GEICO & the Arizona Leadership Foundation provide $1 million in scholarships | Families

GEICO recently partnered with the Arizona Leadership Foundation to fund $1 million in scholarships for students with specialized needs at Intermountain Academy in Tucson. The Intermountain Academy is a local school that accepts enrollment of students referred from all surrounding community school districts who have students (K-12) with special educational needs.  

“There aren’t always a lot of options for families in the Tucson area looking for a positive educational environment that focuses on developing students with special behavioral and social skills needs,” said Martha Furnas, GEICO regional vice president, in a recent news release. “Intermountain Academy supports a need in our local community where our children can grow and succeed.  GEICO is pleased to partner with the Arizona Leadership Foundation in support of their efforts.”

“Intermountain Academy is fortunate to have found a partner in GEICO. Their scholarship pledge of $1 million allows the Academy to increase the number of students served with special needs in the Tucson community,” said Tyson Gillespie, Intermountain Academy program director, in the same release. “GEICO’s support allows us to build the academic and vocational programs that are the backbone of the Academy.”

“We are extremely pleased to have GEICO’s support to further Intermountain’s vision of the opportunity for children with special needs and special talents to be able to choose the Intermountain Academy as their home school for an entire academic year,” said David K. Giles, PhD., Chief Executive Officer of Intermountain Centers for Human Development.

Accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and recognized as a Private School by the Arizona Department of Education, the Intermountain Academy offers communities a positive teaching environment for youth with specialized needs and builds on each child’s strengths and interests.  The legacy of the school, which originally began 50 years ago as the Nellie P. Covert School, is in diverse student populations, averaging 38 students per year. Intermountain Academy is dedicated to the development and implementation of new, innovative educational programs in addition to the current school for youth with special educational needs.  

GEICO’s donation was made possible because of their participation with the Arizona Leadership Foundation and the state’s corporate tax credit program. GEICO’s total donation to the foundation was $2 million in 2012, which was allocated to three different Arizona schools.

The Arizona Leadership Foundation is able to offer scholarships through Arizona’s Corporate Income Tuition Tax Credit (CTC) Scholarship Program and the Lexie’s Law Corporate Income Tax Credit Program. These Arizona programs are education plans that are designed to help low-income families and families with disabled and displaced children obtain the best education for their children.