Champions for Freedom

State Rep. David Ray: Fight for the Kids

Published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Nov. 26, 2021

Much has been written about education being the defining issue in this month’s Virginia gubernatorial election between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin.Youngkin, a businessman with no prior political experience, pulled off an upset that few saw coming in a state that has trended strongly toward the Democrats in recent years. He did so in large part by appealing to parents who are dissatisfied over the current state of public education.

Parents were upset by many factors, including the prolonged school closings, even as most of society has returned to some measure of pre-pandemic normal. They were upset that teachers’ unions resisted a return to in-person instruction, even though students had experienced tremendous learning loss throughout the pandemic.

On top of that, many parents were disturbed by the injection of left-wing politics into their kids’ education. The reported teaching of critical race theory and a letter from the National School Boards Association to President Biden essentially accusing concerned parents of being potential domestic terrorists only added fuel to the fire.

Virginia’s recent elections are a strong reminder that states need to give parents more choices in education. In addition to their local traditional public schools, parents and children need the ability to choose an environment that meets their individual needs for a whole host of reasons (academic, values, bullying, learning disabilities, etc.).

In Arkansas, we’ve recently taken some small steps in the right direction. My colleagues and I recently passed a tax credit scholarship program to benefit low-income students whose parents can’t afford the same educational options that wealthy families enjoy. Unfortunately, due to political opposition, this program was limited to about 200 students out of a statewide K-12 population of over 400,000.

For those 200 students, this program has life-changing potential. But what about the tens of thousands that may want to participate but won’t be able to?

I also was the lead sponsor of Act 689, which makes the children of military families eligible for the Succeed Scholarship Program. This is a big win for our military families who face an altogether separate set of educational challenges, but this program is in need of additional funding as well. It is currently capped at just over 600 students, and demand for the program far outstrips the available scholarships.

As you can see, much more work remains.

Arkansas needs strong public schools. There’s no doubt about that. But assigning children to a school based on their ZIP code is an antiquated model. It’s time to move past the old way of doing things and embrace new ideas. Education isn’t a one-size-fits-all model, and we need options that are as unique and varied as our children’s needs.

For those who prefer a different model, it’s important to have a myriad of options like public charters, homeschooling and private school choice. For example, Florida is one of the highest-performing states in the country for K-12 education, and they’ve had robust choice programs for over two decades now. We can have both strong public schools and give parents more options–it’s not an either/or choice.

States around the country are waking up to the idea that parents, not the government, should be in charge of their children’s education. Our Legislature needs to take notice of what’s happening around the country. It’s time to stop fighting over kids and start fighting for kids.

No One Wins When Kids Get Trapped in Schools That Aren’t the Right Fit

Published on Project Forever Free on Aug. 11, 2021

School administrators insisted that my son’s struggles in the classroom were because he had not been disciplined enough, even though they were aware that Hayden had been diagnosed with autism. They waged war against him as a “bad child” — shutting my little second grader in a mop closet, putting him through physical and emotional abuse in the Alternative Learning Environment program, and forcing hospitalization at Pinnacle Point Behavioral Healthcare in Little Rock.

…

Read Erica’s story on Project Forever Free.

Key to Succeed

Published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Aug. 12, 2021

Foster care students benefit from education options

School options are helpful to those in foster care

Published by Talk Business and Politics June 5, 2021

Published in the Hot Springs Sentinel Record on May 30, 2021

Published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 17, 2021

Having grown up with both parents working in public education, and having attended public school myself, I understand why Gwen Faulkenberry wrote so passionately about the need to protect public schools in “In this together: Vouching for public schools.” 

However, I have learned from both personal and professional experience, that education isn’t one size fits all. I have seen the need for additional education options beyond traditional public schools.

My son, Carter, has ASD, dyslexia, PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder. He started out in public school and functioned relatively well until third grade. Then, he started falling further and further behind in reading and having more and more panic attacks at school. The large class sizes were too much for him, and he was being bullied. He started skipping breakfast in the cafeteria because it caused him too much stress.

We could not afford to send him to a private school, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to educate my child and continue working full time. Overwhelmed, I spent substantial time and money searching for materials to begin homeschooling him. 

Fortunately, I found a local homeschool group with more than 100 children enrolled, and then found programs and materials through the Prenda microschool model. We opened Arrows Academy in August to help other families in similar situations, and it filled up immediately. 

From a professional perspective, I have a master’s degree in clinical psychology and am a board-certified behavior analyst. Through my work with children on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities, I have learned some school districts are simply not equipped to tend all students, especially those with significant behavioral issues.  

We currently have two schools paying for children to come to Arrows Academy due to significant maladaptive behaviors that the school is unable to address safely. I also serve several other children whom the school has placed in homebound service, which usually consists of a paraprofessional coming to the home 30 minutes to an hour a week to “educate” the children. Where public schools — by their own admission — could not help these students, Arrows Academy has given them a learning environment designed to fit their needs.  There is no good reason for the state to pay more than $100,000 to “socially promote” a child to graduation, when it can pay a fraction of that cost with a better outcome for the child. 

