The Project Focus story doesn’t begin in a boardroom. It begins in 1997, with a mother named Josephine Isenbergh and her newborn daughter, Elizabeth, who was born with Down syndrome. Like so many parents, Josephine was filled with a familiar fear: What will her future look like?
As Elizabeth grew, Josephine witnessed a troubling gap in the traditional school system—students with disabilities were often isolated and denied the same rich experiences as their peers. Determined to create something better, she voiced her concerns to a friend, Hillsborough County school board member Candy Olsen, who posed a life-changing question: “Why don’t you just start your own charter school?”
Josephine didn’t wait for an invitation. She connected with other passionate parents and a visionary therapist named Loretta Gallo-Lopez. Together, after two years of relentless work, they opened Focus Academy in 2013—a school where students could thrive academically and socially.
But the journey didn’t end there. As Elizabeth approached graduation, a new question loomed: What happens next? Recognizing that support couldn’t simply stop after high school, the founding team expanded their vision. They developed a transition program, launched the Focus Forward adult day training program in 2021, and in 2019, formally established the Project Focus Foundation as the 501(c)(3) financial backbone to support and grow this continuum of care.
Project Focus supports programs that help students and young adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities grow through education, transition planning, adult services, workplace readiness, and community-based learning. From the classroom to adult life, these programs work together to build stronger paths toward confidence, connection, and independence.
Focus Academy provides innovative charter middle school, high school, and transition programs for students in sixth grade through age 22
Focus Day School is a private, non-profit elementary program for students in grades 3–6 with developmental disabilities.
Focus Forward is a Level 3 Life Skills Development Adult Day Training program aimed at enhancing the abilities of young adults with disabilities.
Focus Café is a fully functioning business offering beverages and snacks to patrons. It is staffed by Focus Academy Transition Program students.
Vocational Rehabilitation is to help people with disabilities find and maintain employment and enhance their independence.
Focus Outreach & Support: Seminars and coaching on relevant topics for both families and caregivers as well as young adults. Future residential community.
We envision that through the resources of innovative programs and community support, persons with disabilities will be empowered to work toward a full and promising future in their education, employment, and life experiences.
We endeavor to improve the lives of students and young adults with disabilities by providing financial support for innovative and transformative programs that help individuals to reach their greatest potential. We are dedicated to the basic principle that every individual is capable of making their own unique contribution to society.
Project Focus is a non-profit organization established to provide programs and services through a unique learning community to assist young adults with disabilities to connect with each other and integrate into the larger community in order to live their best lives. Project Focus benefits the existing programs of Focus Academy, as well as new and future initiatives for young adults with developmental disabilities.
