{"id":26816,"date":"2025-10-30T17:33:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/26816\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:33:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:33:21","slug":"charter-school-in-orlando-using-federal-cash-to-expand-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/26816\/","title":{"rendered":"Charter school in Orlando using federal cash to expand model"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0An Orlando group of charter schools is using a federal grant to show other school leaders best practices to educate students with disabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to UCP Charter Schools network is the only one awarded to a school system in Florida this year.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

UCP Charter Schools has been awarded a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education
\nThe UCP Charter Schools network has operated charter schools in Central Florida for 20 years
\n
Students with disabilities and students without disabilities learn together
\n
As part of the grant, teachers from other schools will visit UCP to see what makes its innovative model work<\/p>\n

Physical therapy is a regular routine at the UCP Bailes Community Academy<\/a>, which is located near the University of Central Florida, and is one of eight schools in the UCP Charter Schools network<\/a> in Central Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norah, a third-grader at the school, said she enjoys classes there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of computer work, which I like it,\u201d Norah said.<\/p>\n

Norah said her school is cool, and her mom likes it, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said this school is good because my brother is autistic,\u201d Norah said.<\/p>\n

Norah\u2019s brother Tommy is nonverbal, so he uses an augmentative and alternative communication device to answer questions and help with his lessons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The seventh-grader is now learning 12th-grade math, and school administrators say Tommy is a great example of how UCP instructors customize lessons to meet each student\u2019s unique needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKids have such diverse needs nowadays that you really want to customize an education that could meet every student\u2019s need,\u201d said Dr. Ilene Wilkins, chief executive officer and superintendent of the schools.<\/p>\n

She said that UCP, which has been operating charter schools in Central Florida for 20 years, will use the grant to spread its innovative approach over the next few years. As part of the grant, instructors from other schools will visit UCP to observe what makes the model work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

UCP Charter Schools uses a variety of toys and tools to customize the education to get the best of every child. (Spectrum News\/Keith Landry)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat sets us apart is really the idea of including every child, that sense of belonging,” Wilkins said. “That every child knows they all have value. They all have skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said teachers, paraprofessionals, social workers and therapists work closely together to get the best out of every child.<\/p>\n

At the school, 55% of students have a disability, and teachers say having them and the other 45% of students all learn together benefits everyone and creates a welcoming spirit.<\/p>\n

“That kindness, that idea that everyone belongs is really, I think, the core of our mission,\u201d Wilkins said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0An Orlando group of charter schools is using a federal grant to show other school leaders…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4996,9995,274,113,1337,115,1335,139,141,140,278,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-26816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-app-education","9":"tag-app-latest-education-stories","10":"tag-app-top-stories","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-keith-landry","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-orange-county","15":"tag-orlando","16":"tag-orlando-headlines","17":"tag-orlando-news","18":"tag-top-stories","19":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}