As for Carter, he is flourishing in the microschool. He is now reading on grade level and has made significant progress in math. His anxiety levels have calmed to the point where he is able to speak in front of gatherings and lead prayers. He even acted in a local production of The Lion King Jr.! 

So, I support programs that give families access to alternative education options. It’s not a scam, and no one is trying to defund public schools. I just know there is no worse feeling for a special needs parent, or really any parent, than knowing there are resources available to get your kids the best care, education and future possible, but not being able to access them. Families should be able to access the resources their children need, including private schooling, regardless of income.

Nothing is more stifling to education than limiting opportunities. The unyielding labor to control education in our state is glaring. Parents of struggling learners have a handful of options. They can surrender their children to a school system that may or may not be able to satisfy their educational needs, pay burdensome out-of-pocket tuitions for private school, or homeschool. For obvious reasons, the latter two options are often not feasible, leaving families with what seems to be the only choice, settling for an inadequate educational experience provided by the local school district.

There is no overstating my appreciation for teachers. Anyone with a heart for education is a special person, indeed. Any teacher able to navigate the current educational system without losing passion and focus on individualized education is, no doubt, a superhero. Some teachers even support school choice initiatives: 56% of teachers in the Arkansas State Teachers Association, a nonpartisan and nonunion education association, supported HB1371, recent legislation that would have provided funding for both private school scholarships and public school grants.

The need for educational reform in the state of Arkansas is a point that is rarely denied. The process by which reform is to occur is widely debated, and in some cases, vehemently controverted. The opposition to educational freedoms resort to personal attack, claims of racism and accusations of corruption as routine responses to educational choice. This inability to provide logical indictment against educational choice in Arkansas is a clear sign of a weak cohort.

The knee-jerk reaction from school administration is understandable. For many rural communities in Arkansas, the local school district is the primary source of jobs and social opportunities for families. It is no surprise that accusations of the local school being inept to provide for the needs of struggling students triggers strong emotions. In nearly every district, though, there are families who feel their children are being overlooked and are suffering due to the school’s shortcomings. Our children are too precious to allow our feelings to close our eyes and ears to the reality that exists for thousands of students in our state. It is past time to start really listening to their stories and asking what we need to do.

Fortunately, we don’t have to look far for solutions. Other states have already begun this work of implementing alternative learning environments. In a study of three voucher programs and five privately funded scholarship programs across five states and D.C., EdChoice found that a vast majority of the research (11 out of 17)  showed positive outcomes for program participant test scores. Beyond  that, research from the University of Arkansas showed that expansion of school choice programs has led to higher NAEP achievement levels and higher NAEP achievement gains among public school students as well.

I write this as one who has also done the work to establish an alternative learning environment in our community. My husband and I made the decision to homeschool 12 years ago when our son with autism needed a different learning environment than we felt our local school district would not provide. For years, we have felt the options for him were too limiting. Four years ago, we created a school for other children in our area with similar needs. Now these students have a community in which they thrive, and when children thrive, they learn. They receive      therapeutic interventions and are given customized educational experiences that allow them to work at their pace with a diverse peer-focused atmosphere. It is beautiful, and it works. However, it isn’t cheap.

Current educational options are often too expensive for the families who need them most. These families are eligible for the same guarantees of a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for their children, provided under the federal IDEA law. Yet these families are not able to access their child’s appropriated funds to provide them an education that is appropriate for their child because our legislators refuse to allow more educational freedoms to our students. Currently, public school districts retain funds for students who enroll in private school or are being homeschooled, creating even more incentive for these districts to fail to provide for the needs of these students.

Our state’s legislators have had several opportunities over the past decade to open the door for educational choice for struggling learners in Arkansas. Again, and again, the door is closed. I question why our representative electors are not considering this wealth of research substantiating that broader options for education leads to better educational, health and economic outcomes for students. It is clear that educational choice is the path to a better Arkansas.

In 2014, the small town of Vilonia was devastated by an EF4 tornado. Many homes were completely decimated, and some families were forced to examine the foundation that was left after the debris and rubble were cleared to determine if they could rebuild on the same foundation or if they would need to start over somewhere new.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many families faced with a similar choice. The foundations of our society are laying bare for the world, and families are starting to assess these foundations from a new perspective. Many are now seeing cracks they couldn’t see before the storm.

The foundation that is receiving the closest examination is that of our educational system. After months of homeschooling, many parents came out of isolation with a greater admiration for educators. Many also came out with a greater understanding of their child’s diverse needs and individual learning styles, and as a result, have started considering new education options that would better suit these needs.

