The Newsletter of Step Up For Students WINTER 2018 Vol. 1 investEDSPRING 2017 Breakthru Beverage Florida donates $45 million to Step Up For Students for scholarships serving lower-income Florida families BY PAUL SOOST Breakthru Beverage Florida, one of look forward to a long relationship with Step Up For the largest distributors of wines, Students.” spirits and non-alcoholic beverages This is the seventh consecutive year Breakthru in the state, announced Jan. 19 its Beverage Florida has contributed to the nonprofit contribution of $45 million to the Step organization that administers the Florida Tax Credit B Up For Students Scholarship Program. Scholarship Program for financially disadvantaged Breakthru’s donation is funding more than schoolchildren. The program is funded with 6,880 K-12 scholarships for lower-income Florida tax-credited donations and allows parents and schoolchildren for the 2017-18 school year. schoolchildren to choose between a K-12 scholarship Since 2011, Breakthru Beverage has contributed that helps with private school tuition and fees, or one more than $254 million, providing more than 45,600 that assists with transportation costs to out-of-county scholarships. public schools. “Communities thrive when we all do our part and “Thanks to the support and generosity of our work together. Breakthru Beverage is proud to support donors, Step Up For Students is helping parents find Step Up For Students and give Florida students an the best learning environment for their children that Eric Pfeil, executive vice president of Breakthru Beverage Florida, left, shakes the hand of PenTab opportunity to reach their highest potential,” said Eric they otherwise couldn’t afford,” said Doug Tuthill, Academy fourth-grader Taneisha Micelus, along with Principal Barbara Sharpe at the school in Pfeil, executive vice president of Breakthru Beverage president of Step Up For Students. “On behalf of Miami. Teneisha was presenting Pfeil with thank-you notes from Step Up For Students scholars Florida. “We’re confident these students will aim high during an event celebrating Breakthru’s $45 million donation for 2017-18 and more than $254 and will be future leaders in our community. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 million in contributions since 2011. Seton Strong: Finding the normal after Hurricane Irma BY DAVID TUTHILL Maria Niebuhr, first year princi- Maria Crowley has been teaching at Seton for 28 pal of St. Elizabeth Seton Cath- years. Her kindergarten classroom is lined with the olic School in Naples, Florida, black plastic. Underneath her desk, a large chunk sits behind her desk in an of- of concrete is missing. fice filled with boxes stacked on When Irma was bearing down, Crowley was boxes,M placed on a floor stripped away to bare ready. She stored things out of reach of the flood- concrete. ing. When the rain stopped and the wind passed, As she holds two pictures showing the she showed up to sweep water out of her room. $1 million in damages the school sustained from “I just fear what happens if we have another hur- Hurricane Irma, the sound of a screw gun pierces ricane,” Crowley says. “But we’ll do what we have the air as it’s drilled into a nearby wall. to do.” This is the new normal for St. Elizabeth Seton. In Seton’s main building that houses pre-K3 Clockwise, Maria Niebuhr, first year The pre-K3 through eighth-grade school lost through fifth grade, as well as the media center, ev- principal of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic power for two weeks during the storm and was erything had to be moved out, boxed up, put into School in Naples, Florida, said dealing forced to remain closed for three and a half weeks, the gymnasium and manually scrubbed down be- with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma longer than every other school under the Diocese fore being brought back inside. has been stressful, but the school’s of Venice. The damage is extensive. Every classroom spirit cannot be broken. Seventh- Of the school’s 202 students, more than 70 stu- needs a combination of new ceilings, drywall grader Adaora Obidiegwu, 12, far dents are on the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and lighting fixtures. Outdoor bulletin board right, said Irma was the first hurricane Program for lower-income families. glass casings went flying during the storm, nev- she has experienced. Her family lost Students young enough to enjoy a daily nap er to return. In the school’s courtyard, old bricks power for about three weeks. Annabel must do so on blankets placed on bare concrete. that once surrounded a statue of St. Elizabeth Krystaszek, an 8-year-old third-grader, Black plastic has been placed over areas where the Ann Seton were rearranged by Mother Nature, said it “felt weird being out of school” drywall was ruined. In several classrooms, entire while the statue was moved by work crews. after Hurricane Irma hit. walls are covered with it. