Gary & Sawyanna Robinson: Pulse Academy Launch and Church Partnership Deep Dive

Overview

Follow-up call from the Jan 8 Prenda weekly meeting where Gary and Sawyanna (Kay) connected on shared vision for faith-based microschools. Sawyanna shared detailed updates on her "Pulse Academy" launch in Tampa, including her pastor's generous partnership terms, lessons learned from a previous school that mismanaged scholarship funds, and practical advice for Gary. Gary shared his faith journey, vision for supporting church-based microschools, and connected Sawyanna to Apostle Delmar's Tampa service happening that weekend.

Key Topics Discussed

Sawyanna's Pulse Academy Progress

Same-day progress after Jan 8 call:

• Met with pastor that morning to brief him on Prenda call details
• Pastor requested supply list and is "full force about helping the school progress"
• Confirmed Florida doesn't allow Chromebook purchases through scholarship (unlike some states)
• Pastor said: "That's not a problem. We're going to go ahead and get all the supplies."

School Details:

• Ministry name: Healthy Hearts Ministries
• School name: Pulse Academy (reflecting "heart pulse," love, giving)
• Location: Tampa, Florida (Riverview area)
• Church moving into new building next month with space for school
• 4 families committed so far

Church Partnership Model (Detailed)

Sawyanna's pastor is exceptionally supportive:

Financial Arrangement:

• Pastor charging flat monthly fee instead of per-student
• Reason: "He wants the school to be prosperous and successful, not that he's out for the money"
• Later arrangement: School will tithe from income
• Pastor trusts Sawyanna fully to run it

Pastor's Vision:

"He's wanting us to be entrepreneurs, and that is our goal. For us who he's implementing entrepreneurs to also be kingdom to God."

Curriculum Alignment:

• Both share vision for non-traditional education
• General subjects plus faith integration
• Additional programming: home economics, finances, life skills, entrepreneurship
• In a church: "You got to know they're going to get God. Not church. There's a difference."

Scholarship Fund Management (Critical Lessons)

Sawyanna shared cautionary tale from her previous school experience:

What Happened:

• School ran solely on scholarship funds
• August 2023: Teachers didn't get paid until October (quarterly payment timing)
• Parents had to manually "hit the button" to release scholarship funds to school
• Some parents didn't see emails, didn't release funds
• School allowed 3 students to attend free despite behavior issues
• Teachers stayed because they "had heart for the program" but couldn't pay bills

Key Quote:

"I can't work for free no more. For about two years I've been talking about my own school, how it will look."

Lessons Applied:

1. Cannot solely depend on scholarship payments
2. Need grants and other partners
3. Must actively manage parent communication around quarterly releases
4. Need to enforce payment requirements (unlike previous school)

"I didn't get paid because of the mismanagement of the school. So therefore, I have to also come up with either partners, other grants, and actually managing my scholarships very well."

Florida vs. Texas Scholarship Comparison

Florida:

• $8,000 per student (not lottery-based—program is mature)
• Additional for IEP/504 students (PEP and UP scholarships)
• Cannot use scholarship for Chromebooks
• Very strict ("stickler") on fund usage

Texas:

• $10,000+ per student
• Lottery-based (still new)
• More flexibility

Sawyanna's Fee Structure:

• Guide fee: $5,000/student/year
• Prenda fee: $2,199/student/year
• Higher fees for students needing therapists or additional support

Scaling Model

Sawyanna's plan for replication:

1. Phase 1: Run first school with co-guide (who is "AI tech" focused)
2. Phase 2: Sawyanna teaches elementary, co-guide teaches older kids
3. Phase 3: Co-guide branches off to start own school
4. Phase 4: Repeat pattern with new guides

"Once I teach this co-guide, we're going to work it together, and then I'm going to go and start the next class."

Already discussing expansion to Texas and other states.

Gary's Vision and Role

Gary's Faith Journey:

• Started coming to Christ ~5 years ago
• Baptized 3 months ago
• Progressive realization: "It doesn't make sense in my mind to educate kids without knowledge of God."

Core Conviction:

"If you don't know who you are and what this life is about, you're going to be depressed, you're going to have mental illness... You can't even talk about these things if you force yourself into the secular box."

Vision for Church-Based Schools:

"Churches that take responsibility for the formation of children are going to be important outposts—like HQs for the kingdom. Right now, we're sending our kids into spiritual death every day."

Gary's Role:

• Not likely to be a guide himself
• "Nudging people to get started"
• Helping churches understand the opportunity and deadlines
• Being a helpful resource (tech/engineering background)

Personal Note:

• Having faith he'll meet his wife this year
• Wants to support a movement of church-based schools where he'd want to send his own kids

Sawyanna's Advice to Gary

Suggested Gary might need to be a guide for the first school:

"You may have to be the guide. And set it up and show the program itself for one church, for one building. You may have to do that for the first... Let me do the experience in the failures and the ups and the downs."

Reasoning:

"Because when that next guide calls you, even though they're under Prenda, you still have an idea—hey, this is what happens, this is what you need to do."

Faith and Miracles

Gary mentioned his pastor (Apostle Delmar) was doing a miracle service in Tampa that weekend:

Sawyanna's Response:

"Miracles are about to perform now, Gary. In this season. Amongst a lot of unbelief... It is going to happen whether we're ready or not. But we do know where God strives—right into where the belief is, where faith is."

Gary on Logical Arguments:

"Logical arguments only go so far with a lot of people. People have to experience a move of God. They have to see something that they couldn't explain with their secular brains."

Gary on Outpouring:

"I do believe that there's going to be an outpouring of the spirit as we get closer to the end."

Key Quotes

Sawyanna on faith-based education:

"We're in this world, but not part of this world, right? So this generation, we want to be careful what we put in them."

Sawyanna on church setting:

"If it's in a church, you know this is faith-based is going to take place. As a parent, there is no way you cannot believe your child is not going to experience God in any form."

Gary on the current system:

"I'm basically tired of pretending like I'm okay with that."

Sawyanna on pioneers:

"Everyone doesn't see the vision and I'm careful who I share the vision with."

Gary on church awareness:

"What's tricky for a church is they basically have to say, hey, if you would consider sending your kid to a private school or microschool, if you got the funding, just apply for the funding. Because it's kind of complex, the sequencing."

Action Items

1. Gary to send Tampa church info - Apostle Delmar's service details for Sawyanna
2. Gary to explore with pastor's sister - Worship leader who is also educator
3. Stay in touch - Email and continue collaborating as both launch schools
4. Gary to consider being guide - Sawyanna's advice to get hands-on experience first

Relationship Notes

• Strong faith alignment and shared vision
• Sawyanna is careful who she shares vision with
• Both see this as kingdom work, not just business
• Sawyanna's Tampa location creates potential connection to Apostle Delmar's ministry
• Mutual support dynamic: Sawyanna sharing lessons learned, Gary offering tech help