The Bright Minds Roadmap to a K-12 Tech Academy

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Here is where we are today and where we are going:

Phase 1: Community/ Parent Support & Neurodiverse Youth Video Game Social Club 

Status: [ 🟢 CURRENTLY ACTIVE ]

Before we teach, we listen and connect. We understand that navigating the school system with a neurodiverse child can be exhausting and isolating. Phase 1 is entirely dedicated to building a safe, supportive local community right here in North Greenwood.

• Parent Support Groups: Hosted bi-monthly at local hubs like the North Greenwood Community Center. These meetups provide a safe, zero-judgment space for parents and caregivers to vent frustrations, share IEP resources, and build community with others who understand their journey.

• Documentary Screenings & Autism Awareness: Utilizing our completed documentary, "A Brighter Future on the Spectrum," to raise public awareness, educate community leaders, and advocate for neuro-affirming spaces across Pinellas County.

• Video Game Social Clubs: Free, sensory-friendly weekend gaming hangouts where neurodiverse youth can make friends and build social confidence using the Parent Perimeter Model—giving kids their independent social space while parents remain nearby in a supportive setting.

Phase 2: The 8-Week Video Game Design Class 

Status: [ 🟡 IN DEVELOPMENT / SEEKING FUNDING ]

Once our community is established, we introduce our proprietary technical curriculum, shifting youth from playing video games to engineering them.

• The "Trojan Horse" Curriculum: An 8-week introductory coding course using game design to teach engineering-level Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts (class instantiation, state management, event listeners, and inheritance).

• Two-Tiered Pipeline: Students start on consoles (Super Mario Maker 2 and Fortnite Creative) to master visual logic without typing syntax, then graduate to enterprise laptops (Roblox Studio & Lua) to apply text-based code.

• Co-Teaching Model: A 1:2.5 adult-to-student ratio pairing a Technical Instructor with a credentialed Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Lead to prevent cognitive fatigue.

Phase 3: The Homeschool Pod/ Micro-School Pilot

Status: [ ⏳ UPCOMING ]

Following our successful tech bootcamps, Bright Minds Academy will launch a 1-year, full-time academic pilot program (Homeschool Pod) to test daily full-time operations.

• Step Up for Students (SUFS) Integration: Families will utilize Florida’s Personalized Education Program (UA) scholarships to cover specialized technical instruction and academic tutoring.

• Academic Integration: We will hire a certified core-subject teacher (Math and Reading) to complement our technical and engineering electives in a small-cohort setting.

• Proof of Concept: Demonstrating daily operational success, behavioral pacing, and academic growth on a manageable, micro-school scale.

Phase 4: Full K-12 Neurodiverse Private School

Status: [ 🚀 THE ULTIMATE VISION ]

The culmination of The Bright Minds Pathway: a permanent, state-recognized educational sanctuary in Clearwater.

• Florida DOE Private School: Formally registering a Florida Department of Education School Code and utilizing Family Empowerment Scholarships (FES-UA) to provide accessible tuition for all families.

• Sensory-Optimized Campus: Leasing and retrofitting a commercial facility in Clearwater designed specifically for neurodivergent sensory needs.

• Vocational Success: Permanently defeating the "autism employment cliff" by graduating students with real-world skills in software development, automation, and computer technology.

Join Us on the Pathway

We are actively executing Phase 1 and preparing for Phase 2. Whether you are a parent looking for support at our next meeting or a grant funder seeking to sponsor our mobile tech lab, there is a place for you on the Pathway.