A MULTIGENERATIONAL STEM HUB BUILT FOR LIFELONG LEARNERS
THE ARISE MISSION
Our mission is to ignite a lifelong passion for STEM through hands-on innovation, creativity, and exploration for every generation.
OUR STORY
We are two sisters driven by our Christian faith and a shared passion for discovery and hands-on learning! Guided by the belief that every child is purposefully created with unique gifts, we have dedicated our combined 45+ years of experience in Brevard Public Schools to providing rich, engaging experiences for homeschool families, PreK-Grade 6 students, educators, families, and senior citizens. Our flexible scheduling and diverse programs include exciting topics such as robotics, digital creativity, engineering design, and environmental science, designed to ignite a growth mindset in everyone who walks through our doors. Join us for fun, interactive classes that align with state standards and reinforce school learning through hands-on experiments and design challenges!
Why Now?
“Brevard County serves more than 80,000 school-age students, with growing participation in homeschool, charter, and alternative education models.”
Meet the Educators Behind Arise Innovation
Two educators. Two areas of expertise. One shared passion: helping learners, created in the image of God, discover the creativity, curiosity, and potential within them.
Melissa Woods
Co-Founder | STEM & Science Education
Melissa is a STEM educator, curriculum developer, and educational technology specialist with more than 25 years of experience designing engaging, hands-on learning experiences.
Her strength lies in science, STEM, engineering, and curriculum design. Throughout her career, she has developed and contributed to science curriculum, STEM pacing guides, engineering design challenges, and aerospace education resources. She has also helped develop large-scale space education experiences, including curriculum and student materials for Brevard's Destination Space initiative.
Melissa brings a passion for turning big scientific ideas into authentic, hands-on experiences that encourage students to ask questions, investigate, design, test, and improve. Her expertise spans STEM innovation, robotics, engineering, aerospace, environmental science, and emerging technologies.
At Arise Innovation, Melissa leads the development of our STEM, science, engineering, and innovation experiences—creating opportunities for learners to think like scientists, engineers, and innovators.
Her strengths include:
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Science & STEM education
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Engineering design & problem-solving
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Aerospace & space education
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STEM curriculum development
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Robotics & emerging technologies
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Hands-on inquiry & innovation
Tonya Bandy
Co-Founder | Early Childhood, Literacy & Technology Education
Tonya is an early childhood educator, curriculum developer, and digital creativity specialist with more than 22 years of classroom experience. Her strength lies in understanding how young children learn and using technology as a meaningful tool to deepen learning—not simply as a replacement for traditional instruction.
With a background in child development and primary education, Tonya specializes in early childhood learning, literacy, technology integration, and creative expression. Her experience includes designing technology-integrated instruction across subject areas, developing literacy-focused technology experiences, and creating digital storytelling opportunities for young learners.
Tonya is also Orton-Gillingham trained and reading endorsed, bringing a strong understanding of foundational literacy development to Arise Innovation's early childhood and elementary programs.
At Arise Innovation, Tonya leads the development of our early childhood, literacy, digital creativity, and technology-integrated experiences—helping young learners build confidence as they read, create, communicate, and solve problems.
Her strengths include:
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Early childhood education
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Literacy & foundational reading
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Orton-Gillingham training
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Technology integration across subjects
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Digital storytelling & creativity
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Developmentally appropriate learning