LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (May 13, 2021) – On Wednesday evening, panelists at The Reform Alliance’s virtual town hall emphasized how educational strategies need to be flexible to meet the needs of different students.
 
Courtney Williams from Compass Academy and Cheri Stevenson from Access Academy explained the Succeed Scholarship is a valuable tool for students with learning disabilities because they can use the scholarship to attend private schools with specialized experience in addressing their needs.

“Our students don’t have to be a round peg to fit into a round hole,” Stevenson said. “We have a lot of flexibility in the ways we can teach.”

Students who have an individualized education plan (IEP), an individual service plan (ISP) or a qualifying medical diagnosis are eligible for the Succeed Scholarship.
 
Children who are currently living in a group foster home are also eligible for the Succeed Scholarship. Rachel Hubbard from Second Chance Youth Ranch said this is a vital option since these children often are at risk of being left behind in traditional school settings due to what they have experienced.
 
“Every child in foster care had endured a lot of trauma: abuse, neglect, molestation, loss of a parent,” Hubbard said. “It is absolutely impossible for a child to carry that kind of weight on their shoulders and leave it at the front door when they walk into the school building.”
 
The Arkansas Department of Education is currently accepting Succeed Scholarship applications for the 2021-2022 school year until May 17. Instructions for applying and the link to the online portal are available on The Reform Alliance’s website.

The panelists also discussed recent education legislation, like the expansion of the Succeed Scholarship program to include students from military families and the creation of Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids, a tax credit scholarship program.
 
“It’s definitely very important that we take into account the importance of equity, access and opportunity when we are working with all students,” Kanesha Barnes from AR Kids Read said. “All students should have equal access to equitable educational outcomes.”
 
ABOUT THE REFORM ALLIANCE: The Reform Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring every K-12 student in Arkansas has equal access to a world-class education. The Reform Alliance is proud to manage the Succeed Scholarship at no cost to the State of Arkansas. Even small expenses like the cost of mailing checks to schools are paid for by a private foundation grant. Free educational resources and more information about The Reform Alliance are available at thereformalliance.org.