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How to Apply for the McKay Scholarship

The McKay Scholarship is one of several options under Florida’s school choice programs. These programs allow parents to choose the best educational setting- public or private- considering their child’s individual needs. The McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities provides students who have an IEP or 504 plan the opportunity to attend a participating private school, such as Mainspring Academy. In addition to the private school option, parents may also choose to enroll their child in an in-district or out-of-district public school of their choice.

Most of the students at Mainspring are McKay Scholarship recipients and utilize the funding to offset tuition. Whether you choose Mainspring, or another approved private school option, the McKay Scholarship program may help your family cover the costs of tuition until your child’s 22nd birthday.

Dina Parisi, Mainspring Academy’s Head of School has created this quick tutorial to show you how to determine eligibility and file intent for the McKay Scholarship. If you have questions regarding the McKay scholarship, or other scholarship options, please click here to contact us or call (904) 503-0344.

Mainspring Academy Goes Virtual!

Mainspring Academy staff have been hard at work implementing distance learning in order to deliver quality instruction to our special education students during the school closure brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

School faculty are interacting remotely through live, interactive Zoom classes. Classes start off with a morning meeting similar to their daily classroom routine and include peer greetings, interactive songs with movement, and teacher interaction through comprehension of the calendar, weather, and relevant current events. Teachers present academic lessons provided by a curriculum used during the normal school year, Unique Learning System (ULS). Students are also able to independently interact with their ULS student accounts to review that week’s lesson on their own time. Classes also touch on weekly themes tailored to what they are working on in the classroom, such as hygiene, chores, cleaning, animals, and more!

In addition to live class meetings, students are also offered interactive, online learning opportunities through Raz-Kids, Brain Pop Jr., i-Ready, Boom Learning, and individual worksheets and reading assignments. Teacher’s Assistants are also uploading weekly supplemental lessons to our YouTube channel, not only maintaining the enrichment activities we typically provide like art, PE, dance, music, and vocational lessons, but also adding new activities such as cooking and Zumba.  Our students are doing an amazing job adapting to their new routine and are engaged, especially when they see their friends!

During this time of uncertainty, Mainspring is proud to say we have created a rich online experience for our students, giving them the consistency they deserve!  We would like to thank our parents for their continued flexibility and for their commitment to their children’s education.  We truly have a wonderful school community!  For calendar updates, please click here