In the tiny town of Vilonia, one such option is available. The highly ranked Vilonia School District is the heart of the town and is the main industry in that area. Still, while most agree that Vilonia is rich with quality public school educators and administrators, many feel that another option is best for their children. This sentiment had been shared so often, especially since the pandemic began, that another option was created. A small “microschool” opened in the heart of Vilonia. This new educational concept began as a way to blend the rigor, social engagement, and structure of a public-school setting with the freedom, involvement and flexibility of the homeschool setting.

In these new educational environments, children, teachers and parents are discovering new possibilities for how they do school and do life. Parents, even those with full-time careers, can have more say-so in their children’s education. Parents also have the flexibility to travel with their children any time of year and spend as much time with their children as they are able without fear of attendance non-compliance.

Some families signed up for the microschool because it accommodates medical conditions better than traditional options. For example, Carmen Martin said she enrolled her child at the new microschool “because he is diabetic. He has to be very closely monitored, and I was getting calls multiple times a week from the school because he was not allowed to stay if his blood sugar went above or below a certain level, and they were not allowed to do what was required to change his site or adjust his insulin. I was having to leave work sometimes multiple times a week, and he was missing so much instructional time.”

In addition, many microschools and private schools place as much or more emphasis on physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual health and development. Even the name of this microschool in Vilonia reflects this focus. Arukah is Hebrew for “wholeness.” The focus and vision of this program is the growth, health and development of the whole child.

“With our oldest going into kindergarten, my husband and I debated on public school. We both knew that our son would thrive socially, emotionally and even intellectually anywhere he was a student, but we also wanted him to grow spiritually and morally as well,” Krystal Grimes said. “Our choice to enroll him in a private option has provided a continuity of care and enforcement of values. When my son told his teachers of an idea he had to ensure the homeless had food, they helped his idea become a reality by hosting a food drive. This taught him so many life lessons, especially how he can make a difference in the world.”

Ultimately though, the most important thing to remember is that a variety of options to meet the varied needs of children is always a good thing. Doing what is best for children should always take precedence over what is best for the system.

Ashley Echols, another parent who enrolled her child in a private educational option, said this, “Every child is different and has different educational needs. An environment, learning style and curriculum that is good for one child isn’t necessarily the best for another child.”

Jherrithan Dukes is a Little Rock native. His passion for music paved the way for him to receive a full band scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He graduated with honors from UAPB with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and went to work for the Little Rock School District.

Dukes went on to serve as assistant principal at eStem Public Charter Schools. He is now the principal at Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff.

Dukes now holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is pursuing an Educational Doctorate in Transformational Leadership.

It’s all about the children.

Adults can debate education policy endlessly, but at the end of the day, we need to remember that learning institutions share the same purpose: to educate children and make sure their needs are met.

Growing up in Little Rock, I attended traditional public schools, and I really enjoyed that experience. I played with our school’s band and received a full band scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. After getting my bachelor’s degree, I taught music in the traditional public school system in Little Rock. So, I’m not here to say anything negative about traditional public schools.

What I am saying is this: Parents know their children, and they need to be able to choose the learning environments that best align with their children’s needs.

After teaching in the Little Rock School District, I went on to serve as the assistant principal at eStem Public Charter Schools in Little Rock. Now, I am the principal of Friendship Aspire Academy Public Charter School in Pine Bluff. When I first left the traditional public school system, a lot of people were unhappy with me because there are lot of things that people don’t understand (or misunderstand) about charter schools.

It’s true that as an employee of a charter school, I have more freedom in the classroom. I have the resources that I need and the autonomy that I want to be able to lead, based on research and based on experience. I have the autonomy to do what I know is right for children.

That additional freedom doesn’t mean that charter schools aren’t held to the same accountability standards as traditional public schools, though. If anything, charter schools are held to stricter standard, because we receive less funding to do the same job. We have to monitor and report data on student enrollment and attendance throughout the year, and our students are subject to the same testing as traditional schools. We receive letter grades just like traditional districts. We have to keep the same standards up with the extra pressure of knowing that we are not guaranteed to be open tomorrow. We should all operate under that same pressure. All Arkansas’s districts should be held to the same accountability; all of us should be held to the fire to do what we signed up to do.

One positive aspect about charter schools is that when they write their charters, they have the ability to organize around a distinctive vision. It has to be something the organization is really passionate about, that’s really going to drive the mission and vision forward. Because of that, some charter schools, like the ones that I have worked at and am working at now, really have an increased focus on the whole child – addressing the students social emotional needs, as well as the academic needs.

So, charter schools provide options for parents that need that. Parents just need to take time to investigate the mission and vision of the different schools to see which one fits the needs of their child. They should look for evidence of recent and prior students’ success. Most importantly, parents, know your child and know you child’s needs, and go with the option that aligns with your child’s needs.

We’re all in it to provide different options for children.