When Devon Linhardt moved to Pensacola with his father, a spell of hard times forced them to live in a van and made Devon uneasy about enrolling at a traditional high school to finish his diploma.

Adrianna Wann and Leilani Brown walked very different paths to Marion County Acceleration Academies, but these besties have something vital in common: a drive to move past adversity into a promising tomorrow.

Twin siblings Michael and Catherine Gorey have been at Lowcountry Acceleration Academy since the day it opened in 2021, and they’ve felt at home ever since.

From the time he was young, Christian Johnson has been a gifted trumpet player. That spark grew into a flame when he was in fourth grade and got invited backstage to meet legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

At Lowcountry Acceleration Academy — like its sister schools across the United States — it’s impossible for young learners to get lost.

To Rhyannon Jovan, there’s nothing more rewarding than helping a young learner find their voice through writing — especially if it’s a voice that’s been squelched through racism, poverty and other forces of exclusion.

When Malu Montero Britto moved to the United States from Peru as a 5th grader, the transition was rough. In addition to adjusting to a new country and language, she had to deal with an unjustified hostility from some of her peers.

When schools finally reopened after being closed for months during the Covid pandemic, Olivia Jones had fallen far behind. And the large, traditional high school to which she returned only made things worse.

Even before the car crash, traditional high school wasn’t working for Nathan Godwin.