FREEPORT, Fla. – When Lindy Wood first heard about school choice in Florida, she was living in her home state of Alabama and frustrated with the lack of educational opportunities for her son, Weston. Weston is on the autism spectrum. And while Alabama had a private school choice program back then, it was limited, and Weston would not have qualified.
Florida is “putting the power in the hands of mom and dad,” thought Lindy, then a psychiatric nurse practitioner. “That’s incredible.”
In 2016, Lindy and her husband, Jason, moved their family four hours south, from the small town of Livingston, Alabama, to the small town of Freeport, Florida. But it wasn’t just because Weston, now 16, could benefit from school choice.
It was because Lindy knew she could leverage Florida’s choice programs to build a school.
That school is Westonwood Ranch. It focuses on independence for individuals with developmental differences, and, accordingly, specializes in life skills and job skills and what Lindy calls “functional education.”
“These kids are empowered to care for themselves,” Lindy said. They’re “cultivating a life outside of mom and dad’s shadow.”
Lindy opened Westonwood in 2019 with four students. Now it serves 60.
Eighteen are in grades six through 12. Most of the rest are young adults. Most are on the autism spectrum.
Nearly all of them use or used the scholarship that drew the Woods to Florida.
The students care for farm animals, work in three different businesses on campus, and gain opportunities to work for companies off campus. Beginning next year, some of them will live on campus as adults, thanks to a 46-unit supported living community now under construction.
Westonwood parents call the school a “godsend” and a “miracle.” Many have either struggled with the “services cliff,” the dropoff in state supports their children face as adults, or the anxieties that come with that cliff looming.
Now they have hope.
“He’s a happy person now. He wasn’t when he got here,” said retired police detective Robert Stevenson, referring to his son, Matthew. “It shows what kind of days Matthew has when I pick him up and he says, ‘Hey Dad,’ and he’s smiling.”
“We lit countless candles,” said Robert’s wife, Maria. “Lindy answered our prayers.”
Westonwood Ranch highlights two trends tied to Florida’s embrace of school choice.
First, it’s an excellent example of the kinds of schools emerging all over Florida because parents are in control. Over the past 10 years, the number of private schools in Florida has grown by a third, a net gain of 828 new schools. Forty states don’t have that many private schools.
Second, more families like the Woods are moving here because of choice (see here, here and here). Scholarships worth $8,000 or $10,000 on average are drawing these “school choice transplants.” So is an education system that is far more diverse and dynamic because half a million students are using them.
When Weston was young, the Woods bought a second home in Birmingham, 110 miles away, because that’s where his Applied Behavioral Analysis services were. Lindy knew Weston would eventually need a school that focused on independent living. Along the way, it became clear that she’d be the one to create it.
“I think the Lord put that mission in me,” Lindy said.
(Today, Alabama offers an ESA with universal eligibility that gives students with special needs priority for funding. Unlike Florida, the program is still subject to annual funding limits.)
The Woods checked out properties all over the Panhandle that might work for a school before finding 40 acres near Freeport. The area is rural but fast growing, along a scenic stretch of highway that overlooks Choctawhatchee Bay.
“As soon as I saw it,” Lindy said of the mostly wooded site, “I felt this calm.”
The ranch setting isn’t an accident. Lindy and her husband grew up with horses. And when Weston was young, riding horses would leave him calm for hours. “I could sense, early, the power in that,” she said.
Westonwood offers equine therapy. It also includes an assortment of other animals, including pigs, chickens, goats, rabbits, and alpacas.
“With animals, you can form that bond that doesn’t require any words,” Lindy said. “It’s a low-pressure environment of acceptance and support.”
Westonwood has a covered equestrian area, multiple classrooms with 20 instructors, and a big aquaponics greenhouse.
In the on-site businesses, students make dog treats and scented candles and grow butter lettuce. The dog treats are sold to real estate agencies and pet-friendly hotels, and to individuals through Shopify. The lettuce is sold to high-end restaurants.
The candles are new. The students are doing presentations to local businesses to ramp up sales, and they’ve already landed orders from a couple of salons.
Westonwood’s approach works for Valerie Hamon’s 13-year-old son Lucas.
Valerie enrolled him last year after Lucas, who has Williams syndrome, faced bullying and other issues at his prior school. “He wasn’t wanting to go to school anymore, which wasn’t like him,” said Valerie, a public school teacher. “That was really hard to see.”
At Westonwood, Lucas participates in a half-dozen clubs, including yoga, cooking, and sewing. He hones his skills through work on the ranch and its affiliated businesses. For example, math skills are deployed making change during sales, while presentations to clients boost confidence with public speaking.
“He is happy. He is growing. He is learning,” Valerie said. “It isn’t the same academics he would have had (in his prior school) but every kid is different. Every kid deserves to learn in the way that is best for them.”
Lindy didn’t want a school limited to wealthier families, which is why Florida’s choice programs were critical.
Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities is available to students from ages 3 through 22. Students may use it through high school graduation, or, if they don't graduate, until they turn 22.
Even with the scholarships, Westonwood must raise a lot of money. The school hosts several fundraisers, including an annual rodeo that draws 6,000 people. Families, churches, and businesses all chip in, too.
“Sometimes I’d wake up, ‘What am I doing? This is impossible,’” Lindy said. “And every time, something would happen – like someone said, ‘I’d like to provide all the plumbing supplies for this project.’ “
The community is willing to give, she said, “because they see these young people engaged and happy.”
Michael and Gina Walker said their daughter Selah, who has Down syndrome, often felt socially isolated and academically deficient in her prior schools. Then Gina, who’s a Realtor, heard about Westonwood from her secretary, whose grandson was thriving there. The Walkers got a glimpse at the rodeo. They saw him not only carry out the American flag to begin the event but also work the show as a rodeo clown.
“The other students were there, singing their heads off,” said Michael, who’s a stay-at-home dad so he can support Selah. “It was eye opening. We were in tears.”
Westonwood has been transformational for Selah, now 17. More than anything, the Walkers said, the school reinforces the independent living skills they emphasize at home, from personal hygiene to cooking meals. The animal husbandry piece has also been key.
“These animals depend on her,” Gina said. “It builds her confidence, her self-awareness.”
Ultimately, Michael said, Westonwood has given Selah “the ability to know she can do these things without help from us.”
The Stevensons were living in New York when Robert’s mom in Freeport sent them a newspaper story about Westonwood. The Stevensons spent years battling schools on Matthew’s behalf but finally found one that worked for him on a state-supported farm. Unfortunately, students there are “aged out” at 21.
“These students, they’re late bloomers,” Maria said. “But at a certain age, they (the state) would just take these individuals and say, ‘That’s it.’ That would infuriate me.”
The Stevensons loved what they learned about Westonwood. They wanted to continue the momentum Matthew gained at the farm school, so they quickly moved to Florida. They could only use the choice scholarship for one year, but the school has been a game changer.
Now 24, Matthew’s behavior challenges have eased dramatically. He enjoys his jobs, especially emailing pitches about the ranch’s products to resorts. And he not only won several awards at the end-of-year ceremony, including one for his devotion to the ranch’s horses, but he also presented an award to another student.
The bottom line, Robert said, is “they’re helping him grow up.”
