Sophia Lozano
World of Kids Academy
Doral, FL
Being 6-years-old and an ESOL (English as a second language) student, Sophia Lozano needed to be in a school setting that was tailored to her particular learning style. With a scholarship from the AAA Scholarship Foundation (AAA), Sophia has finally found a school she can call home.
With her children’s father living in Colombia, Ana Jiménez feels the financial burden every day trying to earn a livelihood to support her family. While being a mother is more than a full-time job in itself, Ana wouldn’t trade it for anything. Her children, Sophia and Xavier, look at the world with so much possibility and Ana never wants the low income she earns from her job to change that. While her financial status does limit her to certain things, it does not stop her from wanting to give her children a quality education.
As an ESOL student, Sophia would struggle from time to time, but Ana knew that it should not hinder her daughter’s ability to make progress in school. However, because of the language barrier, Sophia was not learning at the same speed as her peers. Ana knew Sophia was capable of learning what was being taught; however, she was falling more behind each day primarily due to being placed in a large classroom setting. Ana couldn’t help but wonder if Sophia were in a smaller classroom setting that offered one-on-one assistance, would she be performing better? She couldn’t bear to sit by and watch Sophia suffer when all she wanted to do was soar. But the same question stood; what options did her family have with her limited income?
At this time, Ana’s son Xavier was attending the World of Kids Academy through the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program (VPK), a state-based program that allows children to enroll in Pre-K at no cost. Ana decided to look into the World of Kids Academy for Sophia. Upon touring their elementary school, Ana was impressed by the curriculum the school offered and how quickly students were learning, even in the lower grade levels. The school’s primary goal is to prepare its students to perform beyond their grade level. The teachers are highly trained and experienced and each grade level has a low student-to-teacher ratio, making it easier for students to learn at a quicker, more efficient pace.
Ana had a chance to speak with the school administrators and informed them of her current financial situation. She was overjoyed to hear that World of Kids Academy had numerous children on scholarship programs, one of the programs being AAA. Ana rushed home, applied for a Florida scholarship online and patiently waited to hear back. Ana was ecstatic to receive her approval letter and enrolled Sophia at World of Kids Academy immediately for her first-grade year.
As Ana drops Sophia and Xavier off at school each morning, she can’t help but tear up while watching them run to their classrooms. Since attending the World of Kids Academy, Sophia has gone from hiding behind her textbooks to finding any excuse to raise her hand and engage with her teachers and peers. Being an ESOL student held Sophia back academically and socially at her old school, but now, she is performing far beyond her grade level and has made a ton of new friends in the process! Sophia loves math and has even joined the ballet program at her school. Everyday Sophia comes home eagerly wanting to tell her mom what she learned that day. Thinking back to where her family was just a year ago, and how much of a difference this school has made, makes Ana smile from ear to ear, and it’s all thanks to AAA.
“I am very grateful to the AAA Foundation for providing my daughter the opportunity to attend a private school with such an accelerated, tailored curriculum,” says Ana. “Thank you, AAA for giving my family and me this incredible opportunity!”
About AAA Scholarship Foundation
The AAA Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships solely to qualifying low-income, disabled and displaced students. The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community. More than 90.6 percent of AAA scholarships are distributed to children at or below 200 percent of poverty. 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 are concerned about their future, look for viable options. They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child and will reverse inadequate learning, 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 Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Nevada by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit scholarship organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-income, disabled and displaced students through these tax credit scholarship programs in multiple states. 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.