The Stories & Insights That Matter
Josiah Gadia Celebrated as ECAA’s First Graduate
Josiah Gadia was in his final semester of high school when the pressures of an unstable home life, the need to hold down a job, and the challenges of schoolwork became too much to bear. “I was really ...
SLAA Grad Antony Spence Reclaims Hope, Plans for College
For Antony Spence, the Covid pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time. He was already losing ground in high school, falling behind in his studies and feeling socially ill at ease. When schools clos...
Savannah Payne: ‘She’s Wise Beyond Her Years’
Once Savannah Payne found her way to St. Lucie Acceleration Academy, she knew she was home. “It was comforting,” she said of the school where she found not only a personalized curriculum but educators...
‘It’s a Real Positive Energy Here that Helped Me Up’
When Markel Jackson first enrolled at Sarasota Acceleration Academies, he didn’t have much faith in his ability to do well in school — until the SAA staff began cheering him on. With that encouragemen...
St. Lucie Grad Olivia O’Neil: ‘Never Give Up’
Olivia O’Neil has high-flying dreams for herself. But she knew she couldn’t realize them without a high school diploma. “I found myself struggling in a traditional high school setting, never went to s...
Juvan Lester: Putting Mistakes in the Past, College in the Future
But for St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, Juvan Lester says, the grave mistake he made as a young teenager — a mistake that gave him a criminal record — might have defined and darkened his future path...
Denisha Palmer: ‘This was the only place that was able to help me’
Math doesn’t come easily but, as Denisha Palmer can tell you, neither does life. The young woman had almost completed high school when her daughter was born and she was thrown off track.. Two years la...
Miami Grad Malik Frye: ‘It Just Made Me Better’
Unlike most of his classmates at Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, Malik Frye had not spent time in a traditional school, sitting at a desk in a crowded classroom, changing classes with the bell, wai...
St. Lucie Grads Celebrate Their Tenacity and Brighter Futures
The 31 young men and women who were celebrated during the June commencement ceremony of St. Lucie Acceleration Academies had overcome struggles — ranging from poverty to anxiety to overwhelming work a...
Sarasota Grads Celebrate Their Grit and Hopes
Victoria Santiago gazed out at her fellow graduates in the Sarasota Acceleration Academies Class of 2021 and reminded them of the quality that had brought each one of them to Commencement Day. “Do you...
‘Gotta Better Yourself. Gotta Look Forward’
Marc Orbegozo knew that a high school diploma was an important stepping stone, but he wondered at times whether he would achieve it. If he hadn’t found Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, would he be i...