If your child can’t read yet, you know how heavy that feels. Maybe writing turns into a nightly battle. Maybe math homework ends in tears more often than not. As a homeschool parent, you teach every subject, every day, and you still wonder if you’re doing it right.
Florida’s Personalized Education Program gives homeschool families real help. Your Florida ESA can also cover more than most parents realize.
What Is the PEP Scholarship?
The Personalized Education Program, or PEP, is an education savings account (ESA). It runs through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Any Florida K-12 home educator can apply, regardless of household income. Families receive $8,000 on average. They can spend it on instructional materials, curriculum, testing fees, and private tutoring.
Applications for the 2026 to 2027 school year closed April 30, 2026. Already awarded? Your money sits in your education savings account right now, ready to use. Missed this window? Watch stepupforstudents.org for news on the 2027 to 2028 application period.
Does your child have a diagnosed learning difference? Check your eligibility for Florida’s Unique Abilities scholarship too. It averages $10,000 and serves students with a specific diagnosis on file.
Redwood Literacy is an approved PEP vendor through Step Up For Students. That means you can use your Florida ESA funds on Redwood’s products and tutoring today, with no extra paperwork.
Meet the Woman Behind Redwood
Kait Feriante founded Redwood Literacy, and this work is personal to her. She spent most of her elementary, middle, and high school years learning at home. Today, Kait is a mom of three. One of her children has dyslexia, and that experience changed how she thinks about learning differences.
In 2018, Kait and her husband Andre opened Redwood Literacy in a brick-and-mortar storefront in Chicago, IL. They became dyslexia practitioners and helped kids make life-changing growth. Since then, Redwood has served over 3,000 students across 22 states.
In 2021, Kait and her team started building Redwood Learning, a suite of digital resources that parents made for parents. These products help break the cycle of tears and frustration. They also build hope and confidence for parents and their children.
Kait didn’t start a company and step back. Instead, she helped build every product in Redwood’s library herself, drawing on structured literacy research and her family’s story. She knows how it feels to sit beside a child who tries so hard and still struggles. And she knows the relief when the right approach finally clicks.
That’s the confidence Kait wants every Florida homeschool parent to feel this year.
What You Can Do Right Now With Your Florida ESA Funds
Redwood’s ESA-approved curriculum answers the questions homeschool parents ask us most.
“What homeschool curriculum should I use for writing?”
Writing Our World® ($250 per year) takes students from single sentences to multi-paragraph essays. We built it for kids who find writing especially hard.
“I need support as a parent, not just for my kid.”
Coming January 1, 2027: Plan in Hand™: The 8-Step Parent Program for Kids with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia. This self-guided online course costs $250. It walks you from “something isn’t right” to a clear plan for your child, one step at a time. Keep in mind it’s a parent course, not tutoring, and it isn’t on the ESA-approved list yet.
Ready for Individual or Small Group Tutoring?
Unlike some states, Florida lets families use PEP funds for tutoring right now. Redwood offers Individual Tutoring and Small Group Tutoring, starting at $660 every four weeks. Each child works with a certified special education teacher. Our teachers train in structured literacy curriculums like Wilson Reading System®, UFLI Foundations, and SPELL-Links™.
Sessions happen online, so families anywhere in Florida can enroll from home. After products, an average award still leaves room for tutoring. Many Florida families can build a full year of reading, writing, and math support with Redwood using PEP funds alone. This works whether you homeschool independently, teach through a co-op, or belong to a microschool using PEP funds.
Why Families Trust Redwood
Redwood holds a Stanford Tutoring Program Design Badge, one of only 37 nationwide. We’ve served more than 3,000 students. Every product Kait built comes from real experience raising and teaching a child with dyslexia.
Next Steps You Can Take Today
- Already have PEP funding? Log in to your Step Up For Students account and search for Redwood to start using your funds today.
- Still waiting, or missed this year’s window? Watch stepupforstudents.org for updates.
- Have a child with a diagnosed learning difference? Ask Step Up whether the Unique Abilities scholarship fits too.
You are not doing this alone. Kait has been exactly where you are. She built Redwood to meet you there.
Questions? Reach us at admissions@redwoodliteracy.com or (773) 309-4524.
