FofF August 2021

The Succeed Scholarship program has given my once shy and unsocial little girl, Kiyah, the confidence, ability, and hope to thrive. On the spectrum, Kiyah was diagnosed at an early age. Her mom and I worked hard to introduce and provide her with support and safety not often found in the public school system.

Bullying is a common theme and thread in many public school systems, and often times it is students with a disability receiving the brunt of bullying and or lack of compassion from some teachers. Arkansas is not yet in a position to provide an educational environment and process that is conducive to the diverse needs of its students.

If we are champions of one of Arkansas’ most precious and natural resources, the kids, it would be egregious to defund the Succeed Scholarship program. Doing so would surely be a setback to our kids who benefit from the scholarship.

– Kevin, parent

I’m a single parent of an autistic son. He’s very quiet, and typically a loner. He has a hard time decoding messages among many other problems associated with ASD. The Succeed Scholarship has provided a safe haven for my son to learn.

He has been bullied, and threatened to be killed by other students in a public school setting. The teachers didn’t care, and ignored ever cry for help. With the Succeed Scholarship, my son has gained great socialization skills, and feels comfortable sitting in a regular classroom.

Being in a smaller classroom he’s able to receive more one on one instruction. This reduces the amount of modified assignments he may need. Please don’t defund a program that is helping our children who are uniquely different. You would be putting him in an environment that would bring stress to him/them as a child, the parent, and those would have to interact with my child at school. I pray that you have a heart of Love and compassion. Yes our children may be special needs, but they are still our future.

– NeShon, parent

The ‘Succeed Scholarship’ has helped our son Ryan leaps and bounds where he might not have had the opportunity to grow. He has learned to write, speak, and walk within one year at Success. He was born premature and endures debilitating cerebral palsy, and brain damage. My wife and I save every dollar we can, work extra hours, take odd jobs just to help pay for what the scholarship doesn’t cover. He must continue to receive a scholarship to get the incredible one on one help he needs from Success Academy. Without the ‘Succeed Scholarship’ we would never be able to pay to help Ryan to advance to the best most productive citizen he could grow up to be. With so many medical bills, and procedures he endures…….. it financially cripples us. The young, and the disabled are in the most need of your help. Thank you. Praise GOD.

– John, parent

My son, Eli is an 11 year old who has Down Syndrome. The last several years have been frustrating for us as parents to see Eli’s educational growth come to a near stand still. Eli hated school and fussed each day about having to go. He was considered a problem child at the local public school.

Last year, Eli was promoted to the elementary school in our town. On the third day of attending this new school, we were called by Eli’s teachers and told he could not stay in their classroom. At the IEP meeting a few weeks later, the principal of the school began the meeting by declaring, “We all know that Eli is a challenge and presents so many problems.” As parents, we didn’t know what to do. Then we found out about the Succeed Scholarship that would allow Eli to attend Access Academy.

Now Eli loves school. He wakes up early and waits in the car until we are ready to drive him the 35 minutes to his school. He is learning again and receiving the therapies the public school had quit offering him. We could never have afforded this wonderful opportunity for Eli without the Success Scholarahip.

– Reid, parent

My name is Britney Beumeler. My daughter, Harper, is a student in the Lower 2 class at Access Academy. This is Harper’s second year at Access. She is able to attend this school because of the Succeed Scholarship. Harper is a twin. She and her 6-year-old brother are very different from each other. Since she was born, she has had many issues with developmental delays and sensory issues. Since she was about 6 months old, I have had to aggressively pursue therapies and evaluations to try to get her what she needs. She did not walk until she was 2 years old, and although I knew this was concerning, no one seemed to think this was anything to worry about.

Fast forward to Pre-K3, and Harper is 4. I had concerns about her readiness for Pre-K4. Her teacher suggested having her evaluated by our school district as they would provide services until she went to kindergarten. Although she scored below average and lower on all testing, she did not qualify for any services because “it does not affect her ability to learn.”

In October that year when Harper moved into Pre-K 4, her teacher expressed concerns about her inability to even trace words and shapes, recognize colors, shapes, numbers and letters. She also did not socialize with peers because of her fears that were present because of her gross motor delays. She did not play like the kids her age.

I again met with our school district and was met with low scores that were not bad enough for her to qualify for therapy or assistance. On my own, I reached out to private agencies to get my daughter the help she needed. I had to pay for these out of pocket, because by private insurance does not pay for evaluations without a diagnosis and does not pay for any therapy. I do not know how you are supposed to get a diagnosis without an evaluation. With these evaluations, Harper scored low enough to qualify for TEFRA.

For years, the school district told me there was nothing they could offer my daughter. She was not “behind enough” to get services. She now qualified for TEFRA. This is where ACCESS comes in the picture.

ACCESS was the first place that has been able to provide the resources needed for my daughter to get all THREE of her therapies during school hours. She has built relationships with her therapists.

ACCESS has provided the type of classroom and learning environment that is needed for my daughter who has ADHD and developmental delays. She needs the small classrooms. She needs more one-on-one attention.

When reading the letter to defund the SUCCEED scholarship and citing things like test scores as the only marker for determining if this program is successful is misleading. Most of these kids start out behind. They are a product of the system that has failed to intervene early. So yes, my daughter does not test at her age level, but she has made tremendous advances in her social skills, emotional well being, self confidence, love for school, as well as academic improvements. She can now write her name, count, identify numbers, shapes, and letters. She is beginning to read. She loves school. She is proud of herself.

In a traditional setting, my daughter was not thriving. Imagine hearing your five year old saying things like “I’m not smart enough to do this” or “This is too hard for me.” It is heartbreaking. We do not hear this negative self talk anymore.

My daughter and many others will likely have lifelong consequences if the Succeed Scholarship is defunded. Access and many other schools like it are a lifeline to so many of our children that learn differently from others. Putting these children in a traditional classroom setting without the resources needed to support their social, emotional, and academic needs will create a new problem for our state as these children become adults.

– Britney, parent