Faces of Freedom

“My daughter would not have been able to attend the only school in the nation that could teach her adequately and that was affordable to me if it wasn’t for the Succeed Scholarship! My daughter was on a third grade math level and a second grade reading level until she began at Access Academy. She has absolutely flourished in every aspect of her life! She was 16 years old on a kindergarten level and about to have to face the world being illiterate, and there was absolutely nothing else I could do for her.

As a parent, I have relocated eight times for my daughters education, and no school — public nor private — could help her reach passed a kindergarten level until I found Access Academy. The first year we moved to Arkansas, her tuition was over $1,000 a month. After Succeed Scholarship, it is now $300. My entire family and friends helped my daughter for a year, and it was financially exhausting. She wouldn’t have been able to attend another year without the scholarship! Especially since I’m a single parent, on disability and attending graduate school college. There was no possible way to keep affording her education.

This scholarship allowed my child another chance at life! Also, it helped her gain confidence in herself she never had since she began third grade. Her self esteem from failing and being in special education classes kept her frustrated and made her feel she couldn’t learn, no matter how much she kept trying. As a parent seeing this for so long led me full of anxiety for my child’s future.

We both had given up, especially since she was over 15 years old and just knew there was no school that could help her catch up since she was so far behind. But, that one last ray of hope made all the difference in her life! I gave it my last shot and told myself as a parent, I am prepared to go anywhere in the United States where God led me for her! Arkansas had one of the best schools just for her and with children with the same learning aspects she had! She didn’t have to feel ostracized!

Thank you Succeed for giving my child a future. Without it, she’d struggle for the rest of her life without a real education for her noted disability of a written and oral expression.

You literally saved her life from struggle and defeat!!!”

– Missy, parent

My son is eighth generation of Jacksons in the small community of Berryville — the first one with autism. He attended public school like his sisters before him but struggled with behaviors and keeping up. The school did what they could to accommodate, but as he got older we knew that is was difficult for him and the school. His speech at the time was very little and in phrases he had memorized. We started at the Grace School in May of 2020, which was a huge drain on our family the drive each day and $18,000 tuition. However, immediately we saw huge changes in Mills. He made friends; his behaviors improved; and the school worked with us to improve them at home too. We had a community of parents just like us!!! It has been over a year now, and Mills and I can have complete conversations. He is sounding out words and typing them. He loves to “work out” on the treadmill at school. In fall of 2021 we got our first Succeed Scholarship, and what a huge help that has been! We have a daughter in college, and my work times are restricted due to Mills care and school, so this made our lives much better. Thank you Reform Alliance for helping Mills be all he can be.

– Missy, parent

As a first grader, Faith dreamed of growing up to be a babysitter. She loved caring for other kids and knew she would want to be around them as an adult. Now, as a fifth grader, Faith dreams of growing up to be a teacher. She still loves caring for kids, but now she has a more defined mission: helping kids learn how to read.

Faith and her two brothers all have dyslexia. So, even before she started school herself, Faith saw the struggle that Billy, who is a year older than she is, went through learning to read.

Billy had been in pre-K for two years before he started school, so Rebecca, his mom, was surprised when his kindergarten teacher reported that he was behind the other students and couldn’t keep up with them. The teacher believed it was due to ADHD, but the Conway Psychological Assessment Center said while he had some characteristics of ADHD, the main problem looked like possible dyslexia.

CPAC referred him back to the district school for dyslexia screening. The district told the family that they did not have anyone to do a dyslexia screening at the school, leaving the parents at a loss for what to do next.

“I was new to this and didn’t know what was going on,” Rebecca said. “My husband and I knew something had to give. He was so behind in reading and writing, and everything we were doing at home was not helping him.”

Rebecca connected with the Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group, which helped her find someone able to do the screening. The result made it evident that Billy is severely dyslexic and has a speech language delay.

The family was relieved that they found some answers, but it still took them from October to May to get him set up with an intervention at the school. He started intervention using the Phonics First reading program during the last two weeks of kindergarten.

They continued with the same intervention through second grade, but he was still not making any progress. By the time he was going into third grade, he was still reading at an early kindergarten level.

Billy’s parents knew something different needed to be done, but they did not agree that the schools’ push to identify him as mentally disabled or put him in a self-contained classroom was the answer. Dyslexia advocate Audie Alumbaugh helped get the correct IQ test for students with dyslexia, and Billy tested in the average-to-above-average area, ruling out the mental disability.

On top of his academic struggles, bullies targeted Billy due to his differences, going so far as to kick out some of his teeth.

Unsurprisingly, both Billy and Faith hated school. Rebecca said getting them up every morning and making them go to school was a struggle. She continued searching for help and found the Succeed Scholarship, a program that provides funding for students with learning disabilities to attend private schools.By this time, Faith had also started school. Rebecca was quick to point out that she showed the same signs of speech delay and dyslexia that her brother had, but there was still a delay in getting her intervention. By the end of first grade, the school was recommending that she be held back.

They applied for the scholarship, and while they waited to hear if they would get it, they went through the admissions process at the Hannah School, which specializes in teaching students with dyslexia.

The process included a shadow day, where students would spend a half day on campus to see if it would be an appropriate fit. On the next day, Billy and Faith popped up out of bed on time for once and were ready to go in record time.

When the car pulled up in front of their normal district school, Billy burst into tears and refused to get out of the car. They had both thought they were going to the new school.

“They knew everyone there was like them,” Rebecca said. “Everyone there had the same issues. No one there would be picking on them or making fun of them for the way they talked. … Just knowing that they were other people out there that didn’t know to read helped.”

Billy and Faith had seen what life could be like in a learning environment dedicated to helping students just like themselves, so finishing the last four weeks at their district school was tough. Thankfully, they both received Succeed Scholarships, and were able to transfer to the new school the following year.

Now, Billy is in sixth grade and Faith is in fifth grade, and Rebecca said both are making tremendous progress with the DuBard Association Method and the Wilson Reading System that are used at the school to help students overcome dyslexia.

On the KTEA, the private school’s version of benchmark testing, Billy is testing on the same level and even above other students his age in some areas. Neither of them could read Bob Books, simple books with three-letter words and patterns, by the time they started at the private school, but now they are reading chapter books with improved fluency and comprehension.

Faith loves school and reading, especially the “Babysitters Club” and “Dork Diaries” books.

– Written by TRA comms director based on interview with Rebecca, parent

I am writing to express my concern about the funding for the Succeed Scholarship. This scholarship provided financial assistance to my son which allowed him to attend the Access Academy School. He has made so much progress since enrolling in 2019.

I am humbly requesting that funding for this scholarship continue to be provided which allows students at the Access School to receive instruction in a smaller group setting that is more conducive for learning.

– Antranelia, parent