. As expected, they reflect a staggering decline in core subjects like reading and math.

Both news events illustrate the urgency for expanding education options in Kentucky.

The issue before the Kentucky Supreme Court is whether the Education Opportunity Account Act is permissible under the state constitution. The EOA Act encourages private donations to nonprofit scholarship programs to help families with educational expenses, ranging from textbooks, technology and tutoring to private school tuition.

Donors who give to the program receive a state tax credit in return for their contribution.

Opponents claim this is the same as spending public dollars on nonpublic schools. But tax credit funded educational choice programs have been on the books for decades in other states.

From the U.S. Supreme Court down to every state supreme court that has heard a similar challenge, no lawsuit seeking to strike down a tax credit funded educational choice program has ever succeeded.

To continue reading, click here.

Editor’s note: This first-person essay from Nevada mother Diana Reyes was adapted from the American Federation for Children’s Voices for Choice website.

I spent many nights crying myself to sleep in frustration at the lack of help my son was receiving at school. So many times, he would come to me with tears in his eyes, saying, “Mom, I am trying my best, but I don’t understand what they are teaching.”

No matter how many tutoring sessions he attended, no matter how many hours he worked, it was the same. His self-esteem dropped and he started isolating from other students.

I pledged that I would find a better path for him, and I did, at a wonderful private school in downtown Las Vegas. I was impressed to learn that Mountain View Christian Schools offer a fully integrated leadership philosophy rooted in the truth of God’s word. Students from preschool through high school are trained in problem solving, teamwork and communication skills.

The only problem was the cost. Once again, I hit a wall. Even if I managed to find a second job, I still wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition. It broke my heart that I couldn’t provide what my son needed – and what children with more affluent parents were enjoying.

Then I heard about a new program that was being approved in our state: the Nevada Opportunity Scholarship Program. Enacted by our state Legislature in 2015, the program mirrors successful tax credit programs in other states such as Florida and Arizona. The Nevada program provides scholarships of up to $8,469 for K-12 private school tuition and fees for families whose household incomes do not exceed 300% of the poverty level.

Put simply, a family of four making less than $83,250 can qualify for this scholarship.

There are five approved scholarship granting organizations in Nevada, which determine when scholarship applications can be submitted. The granting organizations review the applications to determine who will receive the scholarships, which are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to those who qualify.

We were among the lucky ones.

The Opportunity Scholarship became the answer to my prayers and the end to my sleepless nights – and so much more than that. My son’s teacher at Mountain View got him caught up in six months. I noticed he was more confident and happier, building friendships.

He thrived on the school’s Bible-based curriculum, which aligns with state and national standards and is enhanced with yearly assessments. In addition to core classes, my son benefited from enrichment classes in technology, art, physical education, and music.

My son graduated from Mountain View with a commitment to apply Christian values, leadership training and academic excellence to the needs of the world, just like the website promised.

Today, he is attending the University of Las Vegas-Nevada, the first in our family to attend college. I don’t think this would have been possible if he had not had the opportunity to attend a school that matched his needs.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that this school and the Opportunity Scholarship that made attendance possible for my son changed the course of our family’s future.

Editor’s note: This article appeared last week on captimes.com

Wisconsin's Republican candidate for governor, Tim Michels, has named several “top” policy priorities since winning the party's Aug. 9 primary: preventing crime in Milwaukee, creating jobs, “election integrity,” and outlawing perceived critical race theory in schools.

But the top priority the construction executive has provided the most detail about has been his pledge to bring “competition into the education marketplace” and introduce universal school choice in Wisconsin.

“Competition is a great motivator,” Michels told a crowd in Green Bay last month, a standard line from his stump speech. “In our business, if we're not innovating every day, we're losing. … We are going to create competition. We are going to improve education. And we are going to make sure that future generations of Wisconsinites have the skills to be leaders in this state.”

Implementing universal school choice would be a sweeping overhaul of the state’s K-12 education system — a hot-button election issue as the Nov. 8 general election looms.

In a recent Marquette Law School poll, 71% of independent voters said they are “very concerned” about public schools — the highest of any issue surveyed. There was a strong partisan divide on where funding for schools should go, with 46% of Republicans preferring more money for private schools rather than public schools compared to 45% preferring the reverse.

Among Democrats, meanwhile, 93% would choose more money for public schools and just 5% for private schools.

To continue reading, click here.

Editor’s note: Kind Academy in Coral Springs, Florida, is one of 32 innovative programs chosen as semifinalists for the Yass Prize for educational excellence. Seven finalists and a $1 million grand prize winner will be announced in December. You can find a list of winners here.

Iman Alleyne decided to pursue a career in education for the same reasons many people do: her kids.

A pharmacy employee at the time, Alleyne saw education as a rewarding path that would let her help students while allowing her to spend more time with her son. So, she went back to school and earned a master’s degree in school counseling.

The allure of a daytime, Monday through Friday schedule and summers off soon faded when she saw how high stakes standardized testing had changed the profession.

“They really used us as testing coordinators,” Alleyne said. “I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to counsel. That made me sad. I didn’t want to be a testing coordinator. I wanted to counsel and connect with students.”

She noticed that children with special needs were more likely to get in trouble and be referred to guidance counselors, so she got certified in special education so she could work one on one with more kids. Those interactions, along with shrinking recess times and forced silent lunches, opened her eyes. Not liking what she saw, she launched a part-time nature class for moms of toddlers.

Meanwhile, Alleyne’s oldest son hated pre-kindergarten so much that he cried every morning and begged her to let him stay home.

“It was horrible, and it broke my heart every day,” she said. “By the end of the school year, I pulled him out and decided to start homeschooling him.”

