Golden Rule Academy
Fort Pierce, FL

“Community-based” is how Senior Administrator Kimberly Baumgardner describes Golden Rule Academy, a school her mother-in-law Joyce Baumgardner began 12 years ago and one that Kim now oversees.  With its diverse student body – which often includes at-risk youth from surrounding neighborhoods – the leadership and staff have developed a unique learning environment that sets it apart from many traditional private schools, making it a much-needed educational option for children growing up in this Treasure Coast area of Florida.

Golden Rule was created in 2004 out of a simple need to serve students in the community that were struggling in their neighborhood public schools.  The first few students that attended the school did so through donations that covered their tuition and the first teacher’s salary.  However, it soon became clear that there was a greater need within the community, especially for at-risk children from the surrounding areas who desperately needed an alternative learning environment.  Through Florida Tax Credit Scholarships and the McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, many of these children were able to attend the school, where Kim and her staff at Golden Rule welcomed them with open arms.

Every child that attends Golden Rule is treated as an individual – something that is interwoven into the teaching methods used at the school.

“We make it our priority to teach to the unique needs of each child that enters our classrooms,” says Kim.  “We have children from so many different backgrounds and learning needs.  So instead of trying to change the way a child learns, we have adopted a flexible teaching style that makes it possible for them to grasp the subject at hand.”

This kind of flexibility includes field trips and conducting science classes outside, where kids can literally dig in the dirt, experience gardening and botany, and participate in other hands-on lessons.  It also means tailoring teaching methods for different learning needs, such as conducting verbal tests for children that struggle with taking traditional tests.  They also have special needs classes when more intervention-based help is needed, as well as experts that come on campus for in-school tutoring in reading and math. The staff’s dedication to addressing each child’s needs is proving beneficial for the students at Golden Rule.

Simone Tillman, the middle and high school principal, recalls one student that was undergoing speech and occupational therapy and he was behind academically.  Traditionally, he would have been put in a special needs program, but he was determined to stay in class with his peers and the teachers at Golden Rule made that possible.  The one-on-one attention and flexible teaching methods helped him go from a 5^th grade level to the 8^th grade level that year – helping him catch up with his peers.

In addition to fulfilling the educational needs of their students, the staff also serves as an extended family and support system for children that need additional emotional support and counseling.  And the teachers at the school have dealt with their fair share of difficult and even tragic situations involving their students.

One young man in particular stands out in Kim’s mind – not because of his tragedy, but because of how he has overcome it.  He came to them from a nearby neighborhood where violent crime and gang activity is prevalent.  Kim recalls the morning he arrived at school, only one day after his stepfather had tragically been shot and killed.  She and other staff helped to counsel him that day and continued to provide support over the next few years.  That same young man is now a graduate of Golden Rule who serves as a summer camp counselor-in-training (CIT) at the school and will possibly do a career-based internship with them next year.  On the weekends you can find him on campus serving as a mentor to other at-risk children, helping to encourage them to rise above their circumstances and find a path that will better their futures.

You can hear the pride in Kim’s voice when speaking of him, like he is her own son.  “This is a young man that could very well be on the streets, in gangs just like others around him,” she says.  “But because he was given an opportunity to use education as a way to overcome his situation, he is now destined for success.”

Because many of the children at the school come from low-income and often single-parent homes, the staff has even stepped forward to address other issues – such as hunger.  Several of the teachers noticed children coming to school hungry, making it hard for them to concentrate in class.  Women from the church began bringing in a brown bag lunch and other food to ensure those children didn’t go hungry during the day.  The school is now working to qualify for the National Free and Reduced Lunch Program so that they can provide breakfast and lunch for the children who need it.

Over the last 12 years, the school has grown to serve about 225 students in Kindergarten through 12^th grade.  They have developed a well-rounded program that offers traditional academic classes, as well as fine and creative arts such as violin, guitar, keyboarding, and dance.  Athletics include full-contact football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and cheer.  Golden Rules’ high school students can dual enroll at the college level or take virtual classes to accelerate meeting their educational goals. The school also recently ventured into a new STEM program that garnered recognition for their high school boys.  Golden Rule was the first school in St. Lucie County to compete in the national FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Technology) robotics program.  For six weeks straight, the school’s 9-12^th grade boys’ team worked on building their robot – including before and after school and weekends.  Their hard work paid off and they ended up ranking in the top 50 percent.  Next year, with adequate funding, the school hopes to expand the program to include LEGO robotics for elementary through high school students.

