“This is a place where we’re looking at you across the table, and we know what you’re going through.”
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — When Colette Stibich and Kathy Gross couldn’t find the right school for their sons with special needs, they stopped searching — and started building.
The two Hillsborough County mothers founded Impact Academy 12 years ago, and the school has continued to grow alongside the community it serves — and alongside their own sons, who are now young adults.
“This is a place where we’re looking at you across the table, and we know what you’re going through,” Gross said. “You can’t surprise us. Between our two children, we’ve seen it all.”
The school’s transitional life care facility is where students continue their development after graduating from the school program at age 22. There, young adults with special needs learn the practical skills of independent living — loading and unloading dishwashers, making beds, setting the table and going out into the community.
“From the moment they get here, it’s a busy day,” Stibich said. “They have their morning meeting, going over things that are still important to continue to develop — the days of the week, the weather outside, things like that. They do keep it moving.”
The philosophy driving Impact Academy is one of ability over disability — and for the founders, the rewards sometimes arrive in quiet, unexpected moments.
Gross recently experienced one of those moments firsthand. Her 21-year-old son, who is nonverbal, spoke his first full sentence. “We were at a Lightning game and he said, ‘I want water,'” she recalled. “I just lost it. He had never, ever said ‘I want’ before — first time ever.”
Now, Stibich and Gross are preparing for the next chapter. The pair recently acquired a ranch in Plant City that will serve as a full-time residential facility — the final piece of a vision they have been building together for more than a decade.
“My son will be a client there — he will live there, at least part time, if not full time,” Stibich said. “He’s ready for his independence. He has expressed that over and over. Even though he’s nonverbal, it’s very obvious.”
She paused, reflecting on how far they’ve all come. “All of this is personal to Kathy and me,” she said. “But it’s nice to see the final phase come true.”