Impact100 SRQ Members See Their Support at Work at Starfish Academy

The $109,500 grant helped transform preschool classrooms at The Florida Center for Early Childhood’s Sarasota and North Port campuses.

(October, 2026) – When over 50 members of Impact100 SRQ recently visited Starfish Academy, they had a chance to see what their investment looks like through the eyes of preschoolers and their teachers.

Starfish Academy is The Florida Center for Early Childhood’s inclusive preschool, where children with a wide range of abilities learn together in an environment designed to meet their individual needs. During the visit, the Impact100 SRQ guests toured The Florida Center’s Sarasota campus, where new Reggio Emilia-inspired classroom furnishings are helping create calmer, more flexible learning environments designed around the ways young children explore, interact and learn.

The transformation was made possible in large part through Impact100 SRQ’s generous support.

Impact100 SRQ awarded The Florida Center a $109,500 grant in January 2025 to support the Starfish Academy Transformation Project. The funding provided new Reggio Emilia-inspired furnishings for four classrooms at the Sarasota and North Port campuses and helped complete the final phase of a multiyear $500,000 campaign to create welcoming, inclusive learning environments for young children.

In the Reggio Emilia approach, the physical environment is often described as the “third teacher” — an integral part of how children learn. The transformed classrooms feature natural materials, defined learning centers and sensory-sensitive design that encourage children to explore, make choices, collaborate and develop greater independence.

“What Impact100 SRQ funded wasn’t simply new furniture,” says Kate Reed, chief philanthropy officer of The Florida Center. “It was an environment intentionally designed around how young children develop and learn. These spaces help children feel safe, explore independently and learn in ways that work for them. And perhaps the best measure of the impact came from one of our children, who simply said, ‘I feel happy here.’”

Early feedback suggests the changes are making a difference. Ninety percent of caregivers surveyed said the environment helped their child feel more engaged, while 95% said they felt more connected to their child’s learning and development. Teachers described the transformed classrooms as calmer, safer, more inviting and better organized.

Serving children from six weeks through age 5 at The Florida Center’s Sarasota and North Port campuses, Starfish Academy brings typically developing children together with children who may have developmental delays, disabilities or other challenges. Speech, occupational and mental health professionals are integrated into the school environment.

The furnishings are intended to benefit children for years to come. The commercial-grade furnishings will provide 15 to 20 years of continued use. With capacity for 120 students across both locations, Impact100 SRQ’s investment will benefit hundreds of early learners.

This initiative was financially assisted by Impact100 SRQ, Inc.

Photo captions:

• Reggio Emilia-inspired classrooms at Starfish Academy feature natural materials, defined learning centers and sensory-sensitive design that encourage children to explore, make choices, collaborate and develop greater independence.
• Children learn and play in a newly transformed Reggio Emilia-inspired classroom at Starfish Academy.

About The Florida Center for Early Childhood

For more than 45 years, The Florida Center for Early Childhood has been the leading provider of therapeutic services, early education, and healthy development for young children in southwest Florida, offering a seamless delivery of services for the whole child and their family. Today, the agency is nationally recognized for its early childhood expertise in various specialties. The Florida Center provides developmental therapies, mental health counseling, Starfish Academy preschool, the Healthy Families home-visiting program, and the state’s only Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Clinic, with locations in Sarasota, Orlando and Pensacola.