Kim credits scholarship organizations like AAA Scholarship Foundation and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program for making it possible for Golden Rule Academy to serve children whose needs cannot be met in traditional public school settings.

“We are so grateful to the donors who provide the funds for these scholarships for our children,” Kim says.  “We in turn are working to do our part by providing our students with lifelong skills, instilling them with integrity and teaching them how to be logical thinkers, communicators, and role models so that they can serve as the next generation of business and community leaders.”

About AAA Scholarship Foundation
The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community.  The average household income of families accepted to receive scholarships is $23,559 for a family of four.  Many children are either below grade level, failing at their previous school or both when they receive a scholarship.  Parents, who find their children in these circumstances and care about their future, look for viable options.  They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child to reverse inadequate learning and/or social patterns and the potential lifelong negative impact. They wish to change their child’s learning environment, acquaintances, and the unfortunate predictable outcomes associated with school failure.

AAA Scholarships are funded in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a tax credit (dollar for dollar in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Nevada, and up to 90 percent in Pennsylvania).  The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved Scholarship 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-income, disabled and/or displaced students through these Scholarship Tax Credit programs. AAA Scholarship Foundation provides your company with the convenience and efficiency of a single-solution for participating in multiple state tax credit scholarship programs. For more information or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.AAAScholarships.org, or contact Kerri Vaughan at kerri@aaascholarships.org or 888 707-2465 ext. 730.

Click here for a pdf of this spotlight story.

Jeremiah Sanchez
The ABBIE School
Tucson, AZ

The beaming smile that shines through in Jeremiah Sanchez’s photo speaks volumes for how much he has overcome in the short amount of time he has spent at The ABBIE School in Tucson, Arizona.  As a child with Autism, his struggles in school and life have become harder over the years.  However, a scholarship from the AAA Scholarship Foundation has enabled him to receive an education tailored to his individual needs and he is soaring.

Jeremiah, currently in the 6^th grade, is the oldest of four children.  For most of his young life, his mother Amber Sanchez – who works as a waitress at Denny’s restaurant –struggled as a single parent to make ends meet and provide for her children.  (It was not until recently that she met and married her husband Gerardo, who also works at Denny’s as a cook and now fulfills the role of a father figure to her children).

Although Amber enrolled Jeremiah in education programs at age 3, he had a difficult time in school from the start.  He failed and had to repeat Kindergarten.  He was bullied by classmates and had no friends.  Amber figured that her son was just facing difficulties and that it was something they would deal with over time.  However, as she started doing research on Autism, his behaviors and actions made more sense.  She began to understand him better, and in turn, see how the educational environment he was in could help or hurt him.

Jeremiah’s challenges began to deepen the older he got.  He dealt with constant anxiety both in and out of school.  Everyday life became harder for him and it spread to other areas of his home life.

“For Jeremiah and many other children like him, tasks that other people would consider simple, are hard,” Amber Sanchez says.  “For example, making a bed is a challenge, but taking apart a car is easy.  My son needed an environment that could help him learn the way his mind is built to learn, while giving him the educational and life skills necessary to become a successful adult.”

As she began to better understand her son’s needs, it became clear that the local public school was not a good fit for him.  The final straw for Amber came during the beginning of Jeremiah’s sixth grade year, when he came home from school covered head to toe in red paint that other children had poured on him.  In that moment, she knew she had to make an immediate change to save her son from a disastrous future.  But finding the right school – and determining how to afford the tuition – was the challenge she faced.

As Amber searched for school options in the Tucson area, she came across The ABBIE School, which encompasses an educational style and specialty that could address Jeremiah’s unique needs.   It was through the school that Amber also learned about the Lexie’s Law Program, a scholarship for special needs students available through the AAA Scholarship Foundation, which would help ease the financial burden and enable them to enroll Jeremiah at The ABBIE School.

