Saray’s parents immigrated from Mexico, and for years, agricultural fields were where they earned a living: grueling, physical work that left little room for much else, including, at times, their own education. What they wanted for their children was different. A chance to build a life that didn’t depend on a job in the fields.
That hope came with loss. Saray’s family faced tragedy when her sister passed away during her childhood. Even then, her parents stayed focused on one thing: access to education that worked for their family.
Following a Familiar, Difficult Path
Saray’s assigned public schools weren’t working for her. Her older brothers had already lived that reality. One dropped out. The other finished through an alternative school. As the only daughter in the family, Saray felt the weight of wanting her parents’ sacrifices to mean something, even while heading down a similar road.
Her first year of high school made that pressure worse. Teachers, she found, gave their attention to students who already understood the material, and little else to those, like her, who didn’t.
“Not for Kids Like Me”
Saray had heard about Elevate Academy, a hands-on public charter school built around career and technical education. Her first reaction wasn’t hope. It was skepticism.
She assumed charter schools were “for rich, college-bound kids,” not someone like her. She applied anyway and got in.
Finding Her Trade
Elevate Academy’s teachers stayed involved in a way Saray wasn’t used to, and at first, that closeness made her uncomfortable. They kept showing up for her anyway, and slowly, it worked. Working alongside instructors who wouldn’t let her disappear into the back of a classroom, she started finding her footing, in the classroom and in herself.
Through Elevate’s hands-on trade classes, Saray discovered something she didn’t expect: a real passion for criminal justice. She became a participant in the school’s youth court program and, by her junior year, had become a role model for other students working through the same struggles she’d once faced.
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After watching her teacher, Ms. Ramos, help students navigate the justice system, Saray developed a passion for helping at-risk children, particularly those within the juvenile justice system. Next Step Ready
Elevate’s philosophy is “Next Step Ready,” and for Saray, that promise became real.
“Nobody has ever needed a book in the fields,” she says.
That’s how Saray sums up the expectations she grew up defying. She credits Elevate for helping her learn about different career paths and encouraging her to continue her education. She is on track to graduate with an associate’s degree in criminal justice in the fall of 2027. Her hope is to pursue a bachelor’s degree and become a youth probation officer.
She still sees Ms. Ramos at least once a month.
“I am the first person in my family to attend college,” she says. Most importantly, her success is confirmation that her parents many sacrifices were not in vain.
Turning One Story Into Many
Saray’s path wasn’t given to her. A charter school built around trades, and teachers who refused to let her fall through the cracks, gave her the tools to build it herself.
Not every student gets access to a school like Elevate Academy. Not every family gets the chance their parents crossed a border hoping for.
The Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC), launching in 2027, is designed to expand access to hands-on, trade-focused education like this on a national scale. When eligible donors give to a qualified Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), such as AFC Scholarship Fund’s Skilled Trades Scholarship Fund, they receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit: up to $1,700 for individuals, or up to $3,400 for married couples filing jointly. You give first; the credit reduces your federal tax bill when you file. The credit is the entry point, not the limit. You can give more, and the amount above the credit is treated like any other charitable contribution under the usual tax rules.
More donors funding more scholarships means more students like Saray get the chance to become the first in their family to do something their parents never got the chance to do.
Countless families have a story like Saray’s. See more stories of students and families whose lives changed through school choice.