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Options on the rise: 1.7 million Florida students choose BY PATRICK R. GIBBONS Florida’s public schools are enrolled in educational options outside their Open enrollment policies that let families the FTC and Gardiner programs. About 99 growing. And educational neighborhood district school. That number choose among neighborhood schools are percent of students on the two programs are options are growing faster. has increased more than 207,000 over the last right behind them, with charter schools enrolled in private schools through Step Up. Public schools added more five years and now accounts for 46 percent of gaining fast. There was one methodology change this than 16,000 students in grades pre-K through 12 students. Private school choice programs like the year: The state also counts 3,835 charter pre-KF through 12 in the 2016-17 school year. Like its predecessors, this year’s report Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) and school students among those who attend A new analysis by Step Up For Students, shows how choice has rapidly become Gardiner Scholarship program saw the university lab schools. We elected to count using data from the Florida Department of the norm in Florida. The growth of some largest enrollment growth. They grew by these students under lab schools, rather than Education, shows the state’s full spectrum of options may be spurring school districts to 26 percent and 64 percent, respectively. charter schools. school choice options added 43,000 students offer more. The number of private school students This change is reflected in the Changing that school year. The three most widely used school choice not using scholarships or vouchers to pay Landscapes infographic below, to note that The annual “Education Changingoptions remain public schools. District tuition increased by just 1,927 students, or Florida Atlantic University and Florida Landscapes” document shows nearly 1.7 magnet and specialty programs hold the 0.8 percent. State University both enroll charter school million pre-K through 12 students in Florida top spot, with just shy of 300,000 students. Step Up For Students helps administer both students in their lab schools. KEY FINDINGS THETHE FLORIDA FLORIDA PRE-K-12PRE K-12 EDUCEDUCATIONATION LAN LANDSCAPEDSCAPE BIOL P S Y ENGLISH CHO HI OG S L T O O G Y Y R 46.4 percent of pre-K-12 students in Y ALGEBRA Florida attend a school of choice. 1.7 MILLION STUDENTS CHOOSE School choice is now mainstream. Of Florida’s 3.7 million PreK-12 students, 46 percent 39 percent of all K-12 students attended a school of their choice during the 2016-17 school year. receiving public funds or scholarships attend a school of choice. 299,999 287,227 279,920 in Choice and Magnet in Open Enrollment in 52 school districts in 654 Charter Schools privately programs at 1,712 operated under contract with districts district schools Total pre-K-12 public school enrollment increased by 16,049, or 0.5 percent. 237,886 139,757 134,948 98,936 in Private Schools in Career and Professional in private PreKindergarten in Tax Credit Scholarships paying on their own Academies at 458 high schools Scholarships for 4-year-olds for low-income students at 1,733 private schools HISTORY B SCIENCE PHYSICS ENGLISH ALGEBRA A C D Total pre-K-12 school choice enrollment increased by 43,690, or 1.3 percent. 87,462 43,619 35,968 15,482 in Home Education in Advanced in McKay Scholarships in full-time Virtual Instruction while reporting results International for special-needs students to districts Certificate (31,499 in private schools programs for and 4,469 in 11th and 12th district schools) graders Largest growth rates: Gardiner Scholarships (64 percent), tax credit scholarships (26 percent) and Advanced 14,004 8,056 7,398 3,717 International Certificate of in International in Gardiner in Lab Schools and Lab in School Transfers related to state Education (25 percent). Baccalaureate Scholarships for Charter Schools run by five or federal performance thresholds at district schools special-needs universities students Programs with declines: Full-time = 1,694,379 STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS OF THEIR CHOICE virtual school (-5.5 percent), Voluntary Source | 2016-17 Florida Department of Education data pre-K (-1.3 percent), and International 2 Baccalaureate programs (-0.3 percent). LEGOLAND Florida building relationships brick by brick BY LISA A. DAVIS The key to a successful programs that educate, entertain and engage relationship is creating a solid kids while having fun. foundation, and then brick by “They blend storytelling with core brick it grows and strengthens. educational concepts in ways that bring the Just like it did building its material alive through the skills of our ‘edu- T theme park, LEGOLAND® Florida tainers.’ We believe that education in the Resort has been fostering relationships in the STEM fields is critical to society’s growth community in which it does business and and success.” beyond, including – and primarily – with As well as educating and entertaining children.