Jeremiah was approved for the scholarship and enrolled at The ABBIE School in the fall of 2015.  Within a couple months, Jeremiah underwent drastic changes.  He went from a child who was constantly bullied by his peers to one who is able to form new friendships with his classmates.  Once a child who was withdrawn, he performed – with a speaking role – in his first Christmas play in December 2015.  His home life has improved greatly as well.  Attending the school – where students are referred to as “scholars” – has made him feel special, a place that he gets to go where he has his own friends and attends classes that he enjoys.

The school has even helped stir up his own ambitions for the future and he now dreams of studying computer programming and coding, and inventing his own games.

For Amber, Jeremiah’s experience thus far has given her tremendous hope.

“I can now see a future for my son,” she says through a voice full of emotion and gratitude.  “It goes beyond just overcoming his struggles in school.  He is a different child now.  One that has hope for attending college and having a career.  I am grateful that he was given the opportunity to advance in life.  None of this would have been possible without the AAA Scholarship Foundation and its donors.  Thank you!”

Click here for a pdf of this student spotlight.

Ky’mier Bowie
Fruitful Ground Christian Education Development Center
Montgomery, AL

“As a parent, your first concern is your child and his or her well-being,” Kristie Davis says of why she was seeking a different academic environment for her child, Ky’mier Bowie.   “I noticed an immediate change in my son when he started attending his assigned school in Montgomery County, Alabama.” Kristie, a single parent knows all too well the challenges of putting her child first while struggling in a difficult environment, but she never wavered from striving not just to survive but to find ways for Ky’mier to succeed.

Kristie saw that her son was struggling in his assigned school, his grades were low and he was unhappy.  “My child had a distinct look in his eyes that displayed low self-esteem and fear,” she says. “I wanted to follow the rules and the procedures given as far as talking to the teachers and school administrators about my son and this sudden change.” However, after many efforts, she realized that the school was not a good fit for her child and she needed to find another option to better serve his needs. As an engaged parent, Kristie knew that she needed help to bridge the access gap to a high quality education. Then she found Fruitful Ground Christian Education Development Center and AAA Scholarship Foundation.

“Before I started attending Fruitful Ground, my family was constantly leaving work to come up to my assigned school because I was frequently getting into fights,” admits Ky’mier.  Kristie was relieved to find support from the teachers and principal at Fruitful Ground.  After hearing her concerns about Ky’mier and his previous experience, they discussed with her plans of action to make sure his needs were met in the new environment.  Often, when a scholarship student transfers from to a new school they are below grade level, struggling and frustrated, and it takes time to adjust to the new setting and expectations.  Ky’mier proudly declares, “Ever since I have come to Fruitful Ground, I have not been in a single fight.”

Expectations of success and thriving were a new concept for Ky’mier at school.  Before, he had just hoped that he survived each day.  In a short time he did a complete turnaround.  Now Kristie says Ky’mier has high self-esteem, making her perseverance worth the effort to find the change that would help her son.  “I sometimes struggle to pay my bills, but thanks to the AAA Scholarship, I know my child is safe in the school that will help him succeed in his future,” she says. “AAA Scholarship Foundation has been a blessing.  This organization helps in many ways that I didn’t know they would! Assistance paying with tuition, books and other fees make his attendance possible for us.”

Fruitful Ground Principal Annetta Tate has worked with students and parents for years.  “The tremendous transformation that I have seen in Ky’mier’s character, social development, and academics is a spotlight in my mind,” she says. “He is now a student that interacts with his teachers and peers.  He has gone from being academically behind to being inducted in our school’s newly formed senior chapter of The National Beta Club.”

Kristie sees the effect of participation every day, saying “The most important and best outcome of the AAA Scholarship program is my son, Ky’mier.  He is happy and he loves school. Today he initiates the conversation about his day before I even ask. Thanks to Fruitful Ground he enjoys learning now and his grades are excellent.”

Annetta says she sees “the great impact the school is able to have on the students’ lives when the financial burden is lifted for those most in need of assistance and access through the AAA Scholarships.”  She has seen time and time again that financial barriers do not indicate the parent doesn’t know what the child needs or that they don’t care what they need; it simply means they are not able to financially provide for the learning environment  they so desperately know their child needs.  Once opportunities are provided, the parents will go to great lengths to grasp the “hand up, not hand out” to access the perfect school that will enable academic achievement for their child.