That’s the origin story of Kind Academy, a hybrid homeschool and microschool for elementary age students that got its official start in 2016 after a four-year evolution. The name was inspired by the values Alleyne wanted to impart: kindness to self, kindness to others, and kindness to the world.

That’s one of the reasons the school day includes a lot outdoor learning, though the environmental aspect was originally rooted in convenience.

“I had three boys, so it was crazy,” she said. “It was easier to spend a lot of time outside.”

The program quickly grew after other parents found out what Alleyne was doing and asked if their kids could join.

Today, Kind Academy serves 25 students who come for in-person instruction. Options include attendance two, three or five days a week, although most students are part-timers who are homeschooled. The school also offers an online alternative to homeschool parents or those seeking enrichment opportunities for their kids.

The day begins with 10 to 20 minutes of social emotional learning, or SEL – the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success – akin to “circle time.” Then groups of eight to 10 students do individual work at their own pace with help from tutors.

The program is competency-based, with no traditional grades. Instead, students produce portfolios to show they have mastered the material. This method allows student to move ahead in some subjects while taking more time in others.

“We call it Montessori 2.0 or modern Montessori,” Alleyne said, referring to an education model that takes into account the whole child, including physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social ways of being. Students also participate in project-based learning focusing on a weekly theme, such as marine biology, before they head to lunch. After lunch, they spend the afternoon outside, playing and learning.

“We call it more chances for SEL,” said Alleyne, who witnesses plenty of opportunities for learning and problem-solving, skills students will need as adults. She recently noticed some students engaged in a dispute over a game of tag. They asked her to settle it. Instead, Alleyne encouraged them to work it out themselves, which they did.

Another aspect of Kind Academy’s culture is acceptance of all people, a value made clear in a gender-affirming statement on the school’s website. Alleyne said her students are diverse and include some who are transgender and have experienced bullying.

“I have had parents who called me and were crying,” she said. “Those students come in and feel comfortable saying ‘This is who I am.’ These kids feel valued here. It just makes my teacher heart and my parent heart happy.”

Though Kind Academy is a private school, Alleyne works to keep it accessible to all students regardless of income. She said about 50% of her students come from low-income households. She accepts the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities. But only students with certain special needs qualify for it.

Alleyne hopes that Florida legislators will convert the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options to an education savings account model so that more students can have access to  high-quality, innovative programs.

“So many families go to public schools because they can’t afford something like what we do,” she said. “If we could access the (FES-EO scholarship program), it would put our program within reach for so many families who want flexibility and personalized learning. We could really grow.”

Growth is definitely on Alleyne’s agenda. It could come sooner rather than later thanks to her school’s inclusion on a list of 32 semifinalists for the coveted Yass Prize, a $1 million award given to a program judged to offer the nation’s best education that is “sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless.”

Kind and the other semifinalists have been awarded $200,000 grants. Alleyne plans to put her grant toward her goal of opening 100 schools in 10 years. She has her sights set on West Palm Beach and Miami.

“Hopefully, we’ll have seven schools in the next two to three years,” she said.

She also plans to offer training to other “edu-preneurs.” Her goal? To encourage more teachers to exercise the freedom to create their own schools. And to answer a request she receives frequently: Please tell me how you did that.

Longtime education choice advocate and founder and chairman of Step Up For students John Kirtley recently joined Paul E. Peterson, editor of Education Next, on the Education Exchange to discuss how choice programs, including tax credits and charter schools, are serving Florida families.

Here is an excerpt of Kirtley’s remarks.

“We have about 3 million kids, K-12, in Florida, whose educations are paid for by the taxpayers. Roughly half of them do not attend their zoned district school … of that 50 percent, the largest category of choice is, in fact, district-run schools of choice, whether they be magnets, the biggest category, [and] there are some districts with a lot of open enrollment, which is great …

The largest category of parents choose schools run by the districts with unionized employees, which is fantastic … You also have about 360,000 kids attending charter schools. You have now almost 250,000 kids attending private schools using taxpayer funds whether directly or indirectly … You have kids taking virtual classes … Now you have parents who are beginning to combine different providers and different delivery methods all at the same time, which I think is the wave of the future."

You can listen to the full podcast here.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Not every student at North Florida School of Special Education rides Chief within minutes of meeting the big horse, but that’s what James Guha did one day during the summer of 2021.

Oh, it took some encouraging and a little cajoling from Andrew Sack, the barn manager. Chief is big and a bit ornery. A Paint, he stands 16.2 hands (5.6 feet) tall. He likes to test newcomers to his stall.

James is big, too. He’s 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. But he had never been around horses.

James, 20, who is on the autism spectrum, had just started in NFSSE’s summer program as he prepared to begin his first year in the school’s transition program for adults ages 18-22. Part of his time would be working with the farm animals.

“He was ready to rock and roll and ride horses,” Sack said.

Then James met Chief.

“He’s big,” James said. “Like really big.”

Sack had James pet Chief, then brush him. Then Sack asked James if he wanted to ride the horse. And James was a little …

“Scared to death,” Sack said. “I would be, too, a first timer, but he did it. I love his willpower.”

James settled into the saddle and a friendship was forged.

“I’m starting to warm up to Chief,” James said. “He’s growing on me a little bit, but at the same time, he’s still scary.”

Working with Chief was one of the highlights of James’s first year at NFSSE, a private school in Jacksonville that offers an innovative academic and therapeutic setting for students, ages 6-22, who have intellectual and developmental differences.

Those in the transition program learn functional academics – how to budget money and pay bills, how to read and interpret signs, personal hygiene, job skills. James, who lives an hour from the school in Orange Park, attends NFSSE on a Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, managed by Step Up For Students.

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