Kristie glows with pride for her son’s accomplishments in such a short amount of time relaying, “AAA Scholarships are everything a parent could ask for and I am very thankful and appreciative of them and the donors that make the scholarships possible.  From my heart, thank you!”   While Ky’mier adds, “I am grateful for the opportunities ahead of me.”

About Fruitful Ground Christian Education Development Center
Located in Montgomery, Ala., Fruitful Ground commits to provide a safe and caring environment that is conducive for each child’s growth and development in grades 1-12. The school is accredited through A Beka Academy, and serves 40 students – 10 of whom are AAA Scholarship recipients. Fruitful Ground uses the SAT to assess student achievement.  Their program strives to ensure one-on-one attention that adapts to the individual and unique personalities of their students, while encouraging them to excel in their academics.

About AAA Scholarship Foundation
The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community. The average household income of families accepted to receive scholarships is $23,559 for a family of four. Many children are either below grade level, failing at their previous school or both when they receive a scholarship. Parents, who find their children in these circumstances and care about their future, look for viable options. They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child to reverse inadequate learning and/or social patterns and the potential lifelong negative impact. They wish to change their child’s learning environment, acquaintances, and the unfortunate predictable outcomes associated with school failure.
AAA Scholarships are funded in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a tax credit (dollar for dollar in Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Georgia and up to 90 percent in Pennsylvania).  The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved Scholarship 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-income, disabled and/or displaced students through these Scholarship Tax Credit programs. AAA Scholarship Foundation provides your company with the convenience and efficiency of a single-solution for participating in multiple state tax credit scholarship programs. For more information or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.AAAScholarships.org, or contact Kerri Vaughan at kerri@aaascholarships.org or 888 707-2465 ext. 730.
Click for a pdf of this student spotlight:
May_2015_Spotlight_Kymier_Bowie (Final 20150625)

Arizona has thousands of bright, curious children from all corners of the state and these children possess so much capability and potential talent, but they desperately need opportunities to reach their full potential. That is where St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Tucson excels.

Teachers at the school remember when their students didn’t need desks with cubbies—they had nothing to put in them. Unfortunately, today’s economy has many schools struggling to keep their doors open, amid challenges that go beyond desk supplies. Further, the students that most need a quality education are typically those least able to financially help the school.

Principal Keiran Roche knew that his school served the state’s poorest children and that he needed to find a new source of funding to enable his school not only to survive, but to thrive.

“Our students come from some of the most under-resourced families in the community, with 80 percent of our school’s students qualifying for the National Free and Reduced Lunch Program,” Roche said. “These families want the opportunity to choose the best education for their children, but they do not have the ability to self-pay. AAA Scholarships provide St. John the Evangelist with the chance to expand our student enrollment to students we otherwise wouldn’t be able to serve.”

One hundred percent of the students attending St. John receive some form of financial aid in order to attend the school.

Students from the same community that would send them to failing schools are showing documented achievement. From August 2013 to February 2014, St. John saw cumulative student growth of 68 months across 1st through 8th grades – 170 percent more learning than the expected 40 months of growth! Making “Academic Achievement Accessible” is not only AAA Scholarship Foundation’s name – it is our passion and goal and we are pleased that we are able to help St. John in closing the education achievement gap.

St. John has partnered with the Notre Dame ACE Academies (NDAA) to incorporate an innovative program that utilizes resources from the University, corporations, and the local community. The NDAA program encourages schools to increase the number of students enrolled through parental school choice scholarship programs, which has been a key to success for the Tucson area it serves – an area recently ranked the sixth poorest metropolitan area by the US Census Bureau. St. John embraced this program and has increased their enrollment by more than 100 percent in five years, growing from 133 students in 2010 to 314 students today.

“We address the needs of the whole child in providing diverse approaches to learning,” Roche said. “Our AAA Scholarship students provide not only diversity, but also a stability of income through multi-year scholarships that we would not have otherwise. AAA Scholarships enables us to compete for students that otherwise would not have a choice in where to go to school. We appreciate everything the AAA Scholarship Foundation and the generous donors have done for the many students they serve.”

About St. John the Evangelist Catholic School
Established in 1950, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School serves Pima County students in grades preschool through 8th grade. Maximizing the benefit of their partnership with Notre Dame ACE Academies, children experience the effects of a program focused on comprehensive school excellence and implementing a unique model of urban schooling. St. John students prepare for college by closing the education achievement gap, as shown by testing twice a year with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. During the 2014-15 school year, St. John served 316 students, 116 of which were AAA scholarship recipients. The annual cost of tuition and fees at St. John for the 2014-15 school year is $5,800 for grades Kindergarten through 8th, plus the cost of books and fees.

About AAA Scholarship Foundation
The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community. The average household income of families accepted to receive scholarships is $23,559 for a family of four. Many children are either below grade level, failing at their previous school or both when they receive a scholarship. Parents, who find their children in these circumstances and care about their future, look for viable options. They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child to reverse inadequate learning and/or social patterns and the potential lifelong negative impact. They wish to change their child’s learning environment, acquaintances, and the unfortunate predictable outcomes associated with school failure.

AAA Scholarships are funded in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a tax credit (dollar for dollar in Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Georgia and up to 90 percent in Pennsylvania). The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved Scholarship 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-income, disabled and/or displaced students through these Scholarship Tax Credit programs. AAA Scholarship Foundation provides your company with the convenience and efficiency of a single-solution for participating in multiple state tax credit scholarship programs. For more information or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.AAAScholarships.org, or contact Kerri Vaughan at kerri@aaascholarships.org or 888 707-2465 ext. 730.

To view PDF Version, click here: AAA Spotlight March 2015 StJohn School.

Many of our donors and families remember Quinton Johnson. He was a spotlight student in April 2013. Quinton is a preeminent example of what can happen in a child’s life if they are given the opportunity to choose the school that best meets their unique learning needs. As a child, he experienced the “harshest of circumstances.” Then it was determined that he should be in the care of his grandmother, Verdelle Johnson, who saw such potential in Quinton that she searched out help to get him into a school that would share her vision for his future.

At just 14 years old, he said “My grandma showed me that I could do better things with my life, she taught me to try my best in everything I do.” The theme that comes to mind for those that know him is “character.” Quinton strives to show through his actions how you can influence your future with a little help from others.
[Read more…]

After losing his father when he was only 12 years old, Patrick Vega vowed to help his mom in any way that he could. He realized that succeeding in school and being a productive member of his family and the community were the best things he could offer. Thanks to a scholarship from the AAA Scholarship Foundation, Patrick has been able to fulfill that promise and has risen as a star at his school – excelling in academics, sports and other extracurricular activities.

The untimely passing of Patrick’s father left an empty space in the Vega family and put a financial strain on Patrick’s mother, Gracie. She was determined to keep Patrick on track with his academics during this tough time, but worried that she would not be able to afford the tuition for him to attend Bourgade Catholic High School, where his older brother attended and where the members of the church and school had served as a close-knit community for the Vega family after the loss of her husband. However, after consulting with the financial aid department at Bourgade, she learned about the AAA Scholarship Foundation and applied. Receiving the news that Patrick was approved for a scholarship provided Gracie with a huge sense of relief and reassurance that her family was going to be okay.
[Read more…]

As he wraps up his junior year, 17-year-old McKinley Habersham is thriving in his first year at Memorial Day School in Savannah, Ga., a school he is able to attend through a scholarship from the AAA Scholarship Foundation. It’s hard to imagine that only a year ago, while still coping with the tragic loss of his father, McKinley was struggling academically and had lost all interest in any future ambitions.

For most of his life, McKinley had done very well in school, including earning a regular spot on his public school’s honor roll. However, tragedy struck the Habersham family in 2008, when McKinley’s father passed away during the explosion at the Imperial Sugar Factory. McKinley was crushed and while therapy helped him deal with his emotions, his mother, Latesha Habersham, saw it as the starting point of his dwindling interest and ambition in school.
[Read more…]